House of the Dragon has its share of loathsome characters, and among them is Aegon Targaryen. Fans are already comparing him to Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones. What does his interpreter Tom Glynn-Carney think?
Warning, spoilers. It is advisable to have seen episode 9 of House of the Dragon before continuing to read this article.
After the death of Viserys, a new king was crowned in Westeros in House of the Dragon. But it is not the originally planned successor who ascends to the Iron Throne. In place of Princess Rhaenyra, Alicent Hightower and her father Otto succeeded in crowning Aegon, second in name, the Queen’s first son.
But this new king has a more than reprehensible behavior that disgusts even his own mother, yet determined to make him an undisputed sovereign. Aegon is an alcoholic, perverse and dangerous character, who has raped several women and who delights in witnessing clandestine fights between young children.
With such a personality, Aegon brings back bad memories to fans of another hated Game of Thrones character: the infamous Joffrey Baratheon. A comparison that was discussed on the set of House of the Dragon between the actor Tom Glynn-Carneyand the showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnikas explained by the interpreter of Aegon at HollywoodReporter :
“Ryan and Miguel said that if we were to compare him to [personnages de Game of Thrones], he would be close to Joffrey. However, he is not an outright psychopath. It is much more complex. His decisions result from feelings of insecurity, confusion and rage. He’s just bitterly confused and mentally ill.”
Aegon worse than Joffrey?
In Game of Thrones, Joffrey was a sadistic, power-hungry murderer who reveled in his actions. For Tom Glynn-Carney, his character Aegon is different because he never really wanted to reign and he was made to understand that he should not hope for this place on the Iron Throne:
“Even though Aegon is a nightmare who opposes all forms of rules and discipline, he is rather helpless. He is so addicted to alcohol that he has turned into a confused and tangled mess of a man. who doesn’t know himself yet. He’s incapable of making meaningful decisions. All his life, he’s relied on the people around him to make sure he’s done the right thing. But he does make decisions terrible, and now those decisions take on a whole new dimension.”
HBO
However, Aegon’s behavior should change after episode 9 of House of the Dragon as he embraces his new role as ruler with the support of his mother and the crown of his ancestor Aegon the Conqueror on his head. By accepting this power he previously rejected, he could well revel in his deviations with impunity and come even closer to the personality of Joffrey Baratheon.
This should not alleviate the fears of Tom Glynn-Carney, who would not want his character to be totally hated by the public. Fortunately for him, he was able to count on the advice of Kit Harington and Alfie Allentwo Game of Thrones alumni, who told him to “keep in mind that he was just a small cog in a huge machine” and above all that it was necessary “enjoy, laugh and play with his character”.
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Episodes of the House of the Dragon series can be found every Monday exclusively on OCS City, and on the OCS platform on demand.