The “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon” just introduced a villain other than Joffrey or Ramsay Bolton – and it’s a cute little toddler.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of “House of the Dragon,” and for George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood.”]
The third episode of “House of the Dragon” introduces King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his new wife Alicent Hightower’s (Emily Carey) infant son, a toddler named Aegon. Although the second episode only just announced their wedding, this episode has moved forward in time to where they are already celebrating the boy’s second “name day” or birthday. Aegon is the younger half brother of Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and although he is only a little boy now, he will grow up to be a terrible man.
[Once again, major spoilers ahead.]
These episodes are all a slow build-up of events that will lead to a brutal civil war between Rhaenyra and Aegon over who will succeed their father Viserys on the Iron Throne. Although the king has named Rhaenyra as his heir, traditionally the firstborn son is the heir. Everyone is already making noise in this episode as the kid celebrates his second birthday.
The obnoxious Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall) tells the king that if Rhaenyra married him she would be well compensated for her “loss in position” as she would no longer be the king’s heir as everyone now assumes that that title now goes to Aegon. Alicent and her father, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), have a chat about it too. “Would you like me to raise my son to steal his own sister’s birthright?” she asks, as Otto proclaims that if the king’s firstborn son, Aegon, does… not would become king, who would “affect the laws of gods and men.”
So Aegon will grow up surrounded by this rhetoric, feeling that the throne should belong it instead of his older half-sister, Rhaenyra. And he has many supporters who agree that he should take his sister’s birthright.
There will be more time jumps on this show, so this toddler will eventually age and be played by Tom Glynn-Carney, a 27-year-old British actor known for “Dunkirk.” If you’re looking to see Rhaenyra take the throne after she was proclaimed heir in the series premiere, bad news: he’ll go against her. And there will be much bloodshed along the way. (The carnage is a bit obvious, given how much blood is in the show’s opening title sequence.)
Some fans in the know already hate this kid.
Luckily for Rhaenyra, she has some formidable allies in this fight. But Aegon too. As the show progresses, all eyes will be on Daemon (Matt Smith), the hot-headed wildcard who is a formidable warrior, and on Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), to see which side of the conflict they’ll land on.
The show has already been renewed for a season 2. No matter how many seasons this story stretches, it all leads to a slew of violence, death, and tragedy—and it’s all Aegon’s fault for not taking his half-sister Rhaenyra’s right. has accepted to succeed her father to the Iron Throne.
So this little toddler may seem like just a cute kid in this episode… but soon he becomes a villain to rival even the hideous Joffrey or Ramsay Bolton from “GoT”, and he’ll tear Westeros apart.
“House of the Dragon” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.