The following article contains spoilers for House of the DragonThe House of the Dragon finale delivered plenty of the shock and awe George R.R. Martin fans love, yet showrunner Ryan Condal wants viewers to know this season’s closing images are a bit more nuanced than they appear.
This week’s “The Black Queen” closed off House of the Dragon season 1 with the series' climax being the death of the young Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) at hands of his uncle Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and his behemoth of a dragon, Vhagar. The moment is one of the turning points in the civil war between the two Targaryen factions, however, the series’ depiction was always meant to be more nuanced than Martin's recount of the event in Fire & Blood.
Per Condal's own words to The Hollywood Reporter, Aemond is simply far too cunning and smart to allow himself to commit such a crime. Condal claims that he’s “not blameless, but he’s also not a psychopath without a logical line of thinking” in a way that contradicts his character so far. The way Condal sees it, this confrontation in House of the Dragon starts off as just one more instance of Aemond getting back at his nephews for the way he was bullied, now that he’s a proficient swordsman and rides the biggest dragon in the world, only things get completely out of hand in a way he couldn't have exactly foreseen.
In the House of the Dragon scene, both Lucerys and Aemond are shown as powerless to control the wrath of their own dragons. Arrax the dragon unleashes his fiery breath on Vaghar with the creature completely unaware that would mark his demise along with the young Prince's. The final shot of Aemond is meant to show his complete look of shock at what happened, and judging from Rhaenyra's own stare, this is truly what kickstarts the Dance of the Dragons.
Like many other characters, House of the Dragon's Aemond is very different from his book counterpart. Instead, he comes off as a more balanced and not the bloodthirsty killer he is in Fire & Blood, although this could very well be what causes him to flip completely after his first kill, despite the involuntary manslaughter. That said, his remorse does line up better with the clever Aemond Condal describes, who simply seems to excel at every task thrown his way, with this sole exception.
As Sir Criston Cole's favorite student, Aemond knew killing Lucerys would hardly even make for a fun challenge, so maybe this interpretation is also another take Martin will be pleased Condal and Miguel Spochnik changed in th A Song of Ice and Fire lore. House of the Dragon season 2 will be shaped by this very scene, so there’s no going back from this for the prince with the sapphire eye.
House of the Dragon season 1 is now available on HBO Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter