The big picture
- Aemond's act of killing carries a great stigma in Westeros, it should hit him harder in
House of the Dragon
. - Kinslaying has historically cursed characters like Robb Stark and Stannis Baratheon, highlighting the tragedy that awaits those who commit the act.
- The Greens inside
House of the Dragon
exploit kin killing as a tool of power, revealing its hypocrisy and corrupt nature.
As the second son of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) is one of the most fascinating and emotionally complex characters of House of the Dragon Ewan Mitchell's cold and vulnerable portrayal combines the ferocity of a vicious knight with the unpredictability of Aemond's uncle Daemon (Matt Smith). The character goes from a boy who was bullied by his brothers with the greatest dragon rider in WesterosVhagar and Aemond devote themselves to combat training with a more rigid discipline than their older brother, King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). Aemond's traumatic childhood and militant mentality also cause him to draw first blood against Rhaenyra's blacks at the end of season 1, but season 2 of Ryan Condal's epic prequel So far he seems to have forgotten the act and its role in his identity: the fact that he is a murderer.
In the world of Westeros, familicide is the killing of one family member at the hands of another, and is among the most dishonorable acts of violence a person can commit. Since Aemond kills his nephew, Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), with Vhagar inside House of the DragonAt the end of season 1, the prince already qualifies for sin, but season 2 of the series has yet to explore the full implications of Aemond's crime. In George RR Martinthe prequel novel of which House of the Dragon is based Fire and Blood, Aemond's killing of Lucerys earns him the title Aemond the Kinslayer to his enemies, bringing with him a legacy of guilt and shame. In the show, Aemond's murder is barely acknowledged by the members of the Red Keep, barely delving into the taboo of killing relatives or how the killing of Aemond demonstrates the hypocrisy of the greens.
Kinslaying carries a severe stigma in the world of ice and fire
While fans of both game of thrones i House of the Dragon You know Westeros is no stranger to horrific wars, bloody weddings and heartless massacres, even the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms have to draw the line somewhere. Throughout the two shows and George RR Martin's multiple books, characters of different classes, religious backgrounds, stations, and titles repeatedly insist that no one is as damned as the person who chooses violence over family. Those who do so are reviled in the eyes of friend and foe alike, and most meet tragic ends as a result of their alienating act. So Aemond's very act of killing carries a whole history of extreme stigma behind it, and the true cost of killing the prince is to make him a cursed social outcast.
Past examples of Westerosi assassins illustrate the bloody cost of killing family. In game of thronesone of the most dramatic examples of the taboo occurs in Season 2, when Stannis (Stephen Dillane) kills his brother through the magic of the red priestess Melisandre (Carice Van Houten). In Season 3, Episode 5, “Kissed by Fire,” Robb Stark (Richard Madden) also becomes a family killer when he executes Rickard Karstark for murdering Lannister hostages, as the defendant himself admits that the Karstarks and Starks share a related bloodline. That both Robb and Stannis meet brutal ends later in the series reaffirms the Westerosi idea that assassins are inherently cursed, with Robb's betrayal at the Red Wedding and Stannis' defeat outside Winterfell emphasizing the tragic fates that await those who take part in Aemond's crime.
Even the Targaryens, who tend to be exceptions to the rules of the various religions of the Seven Kingdoms, suffer from the stigmatized form of violence. In Fire and Blood, King Maegor Targaryen is impaled on the Iron Throne after stealing it from his nephew, Aegon the Uncrowned, and killing the boy during the battle under the eye of the gods. After the battle, Maegor is believed to be cursed when he is unable to produce an heir, further isolating him from his subjects. House of the Dragon Season 2, however, chooses not to show the social costs of Aemond's actions but the personal ones, as Aemond confesses to regretting killing Lucerys in the arms of a brothel warden (Michelle Bonnard). The show, then chooses to represent Aemond's innermost struggles processing his own actions, more than any possible blow to his social status.
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The Greens' Reaction to Aemond's Crime Reveals Its Own Hypocrisy in 'House of the Dragon' Season 2
However, the potential stigma attached to kin killing is much more interesting to the rest of Aemond's faction, as the Hightowers' Greens try to use season 2's most prominent family murder case to bolster their position. Taking advantage of Blood and Cheese's murder of the little prince Jaehaerys and the kingdom's hatred of the parents, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) immediately uses her grandson's death as an excuse to blame Rhaenyra and incite public outrage towards the black faction. The title of this week's episode, “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” comes from the small council's use of Jaehaerys' intentionally public funeral to malign Rhaenyra after the murder, but since the presence of Aemond gives the Greens their own standout killer in their midst, effort it only really reveals the Greens' fake attempt at public virtue.
If the Hightowers really cared about punishing royals guilty of parricide, they would have imprisoned Aemond the moment he returned from Storm's End after killing his nephew. Instead, the Red Keep's version of the Daemon Prince gets little more than a light scolding in the small council chamber, while King Aegon is nothing more than a compliment to his brother for Aemond's murderous accomplishment. Aside from emphasizing the tragedy of Prince Jaehaerys' death, the Greens' funeral serves to sell the citizens of King's Landing the lie that the Hightowers actually care about what is considered right. Actually, the usurpation of the greens from Rhaenyra's throne and their own hypocritical protection revealing that what the faction has always cared about is powerand Aemond's skills as a warrior and dragon rider are the Greens' best chance at keeping the throne.
Also, this week's episode of House of the Dragon does greens even more guilty of murder than blacks. While Daemon is directly responsible for hiring Blood and Cheese to assassinate Jaehaerys, Aemond's killing of Lucerys almost brings the two sides to an even playing field. As the title of Season 2 Episode 1, “A Son for a Son” suggests, Green and Black exchanged lives at the beginning of their dance. However, with Aegon approving Ser Criston Cole's (Fabian Frankel) plans to send Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) after his twin, Ser Erryk (Elliot Tittensor), in Dragonstone, the Greens embark on a mission that results in the brothers nearly killing each other, an even greater stain on the honor of the greens than the cruel assassination attempt of Prince Daemon.
It's unclear why the series refuses to add kin murder to Aemond's name, especially since he now recognizes how horrific the crime is. Instead, the show glosses over the social stigma of killing kin and refuses to acknowledge how Aemond's killing of Lucerys contradicts the Greens' more recent attempts to curry favor with the public in House of the Dragon. Aemond's status as a kinslayer makes him cursed in the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms, while the deceptions of the Greens emphasize his false face of self-righteousness that Rhaenyra recognized in Alicent during House of the Dragon Season 1. As the war unfolds and Aemond's actions inevitably reap their consequences, the series still has time to show how the shame of kin-slaying can still drive more allies from the Green cause, so how if one of the show's most layered characters can survive being haunted by his most shameful murder.
House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently streaming on Max. New episodes air every Sunday.
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