House of the Dragon receives backlash for Aemond’s “stupid” Aegon attack

The recent events at Rook’s Nest have stirred up strong emotions among House of the Dragon fans, as many viewers have expressed their concerns about Aemond and Vhagar’s attempt to harm Aegon.

Aegon’s arrival on Sunfyre and Rhaenys’s swift lesson with Meleys takes place near the end of Season 2 Episode 4, with Rhaenys clawing Aegon’s dragon’s belly and easily overpowering both dragons.

Upon Aemond’s arrival with Vhagar, he initially expresses admiration for the gods. However, his brother’s command of “Dracarys!”ultimately leads to the destruction of them all with fire. As Aegon and his dragon fall to the ground, it remains uncertain if he manages to survive.

One fan on the show’s subreddit expressed their frustration, stating: “The writers seem to believe that Aemond would be foolish enough to purposely sacrifice a dragon and its rider, despite being outnumbered by their enemies.”

Their argument is valid as if Aemond were to unintentionally kill Aegon and the largest dragon in front of a crowd, it would spell disaster for the Greens and result in his execution.

I just know Aemond was having vivid flashbacks to all the years of bullying right before he shouted “Dracarys!” and shot Aegon down. Guess he got his lick in for the brothel scene. pic.twitter.com/yoB63vCIJN

— swolemond 💎 HOTD SPOILERS (@slaymond_) July 8, 2024

“Another fan noted that the character’s behavior seemed to shift drastically, as he first expressed regret for his past actions towards Luke, but then proceeded to not only leave Aegon to fight alone and potentially face death against a larger dragon, but also attempted to openly kill Aegon in front of others.”

“According to a third commentator, if the writers had been more clever and wanted to depict Aemond’s loss of control over Vhagar, this would have been the perfect scene to do so, rather than against Luke.”

Despite these complaints, Aemond’s childhood, particularly the fact that he was bullied by Aegon and constantly humiliated (as seen in Episode 3’s nude scene), cannot be overlooked.

“According to one user, Aemond is a troubled individual who has caused most of the harm himself, with Aegon being the main source of this destruction. When Aemond observes his brother joining forces with Aemond and Cole’s scheme, instead of saving the King, he chooses to reveal the difficulty of being a hero.”

“He seizes the opportunity to retaliate against the person who has repeatedly publicly shamed him, despite the danger it may bring.”

Another point to consider is that it is effortless to act as an armchair general in make-believe battles and to reference the book House of the Dragon as its source material. However, it should be noted that George R.R. Martin has officially stated that the television series exists independently from the events depicted in Fire & Blood. In simpler terms, it is best to simply follow the storyline as it unfolds.