House Of The Dragon's Tom Glynn-Carney Says Aegon Is 'More Complex' Than Joffrey
Much like its epic predecessor "Game of Thrones," HBO's ambitious prequel "House of the Dragon" excels at gifting fans with memorably reprehensible villains to revile — looking squarely at you, King Joffrey I Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) in the former, and Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) in the latter.
As the spoiled, capriciously sadistic occupant of the Iron Throne in "Game of Thrones," Joffrey glories in his ability to dish out torment and/or death to any and all who oppose or, let's be frank, even mildly annoy him. In the new series, Aegon is another pampered princeling, who reveals his baseline character traits by mercilessly abusing his younger relatives and servants. And while both royal progenies clearly display attributes qualifying them as the sort of villains we all love to hate, what compels "House of the Dragon" star Glynn-Carney to insist that his loathsome character is more complicated than Gleeson's murderously wicked King Joffrey?
Glynn-Carney says Joffrey was a psycho, but Aegon is sick and confused
As "House of the Dragon" progresses toward the conclusion of its first season, Aegon develops into a royal personage who resists being royal at every turn. In addition to his brutality, addiction to drink, and at least one instance of him being a rapist, he simply doesn't want the kind of power or responsibility the Iron Throne confers.
As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Glynn-Carney discussed Joffrey versus Aegon with series showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. "Ryan and Miguel said if we could make any comparisons to ['Thrones' characters], that he's the closest to Joffrey," Glynn-Carney said, adding that, unlike Joffrey, "[Aegon] is not an out-and-out psychopath. He's much more complex. His decisions are due to insecurities and confusion and rage. He's just bitterly confused and mentally unwell."
Glynn-Carney added that Aegon simply relies too much on those around him to make his decisions for him. He also noted that his hair being short as an adult, unlike the teenage version of the character in earlier episodes, is a deliberate choice meant to underline his outsider status within the family.
Regardless of Aegon's distaste for ruling, he does become king at the end of Season 1 Episode 9 and seems to finally embrace the power — brandishing his sword for a cheering public. Glynn-Carney doesn't have high hopes for Aegon's rule, though. "[He] makes awful decisions, and now those decisions are going to be made on a mass scale."