How Aegon's Hair In House Of The Dragon Symbolizes His Hatred For His Family
Throughout both "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon," members of the powerful Targaryen family tree are identifiable because of their association with dragons as well as their long, flowing blonde hair. Although the Targaryens are not the only blonde characters in the series, their hair still tends to set them apart because of how long, ornate, and platinum it is. Most of the major Targaryen characters in both series have hair like this, including Viserys I (Paddy Considine), Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock/Emma D'Arcy), Daemon (Matt Smith), Rhaenys (Eve Best), and Viserys III (Harry Lloyd).
Even Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), who attempts to subvert her family's bloody history by becoming the Breaker of Chains and claiming to value the preservation of human lives, still keeps her hair long, blonde, and intricately braided. When new people meet her, they tend to recognize her as the famous Targaryen princess because of her hair.
One Targaryen character who does not have typical Targaryen hair is Jon Snow from "Game of Thrones," whose hair is brown, although still long and distinctive. Presumably, this is meant to set Jon Snow apart from the rest of the Targaryens, which makes sense considering no one, including Jon, knew he was really a Targaryen instead of a Stark or a Snow until the final season of "Game of Thrones."
Another Targaryen character who does not have typical Targaryen hair is Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), who becomes King in Episode 9 of "House of the Dragon," promising to be an evil and ineffective ruler. In fact, Aegon's hair is meant to symbolize his hatred for his family.
Aegon's shorter hair shows his outsider status and his desire to outgrow his family
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Tom Glynn-Carney explained how Aegon's hair was deliberately made short (compared to other Targaryens) in order to show his outsider status and how he really feels about his family. Glynn-Carney said the shorter haircut was a result of a discussion he had with "House of the Dragon" showrunner Miguel Sapochnik. "I was like, 'I don't want him to have long, luscious Targaryen locks, because he hates that.'"
Glynn-Carney noted that this sets Aegon apart from his younger brother, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), as well as the rest of his family: "Aemond is completely reveling in it. Whereas Aegon just throws it away. He was like, 'Take it off!' He doesn't want to be defined by his family. He hates his family because — in his head — they hate him."
Although Aegon's hair is still blond, his refusal to grow it out to a normal Targareyn length symbolizes how he feels his family views him: as an outsider. Because he feels like he has been rejected by his family, Aegon feels like he wants to reject them in return. His hair is just one of the many ways in which he does this. In fact, if he hadn't been made king, Glynn-Carney fantasizes about what he may have done instead. "He's a very selfish person because he wants to escape. I think if he was a modern-day person, he'd leave his family and go traveling around Australia and grow some dreadlocks."