House of the Dragon Ewan Mitchell Says Aemond Dreams of Drinking a Piña Colada at the Beach With Alicent

If there is one character who had many more privileges at the end of House of the Dragons Season 2 than at the beginning, then Aemond Targaryen. Oh yes, the prince was already quite a force for the Greens and largely so because he was the rider of Vhagar, the largest dragon in all of Essos. However Aemond got to the top of the chain after Vhagar roasted his elder brother/acting king Aegon II Targaryen till crackling in the Battle at Rook’s Rest. Since then he has been functioning as Prince Regent and the leader of the fight against Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and the blacks. 
 
However, the centre did not remain in his hands for long as he was gradually losing more of the power he just acquired. The change of the army was shown at the end of House of the Dragon Episode 7 – “The Red Sowing” when Aemond stopped his attack on Dragonstone to see Rhaenyra’s new army of dragons and dragonriders. Indeed, for the first time in this show, Vhagar particularly doesn’t come across as invincible as it has always portrayed itself. In the end, Aemond asks his sister Helaena played by Phia Saban to fight on the battlefield to be the rider of Dreamfyre. Queen refuses the offer because she does not like wars at all. Which, if that was not enough to deflate Aemond’s ego, the next conversation to Helaena certainly did. 
 
“Aegon will be king again,” she says about the future to Aemond, “He has not tasted the sweetness of the win. ” “Shut up little girl…,” however, many in King’s Landing don’t take Helaena seriously, the prince seems to understand that there was murderous intent in the words of the princess – not the least because she said aloud what happened to Aegon at Rook’s Rest and how he himself fried him. 
 
Heading comes courtesy of Mitchell discussing that ominous scene with Helaena, Aemond being Crown Prince, and the statement that he makes declaring Alicent (Olivia Cooke) off the Small Council with regards to mother-son dynamics. 
 
TV Guide: Aemond is the Prince Regent since a couple of episodes now. Are fighting to rule the realm what he wanted? 
Ewan Mitchell: It is fair enough to assume that he has gotten a little more than had initially expected. I believe he is slowly now experiencing what it is like to wear that crown on his head. In episode 7, you ‘called back’ Rhaenyra, by showing her raising new dragonriders. Which in turn calls into question that centuries old notion that Targaryens are less like men than they are gods. It is evident that this division of the dragonlords and the lowly folk has now been reduced in Aemond. He realizes that he is out-iced — out-dragoned if you will — dragon wise. Gradually, you’re able to notice that in Episode 8 he subthemes begins to get a little bit desperate. There’ll always be a couple of tricks that he has hidden in the bag. 
 
That’s why what Rhaenyra did was somehow lessening his identifiability with the gods? 
 
Mitchell: Definitely. And what he does as well, in retaliation — in a fit of anger, he sets fire to the town of Sharp of Point, the descendant of Bar Emmon who is a member of Rhaenyra’s council who is very loyal to the Blacks in the war. And it is interesting since though it was an act of hostility the geographic location of the town of Sharp Point as it is called is in fact uncomfortably close to the Gullet. So maybe Aemond is reheating the blockade for the things to come in the third season of the game of throne. That’s kind of how he kids himself, that’s how he rationalizes it all to himself, to ‘justify’ his actions. 
 
That's interesting. I am also considering, trusted the most on the Small Council at the time these words are spoken, and trusted the least? 
 
Mitchell: Okay, is there any council member remaining? I believe, he dismissed all of them. Yeah, those scenes were also quite fun to shoot, when Aemond was on one side of the table, and how he was contributing to the war. And then when he gets elected as Prince Regent, he sits on the other side of the table and now he looks at all these council members in a slightly different light, and it is, who else is with me, who is against me? It is somewhat genuine, earnest in a way. And he finally dissolves the council table, the man is not one who has much for tradition. If I had to choose who my favorite would be, it is most likely to be Criston Cole portrayed by Fabien Frankel. I believe that Aemond does trust Cole to get the job done. and the person that he does not trust, it should be Larys portrayed by Matthew Needham. I think he can penetrate him a little bit. 
 
Larys said to Aegon you have to run or else I will kill you Aemond meaning full. Where is the young man who Aemond could have killed? 
 
Mitchell: In the show not to spoil, one of my favorite scenes from Episode 6 is when Aemond returns the king’s marker Aegon gave him, and he molds it over Aegon’s wounded stomach. Is he hurting Aegon now to do that? Or is he doing it to reassure her, saying the equivalent of “Don’t worry the chair by the king will be saved for you when you return to being fit”? Therefore, it can be implied that Aemond is secretly aligned with the enemy. It’s not clear what his goals or wants may be, and that is the problem; that is what is terrifying. 
 
What you mentioned as the second understanding — that the place is still King’s and Aegon could sit there — is intriguing. Well, undoubtedly I was inclined to the first interpretation after his actions and when I saw that scene.

Mitchell: It is those very questions to which Aemond raises in response. Another strength of mine that correlates with watching film and TV, is the debate you get into once the show is over. I appreciate it as much as the film itself, or perhaps a discussion about the movie; it is delightful how friends approach things sometimes, some angles about characters’ plans. It is and I equally enjoyed decoding the various harsh and strong features of the language.

So as we have witnessed in the last episode Aemond expulsed Alicent from the Small Council. In one of the episodes at the beginning of the season, you mentioned that Aemond is got mommy issues. Mitchell was quoted by TV Guide saying, (“He never actually felt that unconditional love from Alicent and so he had to find it elsewhere. He had to find another suitable substitute, I think he found one in Vhagar, an older she-dragon. ”) Based on this decision, would you say this shows that he has given up on trying to seek his mother’s approval or love? 
Mitchell: Yes, I rather believe that he has not complacently so far. Sincerely, I do not think he will ever quit. I guess he very much did not want his mom at work. Well, he stayed, ‘Mom, you just step out for a moment. ’ I am going to end this war and after that, when the war is over, I will come for you and get married on the Dornish shore. Well, we can have a Piña Colada then I get the medal as the hero of the war. The paintings have the cryptic words ‘you can be the mother I always wanted you to be and it will be all good in Aemond’s eye and it is peaceful’. But that might not be what Alicent wants or that might not be her happiness, if such is possible to define. 
 
Thus, he concluded that it is an act of protection. 

Mitchell: Yeah. Or maybe you could look at it from the fact that he simply does not wish to see his mom’s voice on the council table. He does have a grouse with her over how she brought him up. 
 
And when you said she be the mom he always wanted her to be, what does that mean? 

Mitchell: The only sort you have,” I said, “is the one that loves him. ” That’s how we defeated Aemond, yes, it is with love. Yeah, we have to hug him immergently. 
 
The developing scene with Helaena is also large where she says that he will die an untimely death. First of all, can he 100% believe her when he knows that she has prophetic abilities? And how do you think such information will impact on his decision-making in future? 

Mitchell: I do believe that he takes some parts of Helaena’s vision to be true at least. He sees that when he is proclaimed Prince Regent and Helaena stands behind him, she asks, “Was it all worth it?” and seeing what Helaena says to him at the end of [the season], it changes his view. He always have the mindset of how things were going to turn out to be. He felt to a great extent quite invulnerable, if not in terms of bullets, then at least in terms of words. And so to have been told that such belief is in doubt by Helaena kind of brings it home to him. So did Aemond have to take a seat and let that information sink in a little bit I mean it really would have him thinking huh. But, of course, he is not one to twiddle his thumbs for long. He will be up on his feet and he will counterattack at the first instance or as soon as possible. 
 
That is easily explained – he has been depicted quite overbearing and reckless. Can it be assumed that he is going to be more cautious knowing such knowledge of him dying?

Mitchell: It seems intriguing, because what Helaena knows to Aemond, it is information which differentiates him from her and it can wake up real enemy in the girl or, on the contrary, Helaena can consider herself as a valuable asset for the Green side. Well, with that perception or if we extracted that power and that vision, I think if we paid more attention to Helaena then we will be even in a better position than what we are in now. And she could tell us about blows before they land, let’s prevent things before they actually happen, in a way we could be prepared for things. 
 
Did you wonder that Aemond strategizes towards the death of Helaena as Dreamfyre will have a rider that goes to war? 
Mitchell: I believe all kinds of things, or options, come into Aemond’s mind. 
 
I also wanted to ask about the other sibling – Daeron, Aemond’s younger brother, is mentioned quite a bit in these last episodes, and Ryan Condal said we would see him in season 3. As for the relationship between Aemond and Daeron, what do you think the man might felt about his power-mad brother? Indeed, have they ever not exchanged mails in the years of their relationship? 
Mitchell: Oh that is a good question, let us wait and see We might come across with something like that. I do not wish the worst for Aemond on Daeron and hope she does not turn out like him. I wish that the said role model will come out as positive. 
 
And lastly, reflecting on this season, has the relationship between Aemond and Vhagar in your opinion grown?

Mitchell: Yup, I think he is rather controlling Vhagar or else she wouldn’t be following his orders like that. We acted more like two people in love in the season two of the show. Unlike in the skies of Storm’s End of season 1, Aemond was able to avoid some of his missteps hence the acquisition of Chhinnaya. I am sure he took his grandfather Otto Hightower’s advice of ‘You have to get a grip of your emotions’. Thus, he must have definitely had Vhagar on a stricter leash in this season and was more composed, and therefore more dangerous.