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

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[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon, "The Queen Who Ever Was."]

If there's one character who had far more power at the end of House of the Dragon Season 2 than he started with, it's Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). Sure, the prince was already a formidable warrior for the Greens thanks to being the rider of Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world. But Aemond rose to the top of the chain after Vhagar burnt his older brother (and acting king) Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) to a sad crisp in the Battle at Rook's Rest. Since then, he's been ruling the realm as Prince Regent and leading the charge against Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and the Blacks.

But it didn't take long for this newfound power to begin slipping from his hands. At the end of House of the Dragon Episode 7, "The Red Sowing," Aemond abandoned his attack on Dragonstone after spotting Rhaenyra's new army of dragons and dragonriders. Perhaps for the first time in this show, Vhagar doesn't seem invincible. In the finale, Aemond asks his sister Helaena (Phia Saban) to join the war as Dreamfyre's dragonrider. The queen says no because she despises violence. If that wasn't enough of a blow to Aemond's confidence, his next conversation with Helaena definitely was. 

"Aegon will be king again. He's yet to see victory," she tells Aemond of the future. "And you... you'll be dead." While many in King's Landing dismiss Helaena's words, the prince seems to know there's truth to them — not the least because she described word-for-word how he fried Aegon at Rook's Rest. 

Mitchell spoke to us about that ominous exchange with Helaena, how Aemond is navigating life as the Crown Prince, and what his decision to remove Alicent (Olivia Cooke) from the Small Council says about their mother-and-son relationship.

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TV Guide: Aemond has been Prince Regent for a few episodes now. Is ruling the realm what he expected?
Ewan Mitchell: He's probably got a little more than he bargained for. I think he's starting to feel the weight of that crown on his head. In Episode 7, you had Rhaenyra raise new dragonriders. And so that puts into question that belief that Targaryens have always been closer to gods than [to] men. That divide between dragonlords and common folk has now been shrunk in Aemond. He recognizes that he's outnumbered, dragon-wise — out-dragoned, should I say. And so you start to see that in Episode 8, he starts to get a little bit desperate. But he's still got a few things up his sleeve.

So what Rhaenyra did made him feel less like a god?
Mitchell: Definitely. And what he does as well, in retaliation — in a fit of rage, he burns the town of Sharp Point, which is the seed of Bar Emmon who sits on Rhaenyra's council, who very much pledged to the Black side of the war. And it's interesting because although it was an act of anger, geographically the town of Sharp Point is situated very close to the Gullet. And so maybe Aemond is warming up the blockade for things to come in Season 3. That's kind of how he kids himself, that's how he justifies his actions.

That's interesting. I'm also wondering, who on the Small Council does he trust the most right now, and who does he trust the least?
Mitchell: Well, is there any council member left? I think he sent them all away. [Laughs.] It was really interesting exploring those scenes as well, when Aemond was on one side of the table, and how he was serving the war effort. Then when he gets voted as Prince Regent, he sits on the other end of the table, and now he looks at all of these council members through a very different lens, and it's like, "How can each of you serve me? Who's with me, who's against me?" He's very earnest in a way. And he ultimately disbands the council table, he's not one who cares that much for tradition. In terms of who my favorite is, it would probably be Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). I think Aemond trusts Cole to do his job. And the person that he doesn't trust, it would be Larys (Matthew Needham). I think he can see through him a little bit.

Larys told Aegon he has to escape because otherwise Aemond would kill him. Why hasn't Aemond killed him? 
Mitchell: I don't want to give away too much, but one of the things that I loved in Episode 6 is when Aemond gives Aegon the king's marker back, and he kind of presses it into his wounded stomach. Is he doing that to inflict pain on Aegon? Or is he doing it as a way to say, "Don't worry, the king's seat will be there for you when you get better"? So, Aemond's true allegiance is questionable. You don't necessarily know what his ambitions are, but that's what makes him scary.

What you said as the second interpretation — about the king's seat still being there for Aegon — is fascinating. Because after his actions, I was definitely leaning toward the first interpretation when I watched that scene.
Mitchell: Aemond, he raises those questions. One of the things that I love about watching film and TV, is the conversation it sparks afterwards. I love that almost as much as watching the film, and having that debate with friends — their angles on what characters' hidden motivations might be. And I love deciphering it all.

ALSO READ: House of the Dragon's Ewan Mitchell on Aemond's fiery power move: 'It was purely intentional, what he did this time'

We saw last episode that Aemond got rid of Alicent from the Small Council. At the start of the season you talked about Aemond's mommy issues. ("He never actually felt that unconditional love from Alicent and so he had to find it elsewhere. He had to find another suitable surrogate, I think he found one in Vhagar, an older she-dragon," Mitchell had told TV Guide.) Would you say this decision shows that he's given up on trying to win his mom's approval or love?
Mitchell: No, I don't think he's given up. I don't think he'll ever give up. I think he very much didn't want his mom at work. So he was like, mom, you just step outside for a minute. I'm going to finish this war, and then when it's done, I'll join you on a Dornish beach. We can share a Piña Colada, and I'll be the war hero. You can be the mother I always wanted you to be, and it'll all be good in Aemond's eye, and peaceful. Whether or not that's what Alicent wants, or whether that's her idea of happiness, is another thing.

So he saw it as an act of protection.
Mitchell: Yeah. Or maybe you could look at it from the fact that he just doesn't want his mom's voice on the council table. And he does have a grudge against her for the way that she raised him. 

And when you said she can be the mom he always wanted her to be, what does that look like? 
Mitchell: I think one that just has love for him. That's how we beat Aemond, it's with love. We gotta give him a hug.

There's also the big scene with Helaena where she tells him he'll die. First, would you say he fully believes her, knowing her prophetic gifts? And how do you imagine this information will affect his choices going forward? 
Mitchell: I think he definitely believes some part of Helaena's foresight to be true. He witnesses that when he's named Prince Regent, and Helaena stood behind him, she asks, "Was it all worth it?" And witnessing what Helaena says to him at the end of the [season], it challenges his beliefs. He always had an idea of how things were going to play out. He felt very bulletproof, to an extent. And so to hear that belief be put to question by Helaena, it kind of shakes his world. And I think Aemond, he's got to sit down and let that information marinate a little bit. But as we know, he doesn't sit still for long. He's going to be up on his feet and he's going to retaliate ASAP.

We've seen him quite bold and impulsive. Do you think having that knowledge of him dying will make him more cautious?
Mitchell: I think it's interesting, because the knowledge that Helaena shares with Aemond, it's information that could make Aemond an enemy of her, or, on the other hand, it could actually make Helaena a very valuable ally for the Green side. Because with that perception, if you were able to harness that power and that foresight, I think if we listened to Helaena a lot more we might be in an even better position than we are now. And she could tell us about blows before they land, we can be one step ahead of the curve.

Do you imagine Aemond has thought about killing Helaena so Dreamfyre can have a rider who will go to war?
Mitchell: I think all kind[s] of avenues cross 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 [showrunner] Ryan Condal has said we'll see him in Season 3. What do you imagine Aemond's relationship with Daeron to be? Nonexistent, or have they exchanged letters over the years?
Mitchell: That's an interesting question, we'll have to wait and see. I hope that Aemond isn't a bad example on Daeron. I hope he sets a good example.

And finally, looking back at this season, how do you think Aemond's bond with Vhagar has grown?
Mitchell: He's definitely got Vhagar on a leash. We acted more as a power couple in Season 2. Aemond learned from his mistakes in the skies of Storm's End from Season 1. I think he listened to his grandfather Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) when he said, "You must get a grip on your emotions." And so I think he definitely had Vhagar on a tighter rein this season, and was a lot more in control, and that makes him all the more scary. 

Definitely agree on that. And did you say you're a power couple?
Mitchell: Yeah, we're a power couple. She's beautiful, right?  

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Seasons 1 and 2 of House of the Dragon are streaming on Max.