House of the Dragon Season 2 Shows Aegon Is Worse Than Game of Thrones’ Joffrey

Let’s be fair for a moment, though. Alicent probably could have coddled Aegon half to death and he still would have turned out to be a total dud. In Season 1, we watch as Alicent has to give moon tea, which is thought to prevent pregnancy, to one of Queen Helaena’s (Phia Saban) chambermaids, and the chambermaid in question tells Alicent that Aegon sexually assaulted her. A telling and upsetting moment in the Season 2 premiere of “House of the Dragon” sees Helaena’s remaining maids grow stressed and still when Aegon enters her rooms, and for what it’s worth, Helaena is Aegon’s sister and wife. It’s also revealed, in Season 1, that Aegon loves visiting a specific kind of fighting pit in the bowels of King’s Landing where feral children with sharpened teeth and nails are forced to battle to the death.

Aegon only gets worse in Season 2, astonishingly! He’s an openly terrible leader who loves writing checks the crown can’t cash just to seem awesome and cool, and he’s horrible to his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), cruelly mocking him when he discovers Aemond seeking quiet solace in the arms of brothel madam Sylvi (Michelle Bonnard) in the season’s third episode. Joffrey is bad; there’s absolutely no disputing that at the end of the day. Aegon is, somehow, worse. Congratulations, then, to King Aegon Targaryen, second of his name, the worst boy king of Westeros there ever was, though fans will have to keep watching “House of the Dragon” to see how long or short his reign is.

“House of the Dragon” airs new episodes on Sunday nights at 9 P.M. EST on HBO and Max.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).