Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 7.
The Big Picture
- Aemond Targaryen has emerged as a formidable foe in
House of the Dragon
Season 2, ruthlessly securing power through dubious means. - In Season 2, Episode 6, Aemond threatens Aegon by leaving him with a stone from the small council, which symbolizes Aegon’s vulnerability and Aemond’s dominance.
- Aemond’s patient cunning has put him one step closer to the Iron Throne, but he has many growing enemies to face.
After prowling in the shadows for one season, Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) has emerged as a force to be reckoned with. House of the Dragon Season 2 positions the overlooked, relentlessly bullied, and vengeful younger brother of King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) as a formidable foe for Team Black and Aemond’s direct family. The cunning youth has gone from regretting the undeniable part he played in Lucerys Velaryon’s (Elliot Grihault) death-by-dragon to murdering his cousin, Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), with smug satisfaction. As for that incident where he immolated Aegon with dragon fire, there’s some wiggle room about whether he tried to commit impulsive fratricide. Still, it isn’t the most convincingly altruistic look.
Regardless, Aemond’s actions during the battle of Rook’s Rest secured him the coveted title of Prince Regent; he rules over the Seven Kingdoms while a bedridden Aegon endures his long, laborious recovery. Right now, few people know that Aemond almost burned the king of Westeros to death. Aegon, of course, happens to be one of them – and Aemond doesn’t want that damning information going public. Aemond addresses this problem by visiting Aegon in Season 2, Episode 6. The scene between the estranged brothers is rife with subtext so clear, it barely counts as implied, but there are layers of meaning behind the “gift” Aemond leaves in Aegon’s care: a round stone from the small council.
House of the Dragon
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
- Release Date
- August 21, 2022
- Creator
- Ryan J. Condal, George R.R. Martin
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 4
- Distributor
- HBO
Aemond Leaves Aegon With the King’s Small Council Stone in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 6
All things considered, it seems like almost becoming a kinslayer twice over, killing Queen Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) best warrior, and assuming the role of Regent are all in a day’s work for this new version of Aemond. Maybe “new” isn’t the appropriate word; Aemond’s true self has stepped into the limelight. After the bloody horrors enacted at Rook’s Rest, Aegon is too wounded to laud his authority over Aemond. The small council obeys Aemond’s will. He no longer needs to show deference.
Once Aegon regains consciousness, Aemond prompts Aegon’s memory about Rook’s Rest. Aegon barely forces out a strangled “I remember nothing.” Since Aegon reacts to Aemond’s appearance with panicked terror, there’s no ambiguity about his statement being true. As for Aemond, if his brother starts telling people that Aemond dracarys‘d him, not only will Aemond lose his newfound power and the assured security that comes with it, he could be punished for treason.
So, Aemond implicitly threatens Aegon’s life by psychologically terrorizing the king, who’s immobile in his bed and trembling with fear. Aemond digs one of the small council’s heavy stones deep into Aegon’s open (and freshly oozing) wounds for good measure — essentially torturing his brother to underscore his point. After all that, Aemond’s parting shot is leaving the stone in Aegon’s hands. The scene holds, letting Aegon examine the ball in breathless silence before cutting away.
What Do ‘House of the Dragon’s Small Council Stones Mean?
Showrunner Ryan Condol told the Hollywood Reporter in 2022 that each member of the small council has an individual stone ball, designated by color and kept in a large bowl in the center of the table when the council’s adjourned. When a person places their respective stone in a dish in front of their seat, it represents them “punching into” work like a time card. There are seven balls for each council member, and seven happens to be one of A Song of Ice and Fire series creator George R. R. Martin‘s favorite numbers: the faith of the Seven, the Seven-Pointed Star, the old gods and their seven faces, and the very Seven Kingdoms over which Aegon and Rhaenyra are warring.
In the second season’s fifth episode, once the small council makes Aemond regent, Aemond plucks the king’s stone out of the center bowl. He sits at the head of the table and sets the stone down in its proper place. Aemond is officially “punching into” his new role and emphasizing his authority to the small council with a routine, yet potent, gesture. One episode later, Aemond giving Aegon the king’s stone rubs salt into Aegon’s emotional wounds. The act reminds Aegon of his incapacitated state and the consequences of directing his flippant cruelty toward Aemond for years. Aemond, the spare heir, has all but usurped his brother’s throne — possibly with murderous intent — and doesn’t seem inclined to surrender his hard-won claim.
Aemond Silently Threatens Aegon With the Stone
Aemond’s gesture doubles as another unspoken threat. Aegon has the crown, but barely. He’s physically defenseless, and when it comes to Aemond’s patient scheming, politically helpless. The tables have turned on the untouchable king. These undertones translate into Aemond’s ever-watchful menace. Ewan Mitchell was inspired by the philosophy behind Robert De Niro‘s character in Heat, and told the official House of the Dragon podcast that he styles his posture, stillness, and controlled movement after 1970s slasher horror icons — specifically Halloween‘s Michael Myers. Aemond’s laconic tendencies might be slow and steady, but as Halloween evinces, the slow and steady ones always catch up to their victims.
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The way Aemond conducts himself speaks both to his weaponized cunning and the power contained in his battle-regimented body, and where the two meet. He silently waits for the small council to name him regent; he knows it’s inevitable. Later, he discusses war tactics while roaming the room and lingering behind seated members — looming, even, enough to make the person uneasy. He sports Aegon’s catspaw dagger and pairs it with a self-righteous half-smile that’s as instinctive as breathing. Aemond employs these tactics when Aegon is incapacitated in his bed: Aemond invades his space, folds both hands over the stone as he drives the weight into Aegon’s burns, and lightly kisses Aegon’s forehead. Mitchell’s carriage is all he needs to be chilling and inscrutable, and Aemond’s message doesn’t need dialogue.
The Ball Is in Aegon’s Court for ‘House of the Dragon’s Season 2 Finale
Aegon’s small council stone also represents his recent loss. His doomed heir, Jaehaerys, plays with Tyland Lannister’s (Jefferson Hall) stone during the Season 2 premiere. The toddler’s antics charm Aegon, showing that even a neglectful father would rather interact with his son than listen to the small council’s blabbering. Jaehaerys is too young to understand the meeting, but Aegon pointedly includes his son. He plans to prepare Jaehaerys for his inheritance, something Aegon’s father, Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), never did. The four children Viserys had with Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) were born out of obligation, not love; Viserys didn’t train Aegon for court. Whether Aemond means to reawaken Aegon’s grief over Jaehaerys or not, the murdered boy turned a small council object into a toy. The two are forever linked.
Finally, the stone could literally translate to “the ball’s in your court.” Mitchell referenced this sentiment in Episode 6’s accompanying podcast: without saying anything that could be taken out of context, Aemond lays down the law. Whatever happens next is Aegon’s choice, and the cost on Aegon’s head. However, the tide of both wars — the Blacks versus the Greens, and Aegon versus his family — has turned. The smallfolk of King’s Landing are rioting. Rhaenyra’s fresh crop of dragon riders frightens even Aemond, the boy who bonded with the mighty Vhagar. Aegon has gained a valuable ally in Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), the notorious Master of Whisperers. And there’s always Aemond’s favorite role model/nemesis, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), who has finally amassed an army in the Riverlands. Aemond might cling to power for a while yet. His reign could also crumble — no matter how much torment he inflicts through a symbolic stone ball.
New episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.
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