Is Aegon Really Abdicating The Throne In House Of The Dragon Season 3?
But that's not how it happened in the book
The first trailer of House Of The Dragon Season 3 just dropped, and we're left with more questions than answers. One thing, it does seem like we're finally getting The Battle of The Gullet that we were supposed to get in season 2. We also get a look at what Aegon looks like after the fire. But hold your horses, there are details in the trailer that don't quite add up.
Where were we again?
By the time season three finally hits screens, it will have been a full two years since season two. That’s a long gap in between two seasons, especially with another GOT spinoff thrown in. If anything, we're still reeling from Monday’s trial of seven in A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms. It does help that the trailer jogs our memory about where things last stood in season 2.
We return to the aftermath of the season two finale: Alicent is back at King’s Landing, freshly returned from her covert visit to Dragonstone. Aemond, now a regent after Aegon’s injury at rook’s rest, greets her from the Iron Throne. He knows his mother has made a move against him, but he doesn't know the details.
Alicent has struck a bargain with Rhaenyra: the gates of the Red Keep would be opened, the path cleared for Rhaenyra to reclaim the Throne. In exchange, Alicent and her children would be allowed to leave unharmed. But will the deal be seen through? We'll know in June when the show comes out.
Aemond’s announcement
Now, if you've read the book, one detail would immediately stand out: Aemond announcing that his brother Aegon has abdicated the throne. That never happened in Fire and Blood, by the way.
When Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre are burned by Aemond's Vhagar in the battle with Rhaenys at Rook’s Rest, the Small Council gathers to decide who should serve as regent. Alicent puts herself forward, pointing to the period when she effectively governed while King Viserys was in decline. The council shuts that down because she is a woman, and instead appoints Aemond.
That development tracks with the book. George R. R. Martin writes: “‘You must rule the realm now, until your brother is strong enough to take the crown again,’ the King’s Hand told Prince Aemond. Nor did Ser Criston need to say it twice, writes Eustace. And so one-eyed Aemond the Kinslayer took up the iron-and-ruby crown of Aegon the Conqueror. ‘It looks better on me than it ever did on him,’ the prince proclaimed.”
Aegon in the meanwhile, is said to be so badly injured that he would be bedridden for a whole year. In this period, Aemond would continue leading the Blacks till his death in the Battle Above the God's Eye. With Rhaenyra on her way to capture King’s Landing, Larys Strong would secretly smuggle Aegon and his children to Dragonstone, where he would convince some of the Blacks to deflect and help him organise a coup to take over Dragonstone.
In the trailer however, we already see Larys and Aegon make their way out, except Aemond is alive, and he announces Aegon’s abdication. Which means Aemond would be the king by default.
So what happened here? We know Aemond always had ambitions of sitting on the Iron Throne as king. We also know that HBO is slated to cancel the show after season 4, but The Dance Of The Dragons is not even half done yet.
Was Aemond’s announcement just an editing detail to add intrigue? Or will the new season take a new direction to keep up, now that A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms has proved to be a more profitable venture for the studio?
Only time will tell.