Ewan Mitchell plays the adult version of Aemond Targaryen, the second son of Alicent Hightower and Viserys Targaryen in the HBO series’ House of the Dragon.’ Aemond is a dragon rider, bonded with Vhagar, the world’s largest and oldest dragon.
It is evident in the show that Aemond is a supporter of Daemon Targaryen, starred by Matt Smith. George R. R. Martin intentionally designed the two characters as reflections of each other, even in their names. Both characters are aware of this fact within the fictional world, which becomes apparent in episode 8, ‘The Lord of the Tides.’
After Daemon intervenes to prevent a potential conflict between the green and black factions during a family dinner, a charged look is exchanged between him and Aemond. Mitchell, who plays Aemond’s character in the show, keenly noticed this significant moment. While talking about the relationship between Daemon and Aemond in a March interview with The Face, Ewan said:
“I did something on ‘Dragon’ that was the first choice I made on my first day. I said to Ryan [Condal, one of the showrunners]: ‘I’ve got this idea of avoiding Matt Smith and [even] avoiding eye contact. There’s this moment in episode eight where we have this intense stare-down.”
The actor added:
“I thought there was something in experimenting and saving that moment for then. Aemond idolizes Daemon, and this is the first time that he makes any sort of contact with him.”
According to The Face magazine, Ryan Condal and Matt Smith fully supported the idea. Mitchell and Smith didn’t even have lunch together until the crucial part in episode eight’s dinner scene. This first meeting between the uncle and nephew is crucial for both of them. They see similarities between themselves and ponder their past and future, considering the power dynamics at play.