At the end of season 2 of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, Master of Whisperers Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) secretly flees King’s Landing with the grievously injured King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). Larys stole most of the kingdom’s gold and his plan is to wait out the Targaryen civil war in Essos and return with Aegon once Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Aegon’s ruthless younger brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) have sufficiently weakened each other. But in season 3, that plan is not going great.
[Ed. note: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 4.]
“[Larys] feels he’s got Aegon in the palm of his hand, and events transpire, and he realizes he doesn’t have any control,” Needham told Polygon in a virtual interview. “Aegon is such a livewire, such a loose cannon. [Larys] realizes he’s bitten off way more than he can chew.”
In episode 1, “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood,” the pair escaped in the back of a rookery carriage only to have it intercepted by guards loyal to Rhaenyra. Larys’ attempt to pose as a maester was foiled when Aegon refused to swear loyalty to Rhaenyra.
“There’s this steely determination in Aegon that is born from a place of ego and entitlement and self-sabotage and pride — all these things that make him quite a complex, unpredictable bomb of a character,” Glynn-Carney told Polygon.
Larys had to reveal their true identities so they’d be taken hostage instead of being executed as Aegon loyalists.
“Larys probably sees himself as a shelter, bulletproof glass to go in front of Aegon to go ‘Follow me, copy me, and we’ll survive,’” Needham said. “He’s more experienced in terms of hiding, and I think he feels he could protect Aegon. He doesn’t really have a choice.”
It’s very hard for Aegon to follow anyone else’s lead, even though Larys’ plan pays off, giving them a chance to escape when the guards are attacked by raiding Triarchy forces.
“He’s been a bit of a lone wolf, causing chaos in his own spare time and being in a position where he’s got all the people around him giving him everything, serving him, and treating him like the king, only to have that pulled away and be stuck in the back of a rookery with loads of raven shit everywhere and Larys Strong next to him,” Glynn-Carney said. “He’s like ‘This man has more of a plan than I do,’ so I’m just going to hand myself over to him because what’s my other option? Stay in the Red Keep and be killed by my own brother or someone else?”
Aegon insists on going to Rook’s Rest to rendezvous with the forces led by his Hand of the King Christian Cole (Fabien Frankel). They receive a truly terrible welcome there in episode 4, which premiered on July 12. While Larys again has to talk his way out of getting killed, Aegon breaks down in tears holding his fallen dragon, Sunfyre. Aegon and Sunfyre crashed to the ground, burned, after Aemond tried to kill them with his extremely powerful dragon, Vhagar. Glynn-Carney said the prosthetics and makeup he’s been wearing to simulate the dragonfire burns have changed his approach to playing his character.
“It serves as a constant reminder of his injuries and his discomfort,” Glynn-Carney said. “I’m not in pain when I’m in the prosthetics. It’s uncomfortable, overstimulating, and anxiety-inducing, but it’s great. You let those feelings bleed into the scenes and how the character feels, and it informs the way that I move and the way that I speak.”
Things get even worse when Aegon and Larys actually get to Rook’s Rest and find the garrison in disarray. Aegon is forced to earn shelter by cleaning latrines and winds up having to beg for his life by kissing the garrison leader’s filthy shoes. While the situations they’re in are serious, Aegon and Larys’ odd-couple bickering can provide laughs in an otherwise serious show.
“It’s inherently funny to see two people not have a plan and be panicking about their future, how much danger they’re in and how high the stakes are, and to see people at rock bottom,” Glynn-Carney said. “Poor guys.”
Larys is still desperately trying to get Aegon to stick to the plan and flee Westeros, even though their journey has been a disaster so far.
“Larys has created a story in his head in which we come back when people are sick of all these people in charge with a few little stories about how ‘Wouldn’t it be better if there was someone else?’” Needham said. “He’s got it all mapped up. The trouble is he can’t get on a boat. They just need to catch a break.”
House of the Dragon season 3 episode 4 airs at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, July 12 on HBO.
