Did Aemond really kill Aegon in House of the Dragon and how does he die in the books?

I’m sure this will only improve their brotherly bond…


Phew, the most recent House of the Dragon episode was absolutely insane, and there’s a chance we could have witnessed Aemond *accidentally* killing Aegon. Just to catch you up to speed, Ser Criston Cole and Aemond planned the battle of Rook’s Rest with poor Aegon being completely left out of the group chat with no idea what was going on. Once he catches wind of their plan, he decides to join the battle himself and almost ends up ruining everything.

Aegon gets into some trouble with Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys, but thinks his brother Aemond has come to save him. But as this is House of the Dragon, that’s obviously not the case and Aemond orders Vhagar to burn both Sunfyre and Meleys, leaving Aegon to plummet to the ground in a fiery ball. Something tells me very hot fire plus a tight suit of armour is a great combo for getting some horrific burns. And whilst it’s confirmed that Aemond killed Rhaenys and Meleys, did he also kill Aegon, and how does he originally die in the House of the Dragon books?

Via HBO

When Aegon was burned by Aemond’s dragon he would have started burning very badly inside his armour, and the promo trailer for the next episode very conveniently doesn’t show him at all. When Ser Criston Cole goes to check on where Aegon crashed, Aemond is already there with his blade out and it looks like he’s about to finish his brother off anyway. Either way, the relationship between the two brothers doesn’t look like it will have improved much.

Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond also kept tight-lipped on the fate of his on-screen brother, explaining: “It’s a seismic event that’s changed the future going forward with these characters. Aegon’s fate remains unknown. I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. But going into episode five, you are going to see the fallout of Rook’s Rest, which I can’t wait for people to see. It’s a massive blow for Team Black. The line in the sand has been drawn and Aemond just crossed that line. And there’s no going back. I’m sure there will be retaliation.”

If the show does decide to kill Aegon now, it will be a massive departure from the books where he dies after being poisoned at age 24. After a coup starts in Kings Landing, Aegon is discovered dead in his carriage with “blood on his lips.” Whilst the assassin is never caught it’s generally believed that it was “done at the behest of Larys Strong.” It looks like we’ll have to wait until the next episode to find out whether Aegon is still alive or not.