Aemond Targaryen is reverting to a familiar, dangerous state in House of the Dragon season 3.
With the timeline for House of the Dragon spanning approximately 20 years so far, one character who has seen the most notable transformation throughout the time jumps is Ewan Mitchell's Aemond Targaryen. Beginning the series as a bullied, sensitive prince with deep insecurities as King Viserys' only child without a dragon, Aemond transformed into an outwardly confident, ruthless, vengeful, and prideful man after bonding with Vhagar, the largest and most powerful dragon in the realm. However, after Rhaenyra's army gained three incredibly powerful dragons in season 2, Aemond no longer holds the same power and superiority in season 3.
In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley, Ewan Mitchell discussed the "clarity" and "desperation" that will drive Aemond Targaryen going into House of the Dragon season 3. The returning House of the Dragon cast member explained how the dragonseeds have changed Aemond's position and strategy as he seeks to regain and increase his power and strength, with such desperation taking him to places "audiences haven't seen him go yet" in the upcoming episodes:
Ewan Mitchell: "Definitely a lot of clarity and also a lot of desperation. After the raising of the dragonseeds, Aemond is on the back foot. He knows that he can't match these guys on dragonback. And so he's going in with this mindset of actually, "Okay, I've got to strategically move forward with this in a different way." And also being desperate, he's also prepared to go to places that maybe the audience haven't seen him go to yet. And as an actor, it's just a gift being able to explore these new avenues for a character."
The dragonseeds bonding with Seasmoke, Silverwing, and Vermithor has been the greatest undermining of Aemond's strength and power since before he claimed Vhagar. Before the dragonseeds' trio was tamed again, Aemond had significantly greater confidence in himself and Vhagar to take on the smaller, younger dragons of Team Black, but witnessing the strength of these opposing dragons resurfaced old feelings of inferiority that will only make him more dangerous and impulsive throughout season 3.
As such, that newer push to reassert his superiority will harken back closer to Leo Ashton's young Aemond before House of the Dragon season 1, episode 8's time jump, as well as the character's first true showing of strength and power on Vhagar when chasing down Lucerys in the season 1 finale, culminating in the latter's tragic death. Aemond's desperation to prove himself as superior often comes with tragic recklessness, and his season 3 story will push him to new harmful lengths as the stakes and scale of the war increase.
The trailers for House of the Dragon season 3 have already teased Aemond leaving King's Landing for Harrenhal, a location that will certainly inspire him in his effort to "strategically move forward... in a new way." While desperation is a state audiences have seen Aemond in before, this new location and a different set of characters around him are gearing up to unlock a different side of him, perhaps similar to caliber of Daemon's transformation that took place at Harrenhal throughout season 2.
HBO's House of the Dragon season 3 will consist of eight total episodes, picking up the momentum ahead of the already-confirmed season 4, which showrunner Ryan Condal has stated will be the series' last outing. The returning cast and exact episode count for season 4 have yet to be announced, but HBO has slated the Game of Thrones prequel's fourth installment for a 2028 release window.
House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, followed by new episodes releasing weekly.
