Ewan Mitchell has rapidly become a cult favourite in House Of The Dragon as the scar-faced, eye-patch wearing Aemond, prince of the Targaryen dynasty. As the final episode of the Game Of Thrones prequel’s second season unspooled earlier this week, in which the anger-fuelled Aemond burns down the castle Sharp’s Point on his dragon Vhagar, the expected impending war didn’t quite come to pass, leaving some viewers aghast.
NME caught up with Mitchell to hear his feelings about fan moans and where he feels season three will go next…
Where did you watch the House of the Dragon season two finale?
“I watched it yesterday on my TV. Just with a few friends.”
In the finale, the war that’s been brewing didn’t happen – what do you think about the fact that fans will have to wait another two years for the conflict?
“The wait will be worth it!”
Some fans have complained it was a slow season – what did you think?
“I think there’s moments for everyone. What I love about Aemond… it’s like he can’t sit still. He has to be moving. And he possesses such a kind of catalytic energy that whenever he’s on screen, you know something’s gonna happen. So it’s nice. And the Council Table, there’s so much conflict between these relationships that we all share around this table that I loved to dive into.”
Aemond’s become a fan favourite…
“Yeah. I’m not on social media, but the fan mail that I received is so well articulated, and it’s often badass to listen to the reaction.”
What did you think of Daemon’s prophetic Thrones-like vision in the finale?
“I haven’t seen Game Of Thrones. But I understood that the moments with the White Walkers and you had Daenerys with the three dragons… they’re callbacks, but they’re also glimpses into the future. It’s quite genius to link the two shows in that regard, through magic.”
So did you decide deliberately not to watch Game Of Thrones when you were cast? And will you watch it one day?
“Yeah, when this show finishes up, I’d love to get around to watching Game Of Thrones. It was just always a choice that I made when I landed the role. I didn’t want to watch it and have it consciously – or subconsciously – affect my choices for my character… I really wanted to draw from other worlds and areas of pop culture and different sources of inspiration.”
Have you had much contact with George R.R. Martin himself?
“No, I haven’t, but he’s definitely a man’s brain I’d like to pick for sure. I’d love to meet him and talk about all things Aemond.”
This was an eight-episode season. Would you, in some respects, liked to have seen a couple more episodes to expand the storyline?
“I just think the more House Of The Dragon the better, you know? I just love exploring Aemond and I can’t wait to explore even more so in the next season.”
So what are you anticipating for him in season three?
“They’ve always said that Targaryens are closer to Gods than men… but after episode seven with The Red Sowing, that kind of put that belief into question. The divide between the common folk and Dragonlords isn’t as big as what it was thought to be. And so it kind of puts all Targaryens… we’re just like common folk. And I think Aemond, he retaliates in such a way (that you see in episode eight) that’s quite desperate. He literally begs his sister, Helaena, to join him on dragonback to take out Daemon. Going into season three, there’s certainly a blockade that needs to be broken.”
Daemon uses the immortal phrase, “winter is coming” in the season two finale. Do you feel like season three will be an much darker?
“I think so. They say that when a Targaryen is born, they get to toss a coin. One side is greatness and the other side is madness. And we’ve got a whole family of these guys. So you could argue this is probably the craziest we’ve ever seen Westeros. And next season, they’re going to be at each other’s throats.”
‘House Of The Dragon’ season two is available to buy on digital now and pre-order on 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD