On Reddit, there is a discussion in the Freefolknews community (my favorite) about future Targaryens that we will “care for”. Actually, that “we will be interested in”. Among them, of course, was Aerion Targaryen who will be played by Finn Bennet in the series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The reaction was immediate.

“Care” and “Aerion” in the same sentence is a bridge too far for me lol”, replied u/DaenerysTSherman.

“Yes, exactly 😂 this man has no redeeming qualities”, agreed u/carterwest36 who added “I doubt Aerion is very well taken care of 😂”, playing on the English “care” misused in the post, clearly. LOL

Any surprises from this reaction? Just for those who haven’t prepared for our great antagonist of the 1st season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

“Hot-tempered” and cruel, Aerion sees himself as a dragon

Often referred to as Aerion Brightflame, the hot-tempered Targaryen is a character in the series A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin, a member of House Targaryen, which rules the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

Born Aerion Targaryen, he was the second son of Maekar I Targaryen (Sam Spruell) and known for his cruelty and arrogance, so much so that he earned his nickname “Brightflame” precisely due to his impetuous temperament. To make matters worse, his harsh and often sadistic nature made him widely hated, as we can see from the reaction of those who read the books.

Very handsome, very vain, and about the same age as Dunk (Peter Clafey), Prince Aerion was strong but not as strong as Duncan. His costumes are among the most striking in the Targaryen saga, with designs considered “flashy” that included “a black cloak trimmed in scarlet satin or garments as resplendent as flame, all red, yellow, and gold, or a resplendent red velvet doublet with long, hanging sleeves. I can’t wait to see this translated to the screen. Especially since he uses these clothes to great effect when he is in combat, with “a surcoat of mixed colors of smoke and fire woven beneath black armor, with a blackened helmet topped with a spike of enameled red flames,” as well as a “shield that bears his personal emblem: the three-headed dragon of House Targaryen” with heads colored in orange, yellow, and red, “and the flames that blew out had a sheen of gold leaf.” I believe he must have been the most vain before Viserys III!

In fact, if we want to make a simplistic drawing, Aerion is a Viserys III from Game of Thrones mixed with Aemond from House of the Dragon: a capricious madman who is also a powerful knight. To make matters worse, he practices the Black Arts seeking to restore the Dragons that were extinct during the years of his great-grandmother, Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Disingenuous and dangerous

What makes Aerion a man to be (very) feared is the cruelty associated with his insanity. He is sure that he is a dragon in human form, which makes him an unstable and unpredictable person. And disingenuous too, because he only reveals his true nature when he is out of his father’s reach.

Aerion cannot dream of the Iron Throne because his father is the second son and the successor is his uncle, Baelor (Bertie Carvel). In addition, Aerion also has an older brother, Daeron (Henry Ashton), whose nickname explains it all: “Daeron the Drunkard”. Thus, his purpose becomes to dream of dragons and jousting. A complex equation for a fragile mind.

Aerion’s mental imbalance was easy to notice, at least by his younger brother, Aegon (Egg) (Dexter Sol Ansell), especially because his pet cat was thrown into a well by Aerion and his brother used to invade his room at night to threaten him with a knife in his private parts, saying that he wanted to make him a woman so he could marry him. Her. We feel the drama…

But, to everyone’s surprise, Maekar trusted Aerion more because Daeron was a failure in everything except drinking. All because Aerion’s deceit knew no bounds: in front of his father he was a knight and polite to everyone, just as monstrous when he was away from his father.

Indirectly, Aerion changes the destiny of Westeros and his family, bringing pain and surprises.

A coward in all situations

There was a competition between Maekar and Baelor, reflected in his sons, and when the Ashford tournament took place, the princes decided to participate in the jousts, where Aerion would certainly stand out. He arrived accompanied by two members of the Kingsguard, Ser Donnel of Duskendale and Ser Roland Crakehall, and immediately mistook Dunk for a stable boy, creating a bad feeling. Even when he knew his mistake, he remained arrogant and superior, establishing a rivalry between them.

To participate in the tournament, Dunk asked Lord Ashford for permission, and there he found the Hand of the King, Baelor, trying to calm him down. r Maekar, who is hallucinating about the disappearance of two of his sons: Aegon and Daeron. With that, only Aerion could participate in the tournament, reducing Maekar’s chance of feeling powerful.

Aerion stands out, of course, but he is arrogant and negligent with everyone. He is disqualified for ignoring the rules of combat and does not accept his defeat or being labeled a coward. Frustrated, he takes out his fury by unjustly accusing a Dornish puppeteer named Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) of treason against the crown. His argument was that she was insolent in representing the death of a dragon in her performance. Aerion tortures Tanselle in the public square, breaking her fingers for using the puppets.

Duncan does not accept to remain silent in the face of injustice and attacks the Prince with a punch, knocking him to the ground and kicking him in the stomach. Even when Aerion tries to fight back with a dagger, Dunk wins. Living up to the cowardice he so denies, Aerion has his men restrain the knight from pulling out his teeth in retribution for those he lost in the fight, but Egg (Dunk’s squire) saves him, revealing his true identity as Aegon.

Still, for having attacked a member of the Royal Family, Dunk is arrested, and the trial is decided by Aerion. Baelor convinces Duncan to ask for a Trial by Combat, but even tempted, Aerion does not fall into his uncle’s trap and chooses a Trial by Seven. Of course, it is because he has a double interest here: he believes that Dunk would not get six supporters in Ashford, so he would be condemned to death without a chance to fight.

Maekar, who is deluded by Aerion’s ‘courage’, finds this ruse clearly based on fear of losing strange, but supports him, reducing (as planned) the number of supporters for Dunk, since the dragon prince convinces Ser Steffon Fossoway to change sides as well. With five supporters, Dunk publicly begs the lords and knights present for support, provoking Aerion’s scornful laughter, who did not anticipate that Baelor would side with “a nobody.” In the end, in addition to Baelor, Dunk has the support of Ser Robyn Rhysling, Ser Humfrey Hardyng, Ser Lyonel Baratheon, Ser Humfrey Beesbury, and Ser Raymun Fossoway, against Prince Aerion’s supporters, who were Ser Steffon Fossoway, Ser Roland Crakehall, Ser Donnel of Duskendale, Ser Willem Wylde, Prince Daeron Targaryen, and Prince Maekar Targaryen.

The unexpected that changes the successor to the Throne

With this, it is seven against seven and the joust involves everyone fighting simultaneously. The clash is violent and when Dunk manages to overpower Aerion, he whispers that he surrenders, but he needs to make a statement for everyone to hear and he still resists and tries to deceive Dunk. Maekar still tries to help his son, but Baelor and Lyonel Baratheon stop him. In the confrontation between the three, Maekar unpredictably strikes a fatal blow to Baelor.

Dunk manages to force Aerion to drop the accusation of treason, but with Baelor’s death, everything changes in Westeros. Maekar becomes the successor and, full of guilt for having killed his brother, offers Dunk a position at Summerhall, as well as Egg as his squire. The knight refuses the position but accepts Egg because he wants to travel the Seven Kingdoms with the prince so that he can not only get to know the territory but the common people as well. Reluctantly, Maekar accepts. Aerion is exiled to Lys, where he stays for a few years and serves the Second Sons. He only returns to King’s Landing to fight in the Third Blackfyre Rebellion, where he helps his family to victory. But the madness never leaves Aerion.

A fatal and literal sip of Wildfire

Married to his cousin, Princess Daenora, Aerion baptizes his son Maegor, precisely the name of one of the most sinister and controversial Targaryens to date. But he does not see his son grow up.

One of the most notable aspects of Aerion’s story is his tragic and (why not?) ironic end. Because he still maintained the belief that he was “a dragon in human form”, Aerion decides to prove this fact by drinking a vial of Wildfire, thinking that this would transform him into a dragon, literally. Instead, he died horribly and painfully, screaming in pain and highlighting the tragic madness of his delusions.

But let’s agree that the fixation on bringing dragons back was not exclusive to Aerion, right? Egg himself, now King Aegon V, spent the last years of his life studying how to bring dragons to life, hatching eggs, and causing the tragedy of Summerhall, where he, his relatives, and Duncan were burned to death (sung in the song Jenny Oldstone).

An antagonist who has everything to stand out

Aerion’s death had significant implications for the Targaryen lineage and succession.

Without him or Daeron (also dead), the Crown could have gone to Aemon, but he preferred to remain at the Wall as Maester, placing Egg on the Iron Throne unopposed. In this way, Westeros was spared from yet another mad King with a Nero complex.

In the history of antagonists, Aerion has everything to enter the top of the unforgettable, especially with an actor as talented as Finn Bennet. So far we haven’t seen his image, but given this summary, there is little doubt that he will steal the spotlight for himself. And shine like a dragon.

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