Game of Thrones’ hit new spinoff series House of the Dragon just dropped its third episode this morning and gave us a tiny glimpse of the person who will — eventually — become the series’ biggest villain.

As the plot thickens around Princess Rhaenyra’s path to the Iron Throne, Episode 3 gives us a glimpse of her major contender for the crown of Westeros — a two-year-old toddler by the name of Aegon II Targaryen.

Born to King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his daughter’s ex-bestie Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), the series speeds up time between the pair’s marriage announcement in Episode 2 and Episode 3 — where Alicent is pregnant with her second child as the couple celebrates young Aegon’s second ‘name day’ (basically the kid’s second birthday).

Cute, isn’t he? 

Well, every Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton starts off as a cute kid — so what’s in store for Aegon II, and why are fans already hating his guts?

Aegon II’s Dark Legacy

To be fair, Episode 3 does a good job of ramping things up between Aegon II and his half-sister Rhaenyra. While Rhaenyra is the named heir to the Seven Kingdoms, it seems clear that everyone from newcomer Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall) to Aegon’s grandfather Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) expects the young prince to take over the reins of power.

Naturally, the young prince will be raised in this environment — and guess what comes next? Civil war, of course — which forms the core of the Blood and Fire novel from George R.R. Martin, off which this series is based.

Following the series’ already rapid succession of time jumps, the two-year-old will eventually become a young man, played by British Dunkirk-starrer Tom Glynn-Carney, who is likely to join the series’ cast soon.

The 27-year-old talent will have the honor of playing one of the most ruthless Targaryens in history — an unlikeable, lazy teenager with a penchant for alcohol (observed somewhat in his father’s scenes during Episode 3), sexual promiscuity and fits of anger, all stoked by Westeros’ various political factions.

Joffrey, as most of us know, didn’t last too long — having been subtly dispatched by Lady Olenna Tyrell at the age of 19. Aegon II’s legacy, however, would be much longer and darker, plunging Westeros into the Dance of the Dragons — a bloody two-year war that resulted in the deaths of both himself and our protagonist, Rhaenyra.

With some fans already aware of the fate ahead of Aegon, some pretty dark humor arose on Twitter in response, with almost everyone unanimously tearing the character apart:

In an odd twist, the common meme of tossing baby Aegon into a bonfire has some basis in his upcoming arc. Despite his own kingly ambitions, he finds himself scarred, stunted, burned and maimed by the end of the war — suffering greatly as a direct result of his father Viserys’ position as a somewhat weak, pliable ruler. 

Personally, I can’t wait to see Aegon II turn Westeros into a dragon-scorched battleground, as the series promises some serious twists and turns with the upcoming Dance of the Dragons storyline. The series has already deviated a bit at least when it comes to dialogue — so it’s likely that the producers will play their own spin on events. (Hopefully, we won’t see another GoT Season 8.)

House of the Dragon’s next episode releases on Monday the 12^th, at 6:30 a.m. on Hotstar.

Lead Image: HBO