Sauron is supposed to be a villain but thanks to the bad writing, they accidentally made him the protagonist of the story.

Sauron actor displays zero menace, Aemond actor radiates it.

Aemond has one of the least screen time, yet whenever he is on screen he demands your attention...

Aemonds actor is impressive. His character is very silent throughout many scenes, and yet by just standing there he's able to make you feel uneasy, as if something terrible is about to happen, but also you somehow admire him for his composure. It's a perfect example of how the show consistently builds up the context and let the audience fill in the gaps and understand the characters motivations through their actions, all without having to spit on our faces how we're supposed to be feeling.

Aemond's actor looked so familiar. He was Osferth in The Last Kingdom. There he played a completly different character, almost polar opposite to Aemond, which shows how important casting good actors is. That's like 70% of what makes a good character on the screen.

I'm still amazed how Ewan Mitchell nailed his performance. Every time he was on screen, I couldn't look at anyone else but him, his presence demanded attention. He showed great emotion with just one eye, his face expressions, the way he walked in that slow smug way, and even small details like these "hmm" little grunts. In just 11 minutes of screen time he got me totally smitten. Needless to say, Aemond is my favourite character now.

"Who's gonna fall for that?" really says it all. The Rings of Power writers' room saw their show as a trick to play on the audience. HotD is mostly staying true to the plot outlined in Fire & Blood, so everyone who has read it knows what is going to happen, but that doesn't matter because it's a great story and seeing it performed well by a great cast is entertaining even without being shocking.

One thing I like about Aemond's character is that he was born during a long era of peace, but him and a few others in the show seem to recognize that war is coming and he's getting ready for it.

Extremely based takes on Aemond. I would add that the eye situation made him see (no pun intended), by the reaction of everyone around them (including and specially his father) that his side of the family is alone and vulnerable, and thats another reason why he focuses on improving himself. To be a defender of his family, so (for example) his mother (with whom he has a deeper bond as we saw by their physical contact and little gestures) doesn't have to feel that way again.

RIP Luke. He was indeed a strong boy.

Another great analysis. Aemond's sibling rivalry also needs to emphasised. His line that his study of history and philosophy would make him a better King than his brother is very significant ...and probably accurate.

11 minutes! And this actor have given us a very unhiged and complicated character. All of those acting out intense emotions with one eye! Looking forward to S2 with how much darker he will become.

Not sure if Halbrand is a bad actor (haven't seen him in anything else) or just had a bad script and direction. Aemond on the other hand had excellent material and direction but also had the talent to run with it and make an outstanding character.

Aemond is an "Anti-hero". He is not a villain, not a hero. He is a character who is the hero of the other side, i.e., if you watched the series from the Greens' perspective, he would have been your hero who stood up against bullies and assholes, and clearly corrupt individuals.

If you didn't know about lord of the rings... You would think by watching this show that Galadriel is the villain.

House of the Dragon's Protagonists are also its antagonists since it's a civil war with protagonists on both sides. Got to remember the terms Protagonist and Antagonist don't mean hero and villain, a hero can be an antagonist of a story like L from Death Note, and a villain can be a protagonist like Darth Bane and Darth Zannah. Now in House of the Dragon, a majority of the characters are morally grey like Aemond but it does have characters that are more clearly evil like Larys Strong or even Daemon whose actions lean to more evil though he does have a heart.

Sauron was a villain in ROP? He was selfless, respectful, courteous, a loyal ally -- seemed like a good dude imo

Sauron is *such* an amazing, badass villain in the lore, he isn’t just this suit of armour and the eye atop Barad Dur, he’s is Machiavellianism made manifest. He’s manipulative, cunning and deceitful but also incredibly wise, charismatic and intelligent. He brought down one of, if not the greatest civilisation Arda has ever seen by guile, manipulation and sheer spite. His want to dominate all life, stems from his want to bring order from chaos and create a world without chaos, disruption, confusion or conflict. If you want a great depiction of Sauron, look at Shadow Of War and Shadow Of Mordor. Those games may play rough-shod with the lore, but their depiction of Sauron is second to none so far, because despite being beautiful and fair looking in the form of Annatar, he just oozes menace and evil. You see his eyes and face and you just see malice. In ROP, as someone else pointed out, he might as well be Moses and Galadriel is the Pharoah riding in to kill all the Orcs/Slaves.

Honestly I keep forgetting this Sauron is a villain at all. He's pretty laid back, diplomatic, non threatening, etc. With no real evil traits he exhibits. If I had no knowledge of LOTR and I was watching this show, I would've thought they'd pull a twist and he'd become the hero and galadriel would become the villain at the end, to have like a "rogue hero vs overzealous paladin" thing going on. The costume doesn't help either. I get they can't dress him in all black and be menacing because he's undercover, but the outfit they did give him makes him look like a premade custom character in a game.

Great video! Aemond is my favorite character from the show and I really hope the writers don't ruin his character in the future

Aemond is one of the most based characters I’ve seen on television. I’m 30 and I fanboy over him like no other

Even this Aemond guy can pass as an elf. ROP elves are regular guys with pointy ears.

Aemond looked how I expected Sauron to look.

Aemond looks like the elf than the elves in ROP

I feel like Aemond is a complex anti-villain, and it feels right to call him one imo. Like he is set up to be an underdog character in his introduction with good traits and virtues for the circumstance he's in. TV Tropes says anti-villains have "heroic traits"; I don't necessarily think he has heroic traits, but simply admirable traits the show puts on the forefront when his younger-self is introduced. If Aemond were to be a straight up villain, I don't think the show wouldn't have framed his childhood the way they did. And I would say what parts of him put the "villain" in anti-villain are that his goals are more selfish and do not include "moral betterment", as said in the video. This comment could age like milk, depending on the show progresses.

I would prefer say Aemond as an anti-hero. He was cruel to his enemies yet he defended his family & allies. He was daring, cunning & charming. The youngest prince to ever claim the largest dragon alive. His story arc was incredibly well-written. He was the “sword” from his party, the key player in the dance of the dragons. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny he was a perfect embodiment of a dragon warrior, a legit Targaryen prince🔥

Aemond is not bad, is badass.

I think the last scene is the true Aemond, and I think it confirms that Aemond is, in fact, impulsive and allows his deep-seated resentment to guide him. It shows that he feels aggrieved and is mainly concerned with getting revenge for his eye, and that his ''fair exchange'' spiel as a kid was just a bit of wordplay to assuage the tense situation. He is still bitter and wants to get back at his nephews, which is evident in episode 8. Literally every scene he has in that episode is him intimidating them, creepily staring at them or insulting them in a roundabout way. Of course, my view of him is slightly influenced by the books, but I think it's consistent with what the show has depicted so far.

Aemond is incredibly complex, and I love his character to bits, but I feel that a lot of his issues stem from the toxic upbringing he's had and his resentment towards his sister and her spawn for his loss of an eye and the fact that Viserys did nothing to remedy the situation other than scream about his grandsons, their paternity, and rug sweep.

Excellent getup for Aemond actor he look like a person(targaryen) whose is related to fantasy magical race. He was more menacing then daemon with so little dialogues and the actor did a great job too.

Galadriel is not a too bad written villain.

Dragons choose their Dragonriders. Remember, the wand chooses the wizard. Vhagar chose Aemond.

Incredible character analysis. Even aside from the comparison, your analysis of each individual character is so spot-on and you completely encapsulate why Aemond has become on my favorite characters of all-time with just a few minutes of screentime.

What I really look forward to in hotd is Aemond one eye vs Prince Daemon. They're both their sides best Targaryen warrior and that scene in episode 8 where Aemond starts a fight only to have it end when Daemon steps in front of him is good foreshadowing for what is to come and I cannot wait!

1:43 This is the show's downfall. They never trusted the source material at all. Thinking you can write better than Tolkien is very arrogant and stupid. HoTD did change some stuff, but at best it was still a faithful adaptation of fire and blood.

Aemond got that blood elf swag. god damn.

Aemond has become one of my favorite characters EVER.... and the best is yet to come......... I also think the actor who plays Aemond is doing an amazing work.... the other one, well, he's ok I guess.

You put more thought into The Rings of Power than the writers did.

I love Aemonds depiction and how everyone is shown in the show. The writers said everyone will have flaws and good parts of themselves so it makes it hard to ally yourself with either side or a lesser evil. Rhaenyra clearly lied about her sons but defends it for her claim. Alicent was forced into duty to do terrible things but she is doing what is expected of her and what had been expected. That’s what makes a great story and makes people invested about character relationships.

Aemond to me isn’t even a villain. He’s an antagonist to Rhaenyra and her family, but if you are for the Greens then he’s one of their arsenal. He is ambitious, but he has a right and reason to be. A bit unstable, but I chalk it up to him being a Targaryen 🔥

And yet another great videi from you! Finding your channel has been quite the gift!

Your Aemond analysis resembles a reddit rant of mine, haha. I love that other people think the same way about his trauma and need for control. He is the best Antihero.

Great analysis, appreciate the focus on the quality (or lack there of) of the writing and character arcs.

Great video, Lana. I really enjoy your character breakdowns.

I have not seen Rings of Power, but I absolutely love Aemond and your analysis is spot-on!

"Who's gonna fall for that ?!" Meanwhile, Halbrand : survives an extremely intense 6 days horseride to Lindon with his guts nearly spilling out, recovers seemingly overnight, goes uninvited into the brand new ultra important forge of Celebrimbor and injects himself in the project of forging the rings. Because that surely will not raise any suspicions.

Thank you for a very good and nuanced analysis. No bashing, demeaning or scorn, but well based and explained arguments. Have tried to find those concerning TROP and therefore this was a very precious find. A bow to you and the logarithm. :)

You basically put all my thoughts into words, I love your content!

I like the calm, serious approach you went with when criticizing RoP, in contrast to the huffy, whiny and very angry sounding approach of many other KZfaqrs. Well done.

Great analysis! The crazy thing about Aemond is we already know how his character develops, and it only gets better and better from here. Definitely up there with one of my favorites from ASOIAF!

Very well captured, though it's not sauron actor's fault but somehow plot lacked that and Aemond was presented like cake

Very nice video! Definitely look forward to more videos.

Protagonist and Antagonist are not moral labels, they are narrative labels. Saying that "We dont have a protagonist in House of the Dragon since people are morally complex" is wrong. We do have a protagonist in the show: Rhaenyra. Because Rhaenyra is the person we follow throughout the story. All characters and their relationships leads down to Rhaenyra. The story in short is about Rhaenyra. Yes there are side stories but the show frames Rhaenyra as the protagonist. Your summary of Aemond as it pertains to whether he is "A villain or an antagonist" is wrong. The Protagonist of the story is not equatable with a "Hero" type of character or necessarily a "Good" or moral character. Being the protagonist simply means that character is the one we the audience follow. It is the Protagonist story. The Antagonist is not necessarily equatable with a Villain, or an evil character, because being the Antagonist just means that character is the main opposing character whose goals runs contrary to the Protagonist. Either character can be tragic or morally complex or outright evil. If we follow a bunch of criminals then they are going to be the Protagonists, and the cops will be the Antagonists. If we follow a dark story about a serial killer then he is our protagonist, and the detective interviewing victims families and trying to find out the truth is the antagonist. It's about the framing of the story, you could easily flip that scenario and have the film be about the detective trying to find a serial killer.

Wow this was a really enjoyable analysis on Aemond. By the end I had forgot that Sauron was the other half of the video.

Now THIS is a worthy video about 🐲Aemond (One-Eye) Targaryen The Kinslayer. Thank you so much you did🐲 AMAZING 👍🔥😍

Halbrand just seems like an....okay...dude. He really doesn't have much personality. He's not charming enough to seduce people into following his plans like Annatar; but he's not intimidating enough to frighten them into becoming his minions as Sauron. He's just okay. Guyladriel comes across as way more evil. XD

Really enjoyed your analysis! Great video! Subbed :)

I agree with your examination of Aemond with one exception... you say that he's "far from being a slave to his emotions and impulses", but not only do I disagree with you - I'd even say, following his his emotions and impulses is his biggest weakness: He did allow his emotions to overpower him in the episode 10 scene in Storm's End two times (first with the "give me your eye!" scene, second with actually following Lucerys), but he also got triggered by Lucerys mocking him with the pig during the "last supper" scene in episode 8, going for immediate retaliation with the "Strong boys" line, although he should know the consequences of it. After he claimed Rhaegar in episode 7, when the girls accused him of stealing the dragon, he followed his impulse and went for confrontation (like the other 4 kids) instead of trying to de-escalate the situation (to be fair, he was just a kid then).

Very well done! Your points for both characters were spot on, liked and subscribed :)

I have seen many Rings of Power videos, but as others have pointed out, they all sound so whiny. I really like your video essay. As for Aemond, he's definitely my favorite in the show. Can't wait for season 2 (and we'll have to wait :(((( )

great analysis!! I love that you point out how Aemond's drive to improve himself stems from a place of lack and how he does that with the mindset of a problem solver. it's his life experience that informs his character, rather than an addiction to power it's the suffering from being powerless that drives him (though one could argue that he later comes to love the high that having power gives him). those are some things that really make him different from Daemon who's motivations are much more privileged and entitled I also want to refer to an interview the actor did recently that sheds some more light on the character or at least how he portrays him - according to Mitchell when Aemond claimed Vhagar he felt a sense of connection to her, sensed her loneliness in a sense and saw her as a friend rather than a possession. a nice little detail especially when you consider that Rhaena in contrast saw Vhagar as a heirloom that could be passed down which is not how dragon bonds work anyways, loved your video as usual! very happy that it's gained so many views

I'm reading through the Dance of Dragons/Fire and Blood at the moment after finishing HotD, and I noticed a really fascinating change in general characterization between the book and the show that I think really plays into what you've said about it being hard to define the protagonist/villain of this show. Both mediums take pains to show that these are very morally ambiguous characters - there isn't truely a protagonist or a villain as this video and the Galadriel/Rhaenyra videos have put it, and everyone is a war criminal. But the characters in Fire and Blood come across as a lot less likeable* than in HotD, so when they commit atrocities I don't find myself all that affected by it because it feels part of the package of 'ambiguous morals and unlikeable actions'. But the show - oh the show - has really brought these people to life and made them REAL for me. It has expanded on the foundations set by the book and pulled me in, made me feel so invested in these characters - greens AND blacks - because they're so tragically human now, and watching them struggle with the consequences of their own actions, knowing the motivations that give their actions more perspective, has been incredible. All this to say, the show has made the cast as a whole more likeable (or maybe human is a better term - I HATE Otto Hightower with all my being and absolutely love watching everything he does). These characters are hard to define as protagonist and villain because they're all kind of are both, in their own way. And I think this added layer of depth is going to really make the future seasons very, VERY spicy - no spoilers for what is to come (because I don't want to take that away from people), but I am very, very interested to see how they try and handle certain plot points without devolving into stereotypical protagonist/antagonist roles. How are they going to continue making these characters loveable when they do unforgivable things? And going off this first season, I think they're going to try very hard to not end up with a good vs bad side, which is going to make it hurt all that more when your favourite war criminal does something horrifying. *Just noting I don't mean this as a bad thing - the characterization in the novel is still excellent and these are brilliant characters that I think were very intentionally written this way by GRRM.

"Who's gonna fall for that?" hearing it made me say " f*** you, moron " out loud. If Sauron was able to fool the elves in the books it was because he seemed selfless and trustworthy. When we see Elrond or Durin or Disa or Nori in the show we categorize them as "good" characters (in the sense of moral alignment) because they were crafted to appear to be a good person. As we take for granted that they are good people, a real (but bad) twist would be to reveal that those characters are in fact evil. So if you want to create "a tall, mysterious, beautiful demi-god Anatar" that doesn't raise suspicion and looks like a good character then CREATE ONE. Just use the SAME pattern that you use to create real selfless and trustworthy like Elrond, Durin etc... and THEN subvert the expectations by revealing in the end that it was a selfish traitor. Of course it wouldn't fool people who have read the books but WHY WOULD YOU TRY TO FOOL THEM THEY ALREADY KNOW THE STORY.

Spot on. rOp was a poorly done script. Pity it had potential. I like Aemond’s portrayal in the show. More fleshed out. And now we know his motivations and also his vulnerability. Good analysis 🎉 !

A funny thing happened when I was watching both these shows with my brother back to back. Aemond as easily my favourite character on the one show. The smirk, the swagger, I just loved him. On the other show we were speculating about whether or not that character would turn out to be Sauron. My brother said he must be as Sauron was supposed to be handsome, charming etc and I said he didn’t fit the bill as I didn’t find him either of those things. My bro said that was because I liked bad boys and he was pretending to be good. I argued this as I didn’t think I had a thing for bad boys. At that point in the show Sauron revealed himself and there was a little moment in the acting evil that made me 50% more attracted to the character. 😂 so it turns out I do like bad boys. Not out and out villains but the confidence, the presence that a good grey character can bring to the screen. By all means have them act as the good guy but give me intensity that there is something behind the eyes, intelligence, humour, pain... something.

The actor playing Sauron isn't very good either. Matt Smith is amazing!

It think the term “villain” is always a good term to use for characters because it gives writers the opportunity in incorporate moral dilemma’s within and throughout the characters story, and also these characters are usually the ones that have the most depth to them from a moral perspective like they know their bad but they carry on still barely the consequences of their actions. (I’m a GoT , HoTD and ASOIAF guy I don’t know much about LoTR😭)

I didn't think that halbrand's actor was bad. Halbrand was the only character i kinda liked and they turned out to be villain. Even though this galadriel is the villain herself.

Is Aemond even a villain? As far as I know none of the main players in house of the dragon are villains and no one is hero. I feel like the perspective of Aemond being villain is dependent on which “side” of house of the dragon you support, not that he’s canonically a villain

Aemond is not a villain, just an antagonist.

Based Aemond takes. I love him as a character. One thing I didn't exactly like was the fact he demanded Luke's eye when, in his younger years, he said losing the eye was a fair exchange.

The POV change to the dragon riders chase, without changing anything we already knew about the event. A change of context during the event, which deepens the lore on dragons an adds a weird element of the one eyed dude not wanting to kill his cousin, or start a war in which the realm will burn an dragons will die, on both sides.

I honestly don't see Aemond as the vill. Rhaenyra is a privileged snob who has had dozens of people maimed and killed to protect her lies in the first season alone and she wanted to do the same with Aemond

I liked Halbrand's actor. Really don't think the actor is at fault, he just had shit to work with. Aemond is simply perfectly captured. Full disclaimer: I endured RoP to be able to make and appreciate memes roasting it, little did I know, not even hardened memers could find gold in that turd pile.

How I would love to see the aemond actor to play annatar. The silver wigs, the menacing eyes, the tall height, the curled lips shape that gave him the impression of always smirking, the alluring yet unnerving aura. He's basically everything that I imagined what a second age sauron looked like, just give him pointy ears and he's all set. But oh well..... one can only be disappointed :(

One set of writers said "hey, let's fundamentally change and dumb down a character and give him no character qualities because the twist is gonna be so good." The other set of writers gave us setup and consistent payoff. Almost like writing is a skill.

this was a random youtube suggestion, nice video, I would put some background noise on it since just your voice can feel a bit dull to listen to (it's nothing to do with your voice just the lack of ambiental sounds on headphones)

I don’t think Halbrand is Sauron at all but maybe one of the human kings being manipulated with sorcery into believing they are Sauron. I think there will be a plot twist to where this whole time they all fell into the real Sauron’s hands, as everything was according to plan for him. Also I think all the scenes where he kinda loses control like the fight scene are more of his mind just breaking from having 2 personalities inside of him essentially. Or maybe a piece of Sauron’s soul is within him and maybe some other races as well. It would kinda make sense cuz he would have the essence or gain the essence of these races by being their kings. Cuz think about it, every king of one of the races in the series has been actively trying to stop the main characters from progressing within their missions in some way. So maybe Sauron’s soul is split between races and he’s using that to build his “one ring” so he can control all the races fully AS SAURON. Idk man I just don’t think Halbrand is truly/ fully Sauron and there’s something going on with his character instead

Yeeesss I love that even tho I personally love Rhaenyra, everyone is grey, complex and not 2 dimensional in HOTD

I think for a brief time halbrand didn’t want to be ‘Sauron’ anymore. He says that when Morgoth was vanquished he could feel the l light of ‘the one’ illuvatar again. He wanted to redeem himself briefly in the light of the one. But the bad writing just makes it unclear and he switches motivations so easily it’s just so jarring and confusing.

Ewan Mitchell just like Matt Smith was perfectly casted for playing badass roles in HOTD. Anybody who watched the Last Kingdom knows just how good of an actor Ewan is

And hate how they make Sauron an incel. That was so cringey.

Martin writes grey characters, that's his gift; strong characterization.

Classic show vs tell issues. Sauron is someone I am told is scary. Aemond scares me.

Halbrand is a walking charm person spell

Aemond isn't even a villain. Cunning, intelligent, driven, calculated, and ruthless; but also prone to rashness at times and, like most of the young Targaryens, incorrectly thinks of his dragon as a pet under his control. He's one of the characters that would be better suited for the Iron Throne than his siblings ahead of him in the line of succession. That's just kind of how George writes his characters: the ones you need either get killed or aren't positioned to be able to be where they need to be.

Although Aemonds actor is killing it, my god does he look a lot older than his older brother's actor.

Let's cleanse our pallets 💀💀💀

I’ve always felt like rings of power Feels like if you read it on paper as an outline for with the season was planned to be, it would sound good, but then they filmed the outline literally just the outline without actually doing any real work writing a good script, and a good story

Aemond isn't a villian, that's why he works. After taming his dragon, sure he threw some insults.. But he was attacked by 4 others, he defended himself and won the fight until he was stabbed in the face.. Even in the last scene, you see the look in his face.. His intention wasn't to kill his nephew, he was just being a dickhead.. plus he's still sour that he lost his damn eye 6 years ago. A good "Villian" is someone who you can empathize with and see their points of view.. In GoT, Ramsey and Joffery work so well because the rest of the villians have empathy, so you're kind of forced to have some classic unredeamable villains.. Just to make them different.. But a universe without that, the villians are boring.

What i expected: inner struggle of a character that actually wanted to make the world a better place, thinking the gods had abandoned middle earth and initialy wanting atone for his past sins and his Masters dark deeds, just to slowly be corrupted by his own power after realising how easy was for him to influence any creature, to later turn into the biggest manipulator doing some Game of Thrones tier of scheeming and ploting, one of the greatest evil geniuses that medieval fantasy ever saw.... What we got: "please notice me Galadriel, being bad gives me amxiety"

There needs to be an award or an Oscar category for casting director. HoTD deserves that. RoP does not.

“…this speaks more of Galadriel’s stupidity…” 😂😂😂 The TV show in a nutshell.

if only more shows took the effort of creating characters like Aemond instead of NPC plot moving devices

We need this Sauron to be likable because we could not roof for anyone else in this show! Even the sea said Galadriel is evil!

Worst thing is, the writing in RoP is so bad, Sauron seems like one of the least evil characters

The show doesn’t understand Sauron on philosophic level. It thinks he’s just Morgoth 2.0. Morgoth is like a child breaking toys when it’s father refused to buy it more. Morgoth is basically Lucifer/Devil. Sauron sees Godhood as role, a role that he could do better than Eru Illuvatar. He is extreme of the ends justify the means and that all progress is good progress. It’s why his orcs are constantly industrializing Mordor. It’s why his goal is dominating, and not really destruction.

A character can only be as smart and interesting as the person writing them

But Rheanyra is absolutely the protagonist in is House of the Dragon. A protagonist/antagonist doesn’t mean a hero or villain but they mean the main character and the foil to the main character.

About Rings....why waste your time analyzing something which dissolves in nonsense the moment you think about it? Never watched anything so insulting to the viewer's intelligence. Such shows often rely on the fact that consumers of visual media will put up with a lot more nonsense than readers of a book, but for the love of Tolkien there has to be a limit! (Neither space nor time nor the lethal power of pyroclastic flows exist!) Still, good job pointing out some of the billion plus problems