You can see why people talk about Harrenhal being cursed.
Not only is the place a spooky, ruined husk of a castle, but it’s now been invaded by both Team Black and Team Green since the Dance of the Dragons began.
Daemon (Matt Smith) conquered it back in House of the Dragon Season 2, and now Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has done the same thing. But what do their very comparable, but also very different, conquests of the castle reveal about them? Actually, quite a lot.
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What happens in Harrenhal in Season 3, episode 2?
Fresh from kissing his own mother (heave), Aemond flies in to Harrenhal on the back of Vhagar and immediately starts burning soldiers. He dismounts, kills a few more people, then bursts in on poor old Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) and his children eating supper.
“Draw your sword,” hisses Aemond.
“Your grace, I have no sword,” responds sweet Ser Simon.
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“Then get one!” says Aemond.
Ser Simon, now in peak charm offensive mode, gets up from the table and slowly walks towards Aemond, telling him he does not wish to oppose him. But the minute he’s face-to-face with Team Green’s drama king, he gets a dagger in the belly.
Aemond then kills both of Ser Simon’s sons, but not before he gets a knife in the back himself.
What does this second Harrenhal invasion tell us about Aemond?
The scene in episode 2 has multiple similarities to Daemon’s invasion of Harrenhal back in Season 2, episode 3. Like Aemond, Daemon also flies in on his dragon and faces minimal opposition (even less, in fact — there’s just one guard who he quickly knocks out cold before reaching the dining hall).
The difference? When Ser Simon Strong immediately surrenders, Daemon doesn’t needlessly slaughter him. He accepts his offer and stays in the castle.
Credit: Ollie Upton / HBO
Aemond and Daemon are both undoubtedly fierce warriors. But their parallel Harrenhal sieges show a key weakness in Aemond’s character: Either because of a deep mistrust of people, a ruthlessness, or some combination of the two, Aemond makes a mistake in killing Ser Simon. In return for his restraint, Daemon gets supper, while Aemond’s aggression only gets him gravely injured.
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