Aegon II agrees with Ned Stark: The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword (club)

In Episode 2 of House of the Dragon Season 2, Aegon II takes revenge for the brutal murder of his son by Blood and Cheese in Episode 1. His response to the incident shows that he agrees with the North’s way of justice: the one who passes the sentence should swing the sword. Or, in this case, the club.

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Aegon II takes justice into his own hands

Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO

In Game of Thrones, Ned Stark famously told Bran in the first episode that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. Theon Greyjoy and Robb Stark also borrowed this philosophy in later episodes. In House of the Dragon, we see Aegon II adopting a similar approach that oddly echoes the ancient Northern philosophy.

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Aegon tortures one of the assassins, Blood, who was captured by his Master of Whisperers, Lord Larys Strong, for the murder of his son Jaehaerys. Throughout the episode, Aegon is consumed by rage because of his son’s death and how it affects his reputation in the kingdom. He declares war, finally taking out his anger on the captured Blood, beating him ruthlessly with a club. In the same scene, Blood reveals that he had an accomplice who was a ratcatcher.

Unable to identify the specific ratcatcher involved, Aegon orders the hanging of all ratcatchers in the castle. This decision causes great despair among the smallfolk, as many ratcatchers were fathers or brothers. In the process, they do manage to find and hang Cheese, and we see his dog watch his dangling corpse sadly.

Otto Hightower harshly reminds Aegon of the impact on the common people, but Aegon’s anger has surpassed logic and reasoning. By the end of the episode, Aegon’s fury has led him to a descent into ruthless vengeance, and he finally fires Otto.

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