Ewan Mitchell Reveals Meaning Behind Aemond's Controversial Kiss in 'House of the Dragon' Season 3
Warning: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 1, "Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood"
House of the Dragon is back, baby, and with it a tangled web of brutal infighting, clanging swords, roaring dragons, and...a kiss between a son and his mother? The HBO juggernaut kicked off Season 3 on Sunday night with a banger of a premiere that lays the groundwork for the no-holds-barred Targaryen civil war to come.
While the deaths of Jace (Harry Collett) and his dragon Vermax were a shock to the system, so was another particular moment: Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) kissing his mother, Alicent (Olivia Cooke). Mitchell spoke with Entertainment Weekly about Aemond's thought process behind this squirm-worthy move. He remarked that he thought it was "something" and "quite out there" upon first reading about the kiss in the script, before adding this insight into his fan-favorite character:
"I kind of saw it coming with everything that I've explored with Aemond and his relationship with Alicent." Mitchell went on to explain that Aemond is putting out feelers to see if his mother has an ulterior motive. After all, the narrative beats preceding the shocking kiss featured Alicent manipulating Aemond into leaving the Red Keep before Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) arrived to seize the Iron Throne.
Mitchell told EW that he and Cooke experimented with the scene, including how long they kissed and "what their eyes were doing." Per Mitchell: "In Aemond's head, it's like he's assuming control of the family. I always think of Ray Winstone from Scum. It's like, 'I'm the daddy now.' He's the new leader. I think it leaves the question of, 'What is the relationship gonna be with Alicent going forward?'"
House of the Dragon co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal offered more context, explaining that Aemond's traumatization in Season 1 informed the kiss:
"He's somebody that was traumatized at an early age by his brother by taking him to a brothel long before his brain could probably process what was happening. As these things do, that trauma then manifests in a certain way in his behavior as an adult. While I don't think that Aemond is necessarily in love with his mother, I don't think he's able to separate the feelings that he has for her from these other male feelings that he experiences."
House of the Dragon airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 11:50 AM.