We all know that House of the Dragon is now about to reach the point where the Targaryen civil war will break out, especially now that King Viserys is dead and that Alicent has a good reason to allow her son, Aegon, to succeed his father as the next king of the Seven Kingdoms. As such, Aegon is set to become an antagonist in this series. But we also know that one other antagonist existed in Game of Thrones in the form of the Night King. So, is Aegon II actually the Night King from Game of Thrones?
Aegon II Targaryen is not the Night King from Game of Thrones. While it is true that the Night King used to be human before he was turned into what the master of the White Walkers, he had lived for more than 10,000 years. On the other hand, Aegon II was born only around 200 years before Game of Thrones.
The fact that the timelines of Aegon II’s birth and the Night King’s transformation are off is the very reason why there is no way that Aegon II is the Night King. Aegon being the Night King would have to mean that House of the Dragon took place thousands of years ago. So, with that said, let’s talk more about why there is no way Aegon II is the Night King.
Aegon II Explained
We all knew that the entire storyline of House of the Dragon would revolve around House Targaryen and the events that led to the Dance of the Dragon. That’s why most of the characters that the series have introduced are the major players that would take part in the Targaryen civil war that nearly tore the entire realm in half. And one of the most important characters in the civil war is Aegon Targaryen.
Born during the early second century of the Targaryen dynasty, Aegon is the first son of King Viserys Targaryen with his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower. That means that, based on common customs, he should have been the heir to the Iron Throne. However, before he was born, his older half-sister Princess Rhaenyra was already named the heir to Viserys’s crown. That means that Aegon, despite being the eldest son, was not the one who was in line for his father’s throne.
However, during the entire series, Queen Alicent tried to destroy Rhaenyra’s name by constantly bringing up her different misdeeds so that the king would be able to realize that she was not worthy of the throne. Still, Viserys’s love for his daughter and his late wife allowed him to see Rhaenyra differently compared to all of his other children, as she was still the heir that he chose to be his successor.
In episode 8 of House of the Dragon, we saw an adult Aegon that was already married to his sister, Helaena but was sleazy and perverted. He sexually assaulted one of the maids and even disrespected Baela Targaryen in front of her betrothed Prince Jacaerys Velaryon. Even Alicent realized that Aegon was not kingly material as she told him that he was not her son while she scolded him for what he did to the maid.
That said, it was clear that he was not fit for the Iron Throne. Still, Alicent now believes that he should be the one to inherit King Viserys’s throne, as she misunderstood the king’s final words while he was lying on his deathbed. Alicent thought that the king was talking about Prince Aegon when he was actually talking about Aegon the Conqueror’s dream, as Viserys believed he was speaking to Rhaenyra in his final moments.
As such, this will be the start of the Dance of the Dragons, as Alicent will now push for her son to rule the Seven Kingdoms due to that misunderstanding. Aegon will be crowned King Aegon II and will be the one fighting Rhaenyra for the Iron Throne. He will eventually die two years into the war after he is poisoned by Lord Corlys Velaryon and his collaborators.
The Night King Explained
Back in the events of Game of Thrones, the Night King was the biggest threat that the Night’s Watch was wary of, all while the entire realm was fighting wars amongst themselves. Jon Snow was the one who decided that his life’s mission was to form an army large and strong enough to fight this incoming threat, as that was what led him to Daenerys Targaryen, who had three dragons at her disposal.
The Night King is actually a supernatural entity that could raise the dead and make them a part of his Army of the Dead as he marches south to destroy the world of men. He was created 10,000 years ago by the Children of the Forest when they were still waging wars against the First Men.
What happened was that the Night King was an unnamed First Man that the Children of the Forest captured. They experimented on him and turned him into the Night King when they pierced him with an enchanted dragonglass dagger. He was created so that the Night King would be able to protect the Children of the Forest from the First Men. However, the Children of the Forest created a monster instead, and that very same monster rebelled against them and had a will of his own.
As such, the Children of the Forest and the First Men joined forces to repel the Night King all the way to the far north. Meanwhile, a huge wall was erected in the north to protect the Seven Kingdoms from the Night King. This all happened thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Is Aegon II Targaryen The Night King From Game Of Thrones?
Now that you know more about Aegon II Targaryen and the Night King, it is now easy to come to the conclusion that they are not the same person. And the very reason why we can say this is the fact that their timelines are off.
Aegon II was born nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Meanwhile, he died on 131 AC, which is still nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, which took place on 300 AC.
On the other hand, the Night King was created 10,000 years before the conquest of Aegon the Conqueror. This means that the timelines are incredibly far from one another, as the Night King was already around thousands of years before Aegon II was even born.
There is also the fact that Aegon II was poisoned and was likely burned after he died, as that was the custom of House Targaryen. In that regard, his body would not have turned into the Night King because he was likely reduced to ashes, similar to how most Targaryen kings are burned after their deaths.
