House of the Dragon fans have a new favourite actor.
Until now, Matt Smith has been the audience’s champion for his turn as the ruthless Daemon Targaryen. Some have even argued that Smith “carries” the series.
However, in episode eight, viewers were introduced to a new star who immediately won praise for his unnerving performance.
After a roughly six-year time jump between episodes seven and eight, Ewan Mitchell has taken over as Aemond Targaryen, Daemon’s nephew.
The actor has a striking appearance due to his eyepatch and scar over one eye where Lucerys, Rhaenyra’s son, slashed him during a conflict in the last episode.
It’s clear, however, that in the six years that have passed, Aemond has grown into a ruthless fighter, demonstrating his sword skills over Ser Criston Cole.
Fans on social media were quick to praise Mitchell’s casting as the character.
“Whoever casted Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen, give them a raise immediately,” one fan account tweeted alongside a picture of the actor in costume.
“The look that Aemond gave when Daemon cut off Vaemond's head, he so badly aspires to be like him, its amazing how acting can come across even if no dialogue is spoken, Amazing acting by Ewan Mitchell,” another pointed out.
Meanwhile, YouTuber Grace Randolph called Mitchell an “instant star”.
“Ewan Mitchell is a perfect casting for Aemond, he just gives off evil without trying,” wrote another fan.
Before HotD, Mitchell played Osferth across four seasons of Netflix’s The Last Kingdom and starred alongside Robert Pattinson in Claire Denis’s 2018 film, High Life.
House of the Dragon continues in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Mondays at 2am, before repeating at 9pm later that day. It is also available to watch on NOW.
