Aemond’s nude scene in House of the Dragon is about much more than just seeing a penis

It’s well known that brothels can determine the fate of the kingdom just as much as throne rooms in Game of Thrones. “The Burning Mill,” the third episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 pulls the curtain on this one — literally, on casual blowjobs and multiple rooms of simultaneous bonking. But as Aemond unfurls himself at the end of the brothel scene in episode 3, the flash of penis is secondary to the shift in mood in the room. And as he walks out, still naked, it’s clear that the balance of power has shifted, too.

It begins where so many troubles in King’s Landing end, with Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) drunk and trying to impress his boys. In an attempt to woo a new White Cloak, he’s taken a small group to the brothel where he swears he knows the best madam in the land – only to have the curtain pull back on Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) smooching with Madam Sylvi (Michelle Bonnard).

Aemond is as we have seen him before in Sylvi’s presence: naked, curled up like a baby and wrapped in her arms, intimate. It is a peace that is immediately shattered by the harsh, derogatory laughter of Aegon, who begins to mock Aemond for his vulnerability and affection. As his cruel giggling permeates the rest of the scene, Aemond pulls away from Sylvi, stands up, and turns, thoughtless in his nakedness: “One whore is as good as another.”

It’s exactly what Sylvi advised him to avoid last week, when she noted that a prince who lashes out would be more likely to harm commoners like her than a royal target. And she’s right: the camera doesn’t linger on her reaction, but surely it’s not good for the intimacy he found in her bosom when Aemond invites other men in as if she were a mere object.

But this scene, for better or worse, is about Aemond—his vulnerabilities, his imperviousness, his drive, his grander plans. Fire may not hurt a dragon, but a sibling’s teasing words can cut to the core. And miraculously, the moment manages to be nearly wordless. Mitchell plays Aemond’s retreat the way a snake retreats just before it rears up and bites back. Unlike Sylvi, he has the power to do something about it, and “The Burning Mill” suggests that he will.

Ever since he first secured Vhagar, Aemond has been content to be a second son, aware that he was more formidable and better equipped than his dimwitted brother. But the moment with Sylvi feels like a clear turning point. Aemond had been something of a trap for the Greens at the start of the war—the anime villain who started the Great War, one of the best tacticians waiting (or resigned) on the wings. And yet nothing has set him off. Even an assassination attempt left him content to curl up in Sylvi’s arms and make a big play. Through it all, he’s supported his brother, albeit through that pinched grin. And yet now, in a war between siblings, Aemond has wounded Aemond in a way that no civil war ever could.

On paper, the brothel scene seems more like the Game of Thrones Specifically, nudity is used as shock value to liven up an otherwise talkative scene. But House of the Dragon, like Aemond, is playing a bigger game, seizing the opportunity to literally and figuratively dismantle its characters as it breaks a war down into its most basic components: people making irrevocable decisions. It’s rare that dick shots read so clearly as tragic, and all the more remarkable that Aemond’s is barely worth mentioning. In a moment of weakness, Aemond rose up and steeled himself. We’ll see if Aegon has the balls to do the same.

New episodes of House of the Dragon airs at 9:00 PM EDT on HBO and Max.