As Aemond Targaryen continues his rule in House of the Dragon as the acting Prince Regent, his latest course of action is sending two of Aegon’s Kingsguard members to the Night’s Watch. This isn’t the first time that the Game of Thrones franchise has seen knights in King’s Landing be removed from their posts and sent to the Wall, and it won’t be the last time it happens in House of the Dragon’s story. Typically offered as an alternative to death, sending men to the Night’s Watch is often considered among the worst sentences given the general lack of glory, isolation, and harsh conditions.
Back at the Red Keep, Larys Strong and Jasper Wylde look on as Aemond Targaryen makes Sers Martyn Reyne and Eddard Waters kneel on the ground as he strips them of their white cloaks. Aemond had already shown his distate for these two knights earlier in House of the Dragon when he accused Aegon of prioritizing his sobriquet and naming “lickspittles” to the Kingsguard. Prior to becoming knights of Aegon’s Kingsguard, Martyn and Eddard were irresponsible friends of Aegon, so Aemond certainly relished the opportunity to remove them and send the knights to the Wall.
Aemond Sends The Kingsguard To The Wall Because Of The King’s Landing Riots
Sers Martyn Reyne & Eddard Waters Are Scapegoats For The Kingsguard’s Riot Failures
The reason why Aemond sends these two Kingsguard knights to the Wall is because they’re charged with inciting the King’s Landing riots from House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6. The riots began after Rhaenyra and Mysaria sent food to the city’s smallfolk after they had been starved by the Gullet blockade, which the people blamed on Aegon and Aemond. While calling Rhaenyra the rightful Queen, the smallfolk began to surround and throw objects at Queens Helaena and Alicent. Despite Alicent’s calls for the knights to sheathe their swords, Martyn and Eddard exacerbated the violence by fighting the smallfolk.
Similar to Daemon killing Willem Blackwood as a scapegoat for his failures, Aemond sends Martyn and Eddard to the Wall as scapegoats for the riot and to obtain more control over the Kingsguard.
It was Ser Leon Estermont’s rash decision to cut off a man’s hand that escalated the riot, leading to him being fatally attacked by the smallfolk outside the Great Sept. While it’s still up for debate whether these two surviving knights can truly be to blame for causing the King’s Landing riots, Aemond needed to punish someone for failing to stop this chaos and put the Queens in harm’s way. Similar to Daemon killing Willem Blackwood as a scapegoat for his failures, Aemond sends Martyn and Eddard to the Wall as scapegoats for the riot and to obtain more control over the Kingsguard.
Aemond Sending The Kingsguard To The Wall Is Really About Control Over Aegon
Aemond Is Removing All Remnants Of His Brother’s Authority That He Can
Aemond had the opportunity to forgive these knights and keep them in their positions, but he already knew that they were incompetent and unqualified for the job anyway. Furthermore, Martyn and Eddard were Aegon’s close confidantes and friends, who are far less bound by the oaths of the Kingsguard and the pursuit of honor and glory in protecting their King. Rather, their posts were given to them because they were knights whose company Aegon enjoyed, with their devout loyalty to Aegon also posing a problem to Aemond’s control over the King.
With Aemond already asserting his power over Aegon in other ways, removing his brother’s chosen Kingsguard knights further erases the authority of Aegon in the crown’s rule and operations. Similar to how Aemond removed Alicent from the Small Council to form a group of people obedient to and fearful of him, the Prince Regent is reorganizing the Kingsguard to be composed of dutiful knights and warriors more likely to heed his authority. As House of the Dragon’s war continues, Aemond is ensuring that the Red Keep reflects his own reign as king in all but name.