Permanently disfigured, dragonless, and in near-constant pain, Aegon’s best hope of survival this season has been to lay low and keep his true identity a secret from anyone he and Larys encounter. Unfortunately, the spoiled former king is incapable of suppressing his royal impulses enough to make that an easy feat. To top it all off, despite Aegon’s refusal to accept that his dragon Sunfyre has really died after reuniting with her lifeless body earlier in Season 3, he has no choice but to once again leave her side after discovering local peasants have turned her maimed body into a paid tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, Larys’ plan to smuggle Aegon across the Narrow Sea and stash him away in Braavos is thwarted at every turn. So when Tyland Lanister (Jefferson Hall)—who has apparently survived getting thrown into the Gullet in heavy armor back in Episode 1—finds Aegon and Larys hiding out at Rook’s Rest, he suggests a different idea: retreat to Casterly Rock, form a new Small Council, and restart the war effort from the seat of House Lannister. But after testing Tyland’s ability to advise him honestly (no matter how brutal the truth may be), Aegon ultimately rejects his proposal in favor of Larys’ original scheme.