The Game of Thrones universe introduced yet another Targaryen villain to the franchise in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, making each A Song of Ice and Fire title have at least one antagonist from the Targaryen family. There were many villains in the main Game of Thrones series, but the franchise as a whole has always revolved around the Targaryens as the universe's main bad guys.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms unveiled a number of new Targaryen characters. For the first time in any Game of Thrones project, the majority of the Targaryens in that show were relatively good in nature, with Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen and Aegon Targaryen (Egg) being objectively moral characters.
However, there's always at least one bad apple in the bushel, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was no exception, with Aerion Targaryen serving as the show's main antagonist and becoming the sixth Targaryen villain in the entire franchise. Aerion's actions sparked the main conflict in the series: the Trial of Seven at Ashford Meadow.
It is worth noting that George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series features dozens of evil and villainous Targaryens, but only six have appeared in the HBO shows.
Every Targaryen Villain in the Game of Thrones Universe
Aerys II Targaryen
Among all the Targaryens in the Game of Thrones universe, Aerys II Targaryen, also known as The Mad King, is often deemed the biggest villain and the most morally reprehensible. For starters, the Mad King ruled Westeros prior to the events of Game of Thrones and was the one sitting on the Iron Throne when Robert Baratheon rebelled against the crown and won.
According to Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, Aerys went mad and thought that everyone was his enemy. He even went as far as to think that he could be reborn as a dragon amidst a great fire, which prompted him to try to burn down all of King's Landing. If he had been successful, he would have killed half a million innocent people, but Jaime plunged his sword into the Mad King's back and ended his reign.
Aerys was the father of Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen, as well as Viserys and Rhaegar Targaryen.
Viserys Targaryen
Viserys Targaryen was the son of the Mad King. There is a saying in the Game of Thrones universe that basically says anytime a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin to determine whether the person will be good or evil, and in Viserys' case, the coin definitely landed on the evil side.
Viserys was only in the first season of Thrones, but during his time on the show, he physically, verbally, emotionally, and sexually assaulted his sister, Daenerys, and had the worst god complex of any character in the series.
It is also worth mentioning that he sold Daenerys into a forced marriage with Khal Drogo and threatened to kill her unborn child. Viserys got what he had coming to him, though, and experienced one of the most satisfying deaths in the show. Since he constantly called himself king, Khal Drogo poured molten gold on his head, giving him a permanent crown that hardened across his head and face, killing him.
Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys Targaryen's heel turn is one of the most criticized aspects of Game of Thrones. Many fans likely would not have had a problem with it if it had slowly developed over multiple seasons, but the heavily criticized eighth and final installment showed Daenerys going from entirely sane and an advocate of freedom to murdering thousands of innocent people in the span of minutes.
Ultimately, Daenerys became the show's final villain, as her madness continued after the fall of King's Landing. Jon Snow eventually killed her in order to save the kingdom from her tyranny, and her dragon, Drogon, carried her body across the Narrow Sea to an undisclosed location.
Aegon II Targaryen
Aegon II Targaryen is one of the main antagonists of House of the Dragon. During the events of the later episodes of Season 1 and all of Season 2, Aegon II is the king of Westeros and directly opposes Rhaenyra Targaryen. Alongside killing numerous people during his reign, Aegon also raped multiple women and did not claim his bastard children, leaving them to live extremely difficult lives.
In Season 3, Aegon will undoubtedly commit more heinous acts if the show follows the source material.
Aemond Targaryen
Aegon II Targaryen is a pretty big villain in House of the Dragon, but his brother, Aemond, is just as bad. At his core, Aemond is a narcissist and a tyrant. Like Aegon, Aemond has killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people.
He also killed his nephew, Lucerys, on dragonback above Storm's End in the Season 1 finale, as well as his cousin, Rhaenys Targaryen, in Season 2 at the Battle at Rook's Rest. At that same battle, Aemond seemingly tried to kill his own brother, Aegon.
Like Aegon, Aemond is set to continue his monstrous acts in Season 3.
Aerion Targaryen
Aerion Targaryen was the main villain of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1. Aerion was shown as being extremely narcissistic and cruel toward the common people. Like Viserys and a lot of other Targaryens, Aerion had a god complex and thought he was a literal dragon and was far above other humans.
Aerion also physically assaulted an innocent girl named Tanselle, which led to Duncan the Tall to intervene and beat up Aerion. Aerion threatened to have Duncan's hand and foot cut off, as well as his teeth knocked out, but he didn't get the opportunity to do so, as Duncan was saved by Aerion's brother, Egg.
It is also worth mentioning that Aerion was not brave enough to fight Duncan by himself when Duncan invoked his right to a Trial by Combat. Aerion then demanded a Trial of Seven, meaning that seven people on Duncan's side would have to fight seven people on Aerion's side.
These actions directly led to the death of Prince Baelor Targaryen, which, in turn, brought about the downfall of the Targaryen dynasty.
BONUS: Rhaegar Targaryen
Rhaegar Targaryen was not an evil man, unlike his brother, Viserys. Rhaegar, who was also Jon Snow's father, was rather peaceful, according to the source material, which stated that he would rather spend his time writing and singing songs than fighting.
However, after his father, the Mad King, killed Ned Stark's brother and father, a lot of tension arose in Westeros. At the same time, Rhaegar abducted Lyanna Stark (who was betrothed to Robert Baratheon). Both of these events kicked off Robert's Rebellion, which culminated in the Battle of the Trident, where Rhaegar was killed by Robert.
Rhaegar had to fight Robert because Robert took his soon-to-be wife away from him, and because of his father's actions, but he was not an evil person. It was revealed that he never even abducted Lyanna Stark; she went willingly with Rhaegar because they were in love.
So, while Rhaegar is portrayed as a villain because he fought against two of Game of Thrones' protagonists (Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon), he was not a bad person and can't be compared to any of the other characters on this list.
