Prince Daemon may be a fan favorite for his loyalty to his family and fierce love. Still, there is no dispute about one flaw Daemon has exhibited throughout his marriages – his violent behavior towards his wives.
Throughout season 1 of House of the Dragon, Prince Daemon has held two wives and lied about marrying another. But the one connection all these ladies share is Daemon’s ill-treatment.
Daemon never liked his first wife, Lady Rhea Royce, and made it abundantly clear by sleeping with every woman on Silk Street during his first marriage and always making digs at his wife’s expense. He even ended that marriage on his own terms by killing Lady Rhea and staging it as a hunting accident.
The brothel worker Mysaria was clever enough to not get too attached to the reckless Prince’s charms. Though he treated Mysaria kindly to her face, his lies to his family could have cost the wife-to-be her life.
His careless actions and insensitivity towards Mysaria were enough reasons for her to walk away.
But House of the Dragon hinted at Rhaenyra and Daemon’s complicated love story since the beginning, and given Daemon’s soft and gentle demeanor around her, viewers had not expected what went down in episode 10.
When Rhaenyra shared Viserys’ belief that she would realize Aegon the Conqueror’s dream he had detailed in the Song of Ice and Fire, Daemon’s old rage flared.
Daemon grabbed Rhaenyra’s throat and choked her while explaining how his brother had focused too much energy on dreams when it was their dragons that had won wars and upheld the Targaryen legacy. When Daemon released her from the chokehold, Rhaenyra scoffed at him, asking, “He never told you about that, did he?”
Daemon grieves through anger, and whether he shows it or not, his brother’s death saddens Daemon greatly. The added betrayal and treason by the Greens threatening his peaceful life had him on edge throughout the episode, barking orders at whoever stood to listen.
But the thought of Viserys not seeing Daemon as the one who will bring the Targaryen House to its glory, hit Daemon too close to home. He lashed out on Rhaenyra, and the fans were left bewildered.
Daemon was already annoyed with Rhaenyra for her lack of anger towards the Greens. Daemon even believes that Alicent and Otto Hightower may have a hand in Viserys’ death, and he’s been ringing the war bell since Rhaenys spilled the events at King’s Landing.
His anger bubbling throughout the episode, mixed with grief, spilled in that one moment as he choked Rhaenyra.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon ended with episode 10, and we believe the show will return to HBO Max with season 2 sometime in 2024.
About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
Source: HBO Max
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