It won’t be long until Season 3 of House of the Dragon starts. Once again, the favorite character of the author of Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, will terrorize Westeros with all his might.
Who is the author’s favorite character? In several interviews, George R. R. Martin has mentioned that he has an absolute favorite character in his Westeros stories: Daemon Targaryen. In a YouTube conversation excerpt, he speaks about his love for gray characters. So, the people who are neither completely good nor completely evil.
From his perspective, Daemon is one of the grayest characters in his entire epic, for whom he has even written his own short stories. He is an absolute Bad Boy
, a rogue, and you never know whose side Daemon is really on in the end.
In House of the Dragon, Daemon is portrayed by Matt Smith and will, of course, be present in the third season of the series starting on June 21. But what exactly makes Daemon so gray? We took a look at his life.
Back in Action: The Grayest of All Gray Characters
Daemon Targaryen is the younger brother of Rhaenyra’s father, Viserys I. He was knighted at the age of 16. His weapon is the legendary sword Dark Sister
. He shows his gray sides
both in the book and in the series. Here is a selection of his misdeeds:
- Ensures fewer crimes in King’s Landing with draconian punishments
- Publicly calls his tragically deceased nephew just hours after his death:
Heir for a Day
- Conquers the Stepstones because he wanted his own kingdom
- Kills his first wife Rhea Royce in the series
- Supposedly had Rhaenyra’s husband Laenor Velaryon killed in the book to marry her himself
- Hires Blood and Cheese for a murder, leading to the traumatic death of King Aegon II and Queen Helaena’s young son
- Leaves Rhaenyra behind to (supposedly) gather an army for her at Harrenhal
- Supposedly has an affair with Nettles, a dragon rider who only appears in the book
In the book Fire & Blood, Daemon always seems somewhat shady, pugnacious, and ambitious. Everything he does sounds like he wants to seize the Iron Throne at any cost.
In House of the Dragon, Daemon is still morally gray but is generally portrayed as more sympathetic. It comes across well that the prince loves his older brother and wants to protect him, especially from Otto Hightower and his machinations. However, Viserys doesn’t believe in conspiracies and, of course, has Otto in his ear. So, there is constant discord between the brothers.
Daemon’s arguably worst act of having organized Blood and Cheese may have even been well-intentioned: Rhaenyra demands the head of her brother Aemond after the death of her son Lucerys – a son for a son. This is what Daemon instructs his two murderers in the series as well. That the two then kill an innocent child was not the intention.
At least in House of the Dragon, Daemon gives the impression of having good intentions but being a very poor communicator, whose own pride often gets in the way. Of course, this does not excuse his actions.
Morally Dubious – Also in Season 3
In season three of House of the Dragon, Daemon continues to stand by his wife and queen Rhaenyra:
He supports her in the conquest of King’s Landing and flies with Nettles to the God’s Eye to fight Aemond and Vhagar in the book. Nettles’ story seems to be taken over in the series by Daemon’s daughter Rhaena Targaryen, so presumably father and daughter will fight together. This gives his alleged romance with Nettles a whole different taste – if it indeed happens.
It will likely be a great satisfaction for Daemon to remove the flags and emblems of the green faction from the Red Keep. It is still uncertain how far the season will cover the events from the book and whether we will see Daemon’s epic end above the God’s Eye at Harrenhal in Season 3. What is certain is that the events of the first new episode will not only destroy the characters but will also absolutely crush MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß.
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