‘House of the Dragon’: Daemon’s Mother Alyssa Targaryen, Explained

Without spoiling anything in particular, House of the Dragon Season 2 might have you curious about Prince Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) mother, Alyssa Targaryen. This character was not shown on House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones, but she gets a decent amount of characterization in George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood. Read on for what we know about Princess Alyssa and the questions that are still unanswered.

Fans have gotten to know Daemon pretty well by now, and in Season 1 we got to know his older brother King Viserys I (Paddy Considine), but we met both characters as adults and never saw their parents on screen. Viserys and Daemon are the only surviving children of Prince Baelon Targaryen and Princess Alyssa Targaryen, who were siblings married to each other in the typical Targaryen tradition. Baelon was the fifth-born child of King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne, while Alyssa was their fifth. However, because Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s first three children died, Baelon was considered his heir, while Alyssa was presumed to be the next queen.

In the books, Alyssa was born with mismatched eyes, one of which was green and the other the mystical Targaryen violet color. She had blonde hair but without the silvery color of other dragon-riders. All-in-all, Martin made it clear Alyssa was a conventional court beauty, but she was popular nonetheless. She loved to ride, climb and even practice swordplay, and of course, she became a dragon-rider.

Alyssa rode Meleys – the same dragon ridden by Rhaenys (Eve Best) on TV. Meleys was not hatched in Alyssa’s cradle like many other dragons, but she had never had a rider before Alyssa. According to the historians of Westeros, the bold young princess went looking for a dragon at the age of 15, and initially intended to try for the largest one alive: Balerion, “The Black Dread.” The dragon-keepers convinced Alyssa that Balerion was too old and slow for her, and sure enough, Alyssa and Meleys would go on to value their speed together. They were known to race against other dragon-riders, particularly Baelon and his dragon Vhagar.

Alyssa might be a major reason for her sons’ different feelings about dragons, since she took each of them for their very first flight. The book tells us that Alyssa swaddled Viserys when he was just nine years old and took him for ride on Meleys. She did the same with Daemon a few years later, within two weeks of his birth. As we saw on the show, Viserys was wary of dragons, telling Rhaenyra he didn’t really believe riders were “in control” of them at all. On the other hand, Daemon is obsessed with dragon lore, working with the dragon-keepers and singing songs to the creatures in old Valyrian.

Sadly, Alyssa’s boisterous life was cut short – and not in the way that many other dragon-riders’ lives are. The princess became pregnant two years after Daemon’s birth, but complications with childbirth took a toll on her health. She never fully recovered, and she died within a year of giving birth from related illnesses. The infant also passed away, leaving Viserys and Daemon as her only legacy.

In the book, Alyssa was 24 years old at the time of her death, but it’s hard to know if years and ages are accurate on House of the Dragon where the timeline has been shifted significantly. As far as we know, Daemon was only 2 years old at the time of Alyssa’s death, so it’s unlikely he would have conscious memories of her. However, that may not be the case in the TV show’s continuity.

Whether he remembers her or not, it makes sense that Alyssa would be on Daemon’s mind this season as he grapples with his idea of what it means to be a dragonlord. It’s also clear that Daemon has been very fixated on his mother’s dragon, Meleys, and his feelings might be bubbling up in recent episodes. All of this is coming to the surface as Daemon experiences mystical visions at Harrenhal, apparently influenced by the weirwood trees and other psychic forces at the haunted castle.

House of the Dragon Season 2 continues on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max. Martin’s books, including Fire & Blood, are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.