House of the Dragon introduced George R.R. Martin’s personal favorite Targaryen on-screen this weekend, Prince Daemon Targaryen, but fans know that no character is ever safe in Westeros, no matter how beloved. Because he lived in the past, we know that he has to die eventually. If you want spoilers for how it happened in the books, read on.
House of the Dragon is based on Martin’s “imaginary history book,” Fire & Blood, but it has already deviated from the source material in a couple of ways. There’s no guarantee that the Daemon played by Matt Smith on screen will have the same fate as the version of Daemon we met on the page. Still, disclaimers aside, most readers seem to agree that Smith is playing an impeccable version of “The Prince of the City” so far.
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Daemon is four years younger than his son, King Viserys (Paddy Considine). He struggles to find a place in his brother’s court and is frequently banished, angry that the lords of Westeros have the audacity to try to manipulate their king and a dragonrider. Daemon does some horrific things during this time, but we can skip ahead to the year 120 AC when he marries his niece, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock/Emma D’Arcy). At the time, Rhaenyra is 23 and Daemon is 39 years old.
The two marry in secret without telling the king, and they proceed to have two sons together – Viserys and Aegon – as well as a stillborn daughter named Visenya. They continue their political chess matches with Queen Alicent Hightower until King Viserys dies nine years later, kicking off the civil war known as “the dance of the dragons.”
During the war, Daemon is a shrewd commander and a devastating weapon in his own right, as he is bonded to the second-most powerful dragon in the world at that time, Caraxes “The Bloodwyrm.” During the war, he spends much of his time flying all over the realm and fighting.
Later in the conflict, Rhaenyra’s side tries to gain an advantage by inviting anyone who is brave enough to try and bond with one of the unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone, hoping to overwhelm the enemy with more dragonriders. This works to some extent – a dark-skinned girl named Nettles is able to tame a wild dragon named Sheepstealer, and she and Daemon reportedly become close. She and Daemon are sent to wage war in the Riverlands.
At the time, Nettles is 17 or 18 years old while Daemon is in his 50s, yet there are rumors in the books that the two become lovers. Other sources say that they had more of a father-daughter dynamic. Either way, due to suspicion and betrayal by other young dragonriders, Rhaenyra sends word for Nettles to be killed. Instead, Daemon conspires to send her away, so she and Sheepstealer disappear.
At this point comes the climactic and uncertain end of Daemon’s story. He flies to Harrenhal to reclaim the massive castle and face the biggest remaining threat to his side – his maniacal nephew Aemond who flew the only dragon more powerful than Caraxes, Vhagar. At this point, Aemond is under the influence of a mysterious sorceress named Alys Rivers, who may have some connection to the Old Gods of the Wierwood trees.
Daemon and Aemond clash in the air over Harrenhal and the Gods Eye Lake in a fan-favorite encounter known as “The Battle Above the Gods Eye.” When they take off, Aemond buckles himself into his saddle but Daemon does not. This allows him to leap from Caraxes onto Vhagar when the two dragons collide, stabbing his nephew with his sword in hand. Both dragons and both riders fall into the lake and are never heard from again.
Still, Daemon’s fate remains one of the biggest mysteries of Fire & Blood. Caraxes crawled onto the lakeshore and died, and eventually divers were able to dredge up the remains of Vhagar and Aemond. However, the body of Daemon was never found, leading some to believe he was able to swim away from the encounter and disappear into obscurity.
Meanwhile, the only rumor about Nettles and Sheepstealer that we hear is that they found a hiding place in the Mountains of the Moon to live out the rest of their days. This has led some to theorize that Daemon made his way there too and had a few more happy years with them. Added support for this theory comes from the fact that Daemon’s first wife was from the Vale, and he spent many years in those mountains.
Daemon’s fate is one of the many mysteries that fans hope House of the Dragon will answer where Fire & Blood did not. However, it will be at least a few years before we get to see The Battle Above the Gods Eye for ourselves. House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. Martin’s books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.
