George R.R. Martin suggests that Daeron Targaryen will appear in House of the Dragon

Thus far on House of the Dragon, we’ve met three children of Alicent Hightower and King Viserys Targaryen: Aegon Targaryen, the eldest child; Helaena Targaryen, his quirky sister-wife; and Aemond Targaryen, the crazy one who got his eye dashed out. But in George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, Alicent and Viserys have a fourth child, a son named Daeron.

So far, Daeron has neither shown up on the show nor been mentioned. Lots of fans have started to think he’s been cut, particularly after HBO left him out of a character guide on the network’s official website.

It’s notable that even though we haven’t seen them, two of Aegon and Helaena’s children are on this chart: a boy named Jaehaerys and a girl named Jaehaera. They were mentioned briefly in the most recent episode. Daeron hasn’t gotten even that, so fans are worried.

Evidence that Daeron Targaryen will appear in House of the Dragon

On the other hand, there is some evidence that Daeron could yet turn up on House of the Dragon. For much of his children, Daeron is fostered in Oldtown, a city ruled over by Alicent’s family the Hightowers. That could explain why we haven’t seen him (although not why no one’s mentioned him).

We can also look at the opening credits, which depict bloodlines representing the children of our main characters. Fans have noticed that, after the time jump in Episode 5, the credits change to show what appears to be four bloodlines flowing out of the sigil representing Alicent. So that means Daeron is included?

Then, the other day, Fire & Blood author George R.R. Martin took to his Not A Blog to throw a wrench into the conversation. While writing about the time jumps on the show, Martin suggests that Daeron Targaryen does exist on House of the Dragon but was cut from season 1 due to time constraints:

"Do I wish we’d had more time to explore the relationship between Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin, the marriage of Daemon and Laena and their time in Pentos, and birth of various and sundry children (and YES, Alicent gave Viserys four children, three sons and a daughter, their youngest son Daeron is down in Oldtown, we just did not have the time to work him in this season), and everything else we had to skip? Sure."

Martin consults on the production of House of the Dragon and is credited as a co-creator and executive producer on the show, so his word should be given weight. Perhaps Daeron will pop up in season 2?

This wouldn’t be the first time a minor character was cut from the first season of a Game of Thrones show. Similar decisions were made during the production of season 1 of the original series; characters like Blackfish Tully and Roose Bolton were not introduced until season 2 despite despite appearing in A Game of Thrones, the first A Song of Ice and Fire book.

Given the daring actions of Daeron later in the story, it would be a major departure from Fire & Blood  to exclude the youngest son of King Viserys altogether. Beware major SPOILERS below!

How Important Is Daeron Targaryen to House of the Dragon?

Up until the outbreak of the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, Daeron spends several years in Oldtown squiring for Ormund Hightower, nephew of Otto. He is considered the most kind-hearted of Alicent’s sons, but grew up in their shadow being the youngest. He rides a blue she-dragon named Tessarion that he bonded with in the cradle. In the book, Daeron is about the same age as Rhaenyra’s oldest son Jacaerys Velaryon, whom he has a rivalry with.

After King Viserys dies and the war between the greens and the blacks breaks out, Daeron travels with the Hightower host north to join the conflict on the side of his older brother, the newly crowned King Aegon II. Daeron saves the Hightower army from destruction by using Tessarion to burn the forces in the Reach loyal to Rhaenyra in the Battle of the Honeywine. After this, he is knighted and plays a prominent role in several more battles before the end of the Dance.

None of Alicent’s children survive the Dance, with Daeron’s death during the Second Battle of Tumbleton shrouded in mystery. His body was never identified (possibly because it was burned to a crisp by dragonfire), and after the battle several “pretenders” claim to be Daeron. This could give the showrunners another opportunity to surprise book and show fans alike.

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