The season finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon had plenty of twists and turns, but few shocked fans as much as the moment where Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) strangled his wife Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) in a fit of domestic rage. Daemon has always been portrayed as a violent character; back in Episode 5 he murdered his first wife in cold blood. But he’s always had a soft spot for his brother Viserys and his daughter Rhaenyra. “The Black Queen” marked the first time he acted violently toward her.
With the episode finally out, showrunner Ryan Condal is peeling back the curtain on many of its big moments. He addressed the moment between Daemon and Rhaenyra in a far-ranging interview with Variety, explaining what led the Targaryen king consort to lash out against his partner.
Daemon strangled Rhaenyra because he felt betrayed by Viserys
“It’s a moment that I think is surprising and shocking for Daemon as a character, but I also think it’s one of those things that’s been set up over the course of the entire season. Daemon — while an incredibly charismatic and deeply interesting, complex character, I think — he’s also capable of great darkness,” Condal said. “It’s simmering just beneath the surface.”
In the scene, Rhaenyra and Daemon are arguing about her claim to the Iron Throne; Daemon urges war, but Rhaenyra isn’t so sure, recalling how her father King Viserys told her it was her responsibility to hold the realm together. Rhaenyra wonders if that aim would be easier achieved by relinquishing her claim. When she brings up the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, Daemon snaps and grabs her by the throat. “Dreams didn’t make us kings,” he hisses as Rhaenyra struggles for breath. “Dragons did.”
While Daemon scoffs at his brother’s obsession with prophecies, he was very upset by the knowledge that Viserys kept this information from him. “When he learns in that moment that Viserys never believed in him enough, as his actual heir to the throne, to pass this thing on that he clearly just easily passed on to Rhaenyra, it breaks him,” said Condal. “He loved his brother so deeply and trusted him, even through all the problems that they had, and Viserys never shared it with him. He kept in the dark, and it just it breaks Daemon. Instead of reacting with grief or sadness that you see out of him later, he reacts with rage and he takes it out on Rhaenyra.”
Daemon always wanted to prove himself worth to his older brother. This has driven him to great lengths, such as when he went after the Crabfeeder single-handedly during the war in the Stepstones rather than accept the soldiers Viserys offered as backup. Not even Viserys’ death will change that.
I’d say this is hopefully the last time we’ve seen this side of Daemon, but with the Dance of the Dragons just beginning, I wouldn’t count on it.
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