For much of its run, House of the Dragon has told the story of the conflict between two wannabe rulers of Westeros: Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), and her half-brother, Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). As of the show's most recent episode, "Unbowed and Unbent," Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) seems to be putting forward a third contender: Young Prince Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), Aegon's baby brother and the youngest son of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
While this King Daeron subplot is an invention of the series that did not feature in the show's source material, George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood, it transforms Daeron into a foil for Rhaenyra and Aegon. As such, it is worth noting the similarities between these three characters and their seasonal arcs. As of "Unbowed and Unbent," all three have now been faced with the same challenge, and how each handles it reveals what kind of a ruler they would be.
Three kills for three kings
Throughout House of the Dragon season 3 so far, Rhaenyra, Daeron, and Aegon have all killed someone. While taking a life is far from an uncommon event in an HBO Westeros show, none of the three had ever done so with their own hands on-screen before. Although all three are dragon riders, with Aegon even joining in on the Battle of Rook's Rest himself last season, none had ever been depicted using weapons to kill someone before.
In Rhaenyra's case, she kills Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), executing him shortly after taking the Iron Throne for herself. Her husband and ally Daemon (Matt Smith) brings Otto out from the dungeons and advises Rhaenyra that she be the one to execute him, subtly reminding longtime viewers of the franchise of Ned Stark's (Sean Bean) famous advice from Game of Thrones: "The man who passes the sentence must swing the sword." Though it takes Rhaenyra two swings to fully remove Otto's head, and she sobs all the while at the great personal toll this act is taking on her, she is able to successfully decapitate Otto and become queen.
Daeron, meanwhile, is forced to kill Leo (Abhin Calaya), an innocent citizen of Tumbleton who Ormund sentences to death for laying his hands on a Hightower soldier while defending his sister from rape. Ormund tells Daeron that this is something he has to do in order to become a king, and Daeron shies away from the task, reasonably not wanting to take an innocent life. Eventually, Daeron regretfully stabs Leo in the chest, killing him, much to his dismay.
Finally, Aegon gets his kill in "Unbowed and Unbent," when Janos (Oliver Coopersmith) a Rook's Rest bully, finds Aegon's crown. Aegon responds by swiftly stabbing Janos to death with a dagger. As Janos bleeds out, Aegon says "You can call me 'Your Grace,'" reminding Janos who he is one final time.
The three kings as killers and as rulers
Despite Otto's misdeeds and orchestration of the war itself, Rhaenyra has a hard time bringing herself to kill him. She understands the gravity of taking someone's life, and never before had a burden like this thrust upon her. However, Rhaenyra is ultimately able to rise to meet this hard challenge, but, as indicated by her tears and cries, does so at great personal cost. This indicates how Rhaenyra will go on to rule the Seven Kingdoms. She understands and respects the reasonability thrust upon her, but loses herself along the way. Should House of the Dragon stay loyal to Fire & Blood's story, this is an indication of things to come for Rhaenyra.
Meanwhile, Daeron shies away from the hard task. Although in his case, it is clearly not necessary, and instead a sadistic test devised by Ormund, he still does everything in his power to avoid killing Leo. This reaction showcases how Daeron lacks the temperament to rule. His softness, kindness, and sweetness are, sadly, a poor match for the cruel world of King's Landing, and he'd unfortunately find himself eaten alive. Given that Daeron's kingly storyline is not in the original book, it likely won't result in his reign on the show, as further indicated by his reaction to having to kill poor Leo.
Aegon, meanwhile, relishes killing Janos. This marks the first time all season that Aegon has displayed any semblance of joy, and emphasizes his status as king as Janos dies. This shows that Aegon enjoys the feeling of power too much to be a righteous king, which is consistent with his characterization from when he ruled back in season 2. He made for a cruel ruler, quick to anger and to sentence people to death, such as when he hanged every single ratcatcher in an attempt to find the one responsible for the death of his son. In fact, unlike Rhaenyra and Daeron, Aegon likely didn't even think of killing a man as any sort of challenge.
Make sure to keep tuning into House of the Dragon season 3, airing new episodes on Sundays on HBO Max.
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