Heading into House of the Dragon season 3, most of the key characters have already been introduced. There’s one major character fans have yet to be formally introduced to who made a brief appearance in the House of the Dragon season 3 premiere.
Of course, the character I’m referring to is Daeron Targaryen, the youngest son of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and the younger brother of Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), Helaeba (Phia Sagan), and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). It also makes him the half-brother of our Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy).
House of the Dragon season 3 introduces Daeron Targaryen and his dragon, Tessarion but doesn’t name them
As Ormund Hightower’s force of 15,000 marches to King’s Landing to defend the city from Rhaenyra and her dragons, they are interrupted by a letter from Alicent (Olivia Cooke). The letter requests the Hightower army to make camp and wait for Aemond and Vhagar.
Behind Ormund Hightower (James Norton), there’s a brown-haired young man. That’s Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). Most fans likely will not realize he is a Targaryen, or Aegon and Aemond’s brother, because he doesn’t have the same blonde hair as his siblings. Instead, he looks a lot more like his mother.
After stopping the march and deciding to make camp, Ormund requests that his squire be cared for, but he never says his name.
When we meet Ormund and his army, we also see Tessarion, the blue dragon who Daeron rides.
They each have a bigger role to play in the Dance of Dragons, but that’s for another time.
Daeron’s introduction has been one of the worst-kept secrets from House of the Dragon
Fans have been expecting to see Daeron on screen in House of the Dragon for a long time. It’s been about a year now since the identity of the actor playing Daeron (Ainsworth) leaked online. Since then, fans have been super excited to meet the young Targaryen.
In the lead up to the season, we saw Daeron in the background of a few clips. Eagle-eyed fans noticed him in the new trailer for the season, somehow, when he wasn’t more than a blurry face in the larger Hightower ranks.
Now, we don’t know why Daeron doesn’t get a bigger introduction in the season 3 premiere. He’s the third in line for the Iron Throne, if you’re sympathetic or even supportive of the Greens’ cause, but he’s basically an afterthought.
There are some rumors and potential spoilers that suggest a narrative reason for this, but only a select few know if those rumors actually become reality in the series.
Where has Daeron been this whole time?
We’re two full seasons into House of the Dragon, and we’re just meeting the young Targaryen now, and that’s quite interesting when you consider his brother, Aemond, rides the biggest dragon in Westeros, Vhagar, and his other brother, Aegon, married his sister, Helaena, and became the king after his father died.
There’s been a whole war going on, and Daeron has been MIA while his family fights off attacks from Rhaenyra and those loyal to her.
Unlike Aegon, Aemond, and Helaena, Daeron was sent to Oldtown, the home of the Hightowers to live and train for noble life as Ormund Hightower’s squire. As mentioned, Ormund is Alicent’s cousin.
George R.R. Martin addressed Daeron’s absence in season 1, according to Entertainment Weekly.
"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."
It took a little while, but Daeron is officially here and ready to make an impact in the Dance of the Dragons.
We’ll share more updates about Daeron and his role in the larger conflict as House of the Dragon season 3 continues. Watch new episodes of season 3 on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
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