A few things are a given in a world as unpredictable as that of Game of Thrones; there will always be a battle for the Iron Throne, anyone can die at any moment, winter is coming, and the Targaryens have iconic silver-white hair due to their heritage from Old Valyria. But as is the case with any rule, there are bound to be exceptions.
When the Game of Thrones TV show started filming, the Targaryens' purple eyes were dropped because wearing colored contact lenses for multiple months of shooting wouldn’t have been practical for the actors (particularly Emilia Clarke). With this change, the one defining feature of the Targaryens on the small screen has been their long, white hair, with the exception of Baelor Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (who has brown hair in the source material as well).
Now, House of the Dragon has seemingly broken this rule again during its third season with the introduction of Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), who has reddish-brown hair. It’s worth noting that in Fire & Blood, the character has the signature white hair.
What makes this scenario all the more perplexing is that Daeron Targaryen's brothers, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), have white hair. So, are we about to witness even more bastard allegations, or is there another explanation for this change?
Ormund could've had Daeron dye his hair brown
One theory among fans is that Daeron does have white hair, but Ormund Hightower (James Norton) had it dyed brown. After all, we know that Ormund is trying to do everything in his power to keep Daeron by his side because having control over him also means having control over an heir to the Iron Throne and over his dragon, Tessarion. So, why wouldn't he try to hide his biggest advantage?
During the third episode of House of the Dragon season 3, we learn that Ormund had a boy dye his hair white to make him pass for Daeron and hand him to Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). It was a very smart plan, and yet it could be even more elaborate than audiences initially thought. After all, what could've stopped Ormund from also dyeing the real Daeron's white hair brown to keep him hidden from the Blacks?
Daeron was sent to Oldtown as a small child, which is why not even his mom, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), knows exactly what he looks like now. However, a key trait like his hair color could've been known since his birth (or mere months afterward), which means Rhaenyra must have known about this too. Maybe Ormund banked on the idea that the Blacks know Daeron has white hair to sell the "fake" even more.
It's also important to remember that Alicent questioned the legitimacy of Rhaenyra's children during the first season of House of the Dragon because they didn't resemble who was supposed to be their real father, Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan). Since Alicent made such a big deal about the hair color of these three kids, it is unlikely that anyone else in the Red Keep (especially Rhaenyra) would've been completely oblivious to the fact that Alicent herself gave birth to multiple children, and one had brown hair while the rest were white-haired.
House of the Dragon could also be paying homage to the "Young Griff" storyline in George R.R. Martin's novel A Dance with Dragons. When Tyrion Lannister travels across Essos, he comes across a seemingly normal sailor named Griff and his son, mysteriously called Young Griff. However, there are more to them than met the eye.
Tyrion eventually concludes that Griff is actually the former hand of King Aerys Targaryen, known as the Mad King. Furthermore, Young Griff is the Mad King's grandson, Aegon Targaryen, presumed to be dead. To keep his true identity a secret, Aegon dyed his hair blue and successfully managed to remain undercover for many years—a plot point that could be similar to that of Daeron in House of the Dragon if his hair is really dyed brown.
Granted, fans have long theorized that the real Aegon Targaryen really died in the novels, and the young man Tyrion meets during his travels was nothing but an imposter. Young Griff has even been dubbed "fAegon" by the community, which is short for fake Aegon. But if he was really the grandson of the Mad King, then House of the Dragon could be taking inspiration from this storyline.
Genes could also be to blame
Another possible explanation behind Daeron's reddish-brown is that genes worked their magic. The Targaryens try to keep their blood as pure as possible, which explains all the incest between them. However, marriage with other houses can change the Targaryens' defining features because their genes have proven to be recessive.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, there are multiple Targaryens who don't have purple eyes or silver hair: Queen Alysanne had blue eyes; Princess Alyssa Targaryen had blond hair and one green eye; and even Rhaenys Targaryen had black hair because her mother was a Baratheon. With that in mind, it's possibly that we're witnessing a similar scenario with Daeron on the small screen.
Alicent Hightower has reddish-brown hair, while Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) and Ormund Hightower both have brown hair. That could explain why Alicent's son, Daeron, has reddish-brown hair. It could also be a creative choice to help the character stand out.
Daeron has white hair in the source material, but the change could be a creative choice to set him apart in the show
In the source material, Daeron Targaryen does have white hair. However, this defining feature could've been changed in House of the Dragon to set him apart from his two brothers. While we've seen little of Daeron on the small screen, he has already displayed a lot more compassion than Aegon and Aemond ever did. Furthermore, it's also important to remember that he was raised like a Hightower rather than a Targaryen.
Daeron's brown hair could serve to visually reflect all of the differences between him and his family, regardless of the true reason why he doesn't sport the Targaryens' defining white hair. Maybe we'll get more concrete answers when more episodes of House of the Dragon are released or if the show's cast and crew ever acknowledge this situation during an interview.
In the meantime, it looks like Daeron either dyed his hair to remain unnoticed by the Blacks, or biology had a bit of a say in all this.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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