The unrest between Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen is admittedly strong, now that Alicent Hightower has installed her son Aegon II Targaryen on the Iron Throne. However, Daemon chokes his wife after she teases him that his brother, Viserys Targaryen, did not inform him about the Song of Ice and Fire. This scene was not taken well by fans worldwide, however, the writer of House of the Dragon, Ryan Condal, has put this scene in the series thoughtfully.
It is worth noting that Viserys tried telling Daemon about the Song of Ice and Fire in a deleted scene from House of the Dragon. However, he immediately figured out that Daemon is not worth sharing this information with.
Daemon’s first response was to grasp his niece-wife by the neck in rage. This is the first scene in House of the Dragon that Daemon has shown actual hostility towards her. Remarkably, showrunner Ryan Condal, in communication with ‘Deadline’ has said that the performances of Emma D’Arcy (Rhanyra) and Matt Smith (Daemon) made the scene even more compelling.
Ryan Condal Believes Daemon Is A Bad Husband For Rhaenyra Targaryen?
House of the Dragon writer Ryan Condal discussed the significance of the ‘Daemon choking Rhaenyra’ scene in the final episode of HOTD season 1, in a discussion with Deadline. Ryan Condal disclosed the deeper factors of why Daemon choked Rhaenyra, demonstrating just how threatening ‘The Rogue Prince’ is. This is what Condal said:
“Did Rhaenyra make the right choice in marrying her uncle? I don’t, in my opinion. That is an incredibly shocking scene and honestly, one of my favourite scenes of the finale that is beautifully performed by Emma and Matt.”
Ryan Condal does not look at the scene like the fans do, and as the writer, it is understandable. He believes that Daemon is a tricky character and has ‘shown many colours.’ Condal continues to say:
“I don’t think as the writer of this series that there is very much new information in that scene about Daemon. I think Daemon has very much, through the course of this season, shown you a lot of colours that would not lead one to be all that shocked in that moment. That primal danger is always lurking beneath the surface, and it just happened to come out in that moment.”
Daemon had always believed that he would be heir after Viserys’ death, however, he was already once shattered when he was sent to Dragonstone and Rhaenyra was named heir. This feeling of insecurity must have come out in the heat of the moment, during his conversation with Rhaenyra. Ryan Condal explains how Daemon had a sudden realization of how little his brother Viserys thought of him. Condal said:
“It was made very obvious to him that his brother never really regarded him as the true heir of the throne. That infuriates him. It’s the worst hurt that he could experience to learn that Viserys kept [the prophecy] from him, that he so willingly shared with Rhaenyra. It just breaks Daemon in that moment, and that’s how he reacts.”
How Will The Procephy Play Out?
It’ll be intriguing to see if “House of the Dragon” outlines the prophecy later on, but the emphasis is clearly on the Targaryens and Hightowers instead of the White Walkers. Similar to Game of Thrones, the threat of the white walkers may be shown as a lingering problem throughout the series until at some points or at the end of the series.
Whatever may Ryan Condal’s way of portraying the white walkers, one thing is clear: House of the Dragon must portray them in some way. Otherwise, what would be the meaning behind introducing the fans to the prophecy anyway?
