Daemon’s House of the Dragon plan connects him to a key Targaryen tyrant

Throughout Daenerys Targaryen’s rise to power in Game of ThronesHer father, the Madking Aerys, is a specter that hangs in the air. As Daenerys struggles with her quest to find the Iron Throne and experiences both setbacks as well as successes, many characters (Barristan Selmy, Tyrion Lannister, Varys, Jon Snow) question whether or not she will succeed in her pursuit.

Similarly, House of the DragonThe memory of an earlier king, known for brutality and cruelty, is used to help define Prince Daemon. It is no accident that the show repeatedly invokes King Maegor, the Cruel to refer to Daemon. What is this show trying to tell us about Daemon?

The abomination at the Iron Throne

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Maegor was Aegon’s son and third Targaryen ruler in the Seven Kingdoms. Like his descendant Daemon, he was a second son, with his elder half-brother Aenys the heir to Aegon’s throne. Maegor, whereas Aenys was more interested in cerebral pursuits than Maegor, preferred to be a jock. His father knighted him at age 16 after his mother Visenya had given him Dark Sister’s Valyrian Steel sword.

Aenys was able to get along with Maegor despite their differences. When Aegon died, Aenys declared to his brother, “We shall rule this realm together, you and I,” but in practice, Aenys alone was crowned. Maegor was able to help his brother, but he also put down numerous rebellions. He was then named the Hand of King. The brothers eventually split over the marriage. Maegor married Ceryse Hightower after thirteen years of marriage. The act was so offensive to the Faith of the Seven that it upset the common people. King Aenys then gave Maegor an ultimatum. He could either leave Ceryse Hightower or take his second wife with him into exile. Maegor decided to go into exile.

He returned when Aenys died suddenly, but rather than bend the knee to Aenys’ heir, Maegor’s nephew Aegon, Maegor claimed the Iron Throne for himself. Eventually, Aegon began rallying forces to press his claim, prompting Maegor to meet him in battle atop Balerion the Black Dread — the largest of the Targaryen dragons in Westeros. He slew his kin (and the true heir to the Iron Throne), earning him the sobriquet “Maegor the Cruel,” as well as a black mark as a Kinslayer, believed to be one of the most cursed and dishonorable things anyone in Westeros could be.

Maegor’s conflict with the church and his capacity for cruelty escalated when he took a third wife, prompting a religious uprising led by the Warrior’s Sons and the Faith Militant (the military arms of the church). Maegor set fire to the Sept of Remembrance, and all those inside. Maegor then directed the construction of the Dragonpit, where used to be the church. Maegor also celebrated completion of Red Keep with a three-day celebration. He executed every worker to make sure he knew all its secret passageways and chambers.

Maegor’s rule of six years and 66 days concluded when his gruesome and mysterious death launched one of the great urban legends of the Seven Kingdoms. The bloody end was the only way it could have ended.

Maegor is reborn

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The Mad King hovers above Daenerys all the time Game of ThronesMaegor, in subtle but obvious ways throughout, is viewed as an accomplice to Prince Daemon. House of the Dragon. Episode 1, Otto Hightower explicitly warns that Naming Daemon heir may lead to the creation of another Maegor Cruel. Although Otto is playing a long game in order to control the line of succession, he does not have the truth. However there are some kernels that support the analogy that make it more believable.

Like Maegor, Daemon is a second son, and like Maegor, his claim to the throne is usurped by his brother’s child. Both wielded Dark Sister. Both were able to fight pirates on the Stepstones and achieved military success. They are both considered warriors, compared with their more literary brothers. For their infractions, both brothers were exiled from their royal houses. But despite Otto’s assertions, Maegor remains more of a worst-case scenario for Daemon’s progression than a reflection of who he is when House of the Dragon begins.

By episode 2, however, Daemon is seemingly leaning into the comparison for his own ends: Exiled from court, squatting on Dragonstone, desperate for his brother’s attention, he steals a dragon egg for his unborn child via a woman he announces he intends to marry — despite the fact that he’s already married to a different woman. While it is the dragon egg which ultimately lights the spark under Viserys, Daemon’s (ultimately false) declaration of his intent to take a second wife immediately calls to mind Maegor’s history with polygamy and the way his desire to marry and marry again led to significant struggles with the church and tremendous bloodshed throughout the realm. Daemon is at his most Maegorlike moment at Dragonstone.

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

However House of the Dragon is amplifying the Maegor/Daemon comparison — the Dragonstone standoff is almost entirely a creation of the show, adding heightened drama and cinematic panache to what is a quick aside in Fire & Blood — showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are ultimately picking up on what George R.R. Martin explained that parallels between Maegor (and Daemon) are found in the book’s text. Martin wants viewers, just like the showrunners to remember Maegor as they learn about Daemon. Fire & Blood know the Maegor/Daemon comps aren’t done yet), to worry alongside Otto Hightower and the rest of the realm that Daemon is leaning too far into that comparison.

Thankfully, Rhaenyra is able to defuse the situation in episode 2 — and Daemon proves himself better than his great-grand uncle when he doesn’t strike down his niece, the person elevated above him in the line of succession. In episode 4, Daemon returns to court and patches things up with Viserys, only to be thrown out again after being caught nearly hooking up with Rhaenyra (important to note: one of Maegor’s six wives was his niece). But the story of Daemon Targaryen isn’t over, and the specter of Maegor will continue to loom over him as he moves deeper into the Dance of the Dragons.

Just like the narrative tension created by the question of which way Daenerys’ coin would land, House of the Dragon is invoking the memory of the cruelest Targaryen ruler to tease the worst-case scenario for Daemon’s character arc.