The season finale of House of the Dragon saw Daemon choke Rhaenyra, and it was believed to be due to jealousy and his chaotic personality.
House of the Dragon delivered its season one, episode 10 season finale which provided a surprising new aspect about fan-favourite character, Daemon Targaryen.
Before the events of the season finale, Daemon was considered more of a grey character than a villainous one, like other characters.
But in the season finale, when he choked his cousin-wife, Queen Rhaenyra, it showed a new side of the character. However, it is not explained in the episode why Daemon choked his wife.
As such, theories suggest that his actions were out of jealousy and frustration as he understood his position as king consort rather than the heir to the Iron Throne.
How Daemon choking Rhaenyra changed viewers’ perceptions
Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen, is one of the fan-favourite characters in House of the Dragon as his characterisation in the series painted him as more of a grey character than villainous, as is the case with most characters.
This is because despite his violent and chaotic nature, he was never violent towards his family in the series.
But when he choked Rhaenyra in a moment of frustration, this changed the perception for viewers as it showed that he had a propensity for violence, even towards his family, which started shading the character as villainous.
House of the Dragon: Why did Daemon choke Rhaenyra?
The season one finale of House of the Dragon finally revealed what happens after Princess Rhaenyra finds out about the death of King Viserys, as she is subsequently named Queen of the Blacks.
The episode also followed Rhaenyra’s council, and her efforts to rally allies against the Hightowers and the Green Council.
After being named queen, it is suggested that Rhaenyra declare war against the Hightowers and the Green Council to stake her claim to the Iron Throne.
Instead, she practices caution as she initially meets with Ser Otto Hightower, who offers her a peaceful deal which she was briefly considering.
This can be seen in the scene where the Black Council and Rhaenyra’s king consort suggest that she declare war, as she was still cautious of the idea.
Here we witness Daemon argue with her, which results in her clearing the room, before she tells Daemon about King Viserys’ Song of Fire and Ice prophecy, which he was unaware of.
As Rhaenyra tries to explain, Daemon chokes her before uttering, “Dreams didn’t make us kings. Dragons did”.
Hence, the series did not explain why Daemon choked his wife, as it was initially believed that he did not display violence towards his family.
The fact only led to speculation, which was that with Daemon was jealous of Rhaenyra and was frustrated about the extent of his influence over the Seven Kingdoms as king consort, rather than king.
Is Daemon jealous of Rhaenyra?
When Rhaenyra attempted to tell Daemon about King Viserys’ Song of Fire and Ice prophecy, it was made clear that Daemon did not know about the prophecy.
Therefore, in extension, it highlighted that King Viserys never thought that Daemon would be the heir to the Iron Throne.
This resulted in Daemon being jealous of Rhaenyra, as all he sought was his brother’s approval, recognition, and love, which he never got.
Rhaenyra, telling him about the prophecy, which he never knew about, seemingly affirmed that despite having technically been first in line for the throne after his brother’s death, the king never considered him a suitable heir.
Why Daemon is the catalyst for the civil war, and not Rhaenyra
In George R. R. Martin’s book, Fire and Blood, on which the series is based, Queen Rhaenyra’s legacy is not highly spoken of as she is regarded as the Half-Year Queen as that is how long she was in power.
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Moreover, because of her past scandal in patronage and the ruthlessness with which she reigned before she was beheaded, she is not held in high regard.
But House of the Dragon shows how loss led the queen to her final decisions during the events of Dance of the Dragons.
The series helped to highlight how she had advocated for peace with regard to the prophecy, but because of Daemon’s lust for blood and violence, the two families waged war against each other as Aemond killed Lucerys and Daemon killed Aegon ll’s son in revenge, which, in turn, plunged the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros into the civil war that continued for a few years.
Do Daemon and Rhaenyra stay together?
In the final moments of House of the Dragon, Daemon and Rhaenyra reconcile, as he is the one that tells her about Lucerys’ death.
However, with the civil war, Daemon will likely spend less time with Rhaenyra as he is blood hungry for Aemond, since he killed Lucerys.
While we do have to wait for subsequent seasons to see how true the series stays to the source material, in the book, Daemon finds love with a mysterious figure known as Nettles, who Rhaenyra orders to be killed. But Nettles escapes, and Daemon fights with Aemond to the death.
However, his body is never found, which resulted in the folklore that he survived and went on to live his life with Nettles.