House of the Dragon: Why does Daemon Targaryen prefer to ride his dragon over his wife?

• After a quarrel, the king banishes his brother Daemon Targaryen to his wife in the Vale.
• Daemon instead seeks refuge in Dragonstone with his lover.
• The Targaryen Prince is less fond of his wife and has more love for his dragon and whore.

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In the GoT spin-off “House of the Dragon”, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) makes it absolutely clear that he neither loves his wife nor particularly likes him. Instead of being with her in the hated Green Valley, he prefers to spread fear and terror with his dragon Caraxes.

When the king throws him out of the city guard in anger and orders him to return to his wife’s side, Daemon prefers to travel to Dragonstone with his beloved. With a stolen dragon egg and a fiancé thought to be pregnant, the prince plans his life in a polygamous marriage to two women.

Hard shell soft core

The spirited prince is a skilled and ruthless knight and commander of King’s Landing City Guard. With obvious joy he enjoys spreading fear and terror among the town’s criminals. With his sword “Dark Sister” he insists on beating off the arms, legs or heads of the lawbreakers themselves.

Daemon’s ego seems to know no bounds and he celebrates his every deed. But he also has an emotional side. He brings his niece Rhaenyra Targaryen a gift from each of his travels, and his lover, the prostitute Mysaria, holds a high place in his reputation.

The loveless marriage

Daemon’s wife Rhea Rois (Rachel Redford) does not arouse any good feelings in the dragon rider. Although the marriage started out promising, Daemon grew increasingly bored with his wife.

Queen Alysanne Targaryen promised Daemon to the young heiress of Runestone at the age of 16. But his life in the Vale and at Rhea’s side was too boring for the Targaryen Prince. He not only began to hate the Vale, but also his wife, whom he was not allowed to leave.

For this reason he also calls Rhea pejorative as his “bronze slut”, referring to the bronze armor of the lords of the House of Royce with this expression. This not only reveals his dislike of his wife, but of her entire family.

Daemon’s Escape to Dragonstone

After Daemon is told to return to his wife by his brother, he instead travels with his beloved to Dragonstone, the Targaryen family seat. He wants revenge for his brother’s betrayal, who named his daughter Rhaenyra and not him the rightful heir to the throne.

In order to provoke his brother, he not only stole an egg from the dragon Dreamfire, but also invented an alleged pregnancy and marriage with the prostitute Mysaria. So he wants to escape from his actual marriage. According to his brother, he can’t divorce Lady Rhea Rois, so he wants to take a second wife to escape the “bronze bitch”.

Daemon’s Redemption – Warning! Spoiler!

Ultimately, Daemon is freed from his loveless marriage when Lady Rhea Rois falls off her horse while falconry. When she falls, the young woman hits her head on a stone and is initially tied to her bed for a few days. When she supposedly feels better, Rhea wants to get out of her bed and collapses in the process. After a few hours she dies.

Daemon is not with his wife at this time. He fights alongside Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) in the War of the Stepping Stones. After learning of his wife’s death, he flies to the Green Valley on his dragon Caraxes. He wants to claim the runestone inheritance, but it falls to Rhea’s nephew. When Daemon complains to Jeyne Arryn about this, not only is his claim dismissed, he is expelled from the Vale.

Daemon’s marriage to Lady Rhea could play a role, especially at the beginning of “House of the Dragon”. Despite the loveless marriage, the House of Roycee fights alongside the blacks in “Dance of the Dragons” who want to assert Rhaenyra Targaryen’s claim to the throne. Daemon fights for his niece too. Whether marriage will play a bigger role in the series than in “Fire and Blood” remains to be seen. Still, it shows that Daemon doesn’t give his affections to every woman, even if he seems like a playboy.

The Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon was released on August 22, 2022. The new episodes are made available every Monday on a weekly basis on Sky and the Wow streaming service.