House of the Dragon is mostly about the children of King Viserys I Targaryen. Viserys wants a male heir, but he eventually decides to name his beloved daughter Rhaenyra. When he remarries and has a son, the kingdom begins its long trudge towards civil war. Rhaenyra and Aegon II are the ones to watch during the Dance of the Dragons, but Viserys has a few additional children. His youngest, Daeron Targaryen, only seems to exist in the script. Where has he been and will he ever come back?
House of the Dragon makes a lot of considerable changes from Fire & Blood. Most of these alterations come from the time constraints imposed by a standard season of television. The showrunners probably don't want another eight-season saga like Game of Thrones, especially with several other potential spin-offs to come. Some characters disappear into the script for lack of screen time, while others vanish into the unique timeline.
House of the Dragon: The Bracken and Blackwood Feud, Explained
The battle that officially kicked off the Dance of the Dragons comes after generations of spite and bloodshed between these two angry families.
Where is Daeron Targaryen?
King Viserys I Targaryen married Alicent Hightower after the loss of his previous wife in childbirth. Viserys selected his wife out of love, a rarity in his position. Their first child was Aegon II, who would later become the usurper of the throne. They went on to have three more kids. Helaena would later marry Aegon, while Aemond became a noted dragonrider and a vicious voice in Aegon's small council. Their last child, Daeron, doesn't stay at King's Landing with his siblings. He bonds with his dragon, Tessarion, by the time he's ten. Shortly thereafter, Viserys and Alicent send Daeron to live with House Hightower in Oldtown. He's a ward of Hobert Hightower, his great-uncle on his father's side. Hobert dies when Daeron is around 16, leaving him in the care of Hobert's son and Daeron's second cousin, Ormund. He still lives in the Hightower in Oldtown with his mom's family.
Characters have mentioned Daeron in House of the Dragon, but he's never appeared. Other members of the cast only start to acknowledge him near the end of season one. Daeron Targaryen counts four dragons in support of Aegon II's claim, and though he doesn't say Daeron's name, he is counting the youngest son and Tessarion on that list. Season two has brought him up a couple of times in the first three episodes. After Aegon II removes Otto Hightower from his position as the Hand of the King, Alicent recommends he go to Oldtown to win Daeron to their side. They suggest that Daeron might be more easily manipulated, implying they may eventually keep him in the back pocket as a replacement monarch. It's one of a thousand terrible showings of Alicent's moral position. Most recently, Aegon's Master of Laws, Jasper Wylde, suggested using Daeron and Tessarion to bring the Riverlands to their knees.
What does Daeron Targaryen do in Fire & Blood?
Spoilers lie ahead for the book that inspired House of the Dragon and probably the rest of the show. Daeron starts his journey just like he did in the show. He lives in Oldtown as a ward of Ormund Hightower. Ormund isn't Hobert's son in this iteration, but it is otherwise consistent. Daeron joined the Dance of the Dragons when an army from Oldtown marched against several smaller houses in the Reach. While the Hightowers were the most ardent supporters of the Greens, many neighboring nobles declared for the Blacks. House Hightower sought to crush opposition and capture the Reach in the Battle of the Honeywine. Ormund's strategy was catastrophic, leaving his army surrounded by enemies and rapidly dying. Daeron flew in on Tessarion, saving House Hightower's host and leader from an early exit from the Dance. Ormund knighted Daeron for his accomplishment, dubbing him Daeron the Daring.
Daeron stuck with House Hightower throughout most of the war. Aemond set out to capture Harrenhal from Daemon Targaryen, leaving King's Landing open to a terrible assault. Daeron stayed in the Reach, winning houses to his side and burning any town that resisted. The Blacks sent Dragonseeds Ulf White and Hugh Hammer to stop Daeron, but they defected to the Greens for unknown reasons. The two betrayers quickly became power-hungry maniacs, demanding absurd prizes for helping the Greens. Daeron authorizes the Caltrops, a group of nobles planning to assassinate Ulf and Hugh. It cost most of their lives, but the Caltrops succeeded in killing those rogue Dragonseeds. Daeron died mysteriously in battle. He either burned alive in his tent or suffered a lethal wound as he tried to escape the blazing structure.
Daeron is important in aspects of the Dance of the Dragon, but his contributions are far from essential. He is in the unfortunate position of being away from the central areas for almost all of the story. While Daeron Targaryen never reaches the Iron Throne, he is a fascinating force on the Greens' side. House of the Dragon may be saving Daeron for the big finale, but it could also just be keeping the tragic fourth son on the margins.
House of the Dragon: Who is Alyn of Hull?
House of the Dragon season two puts a suspicious amount of focus on the sailor that saved Corlys Velaryon, but what else does Alyn have going on?
