House of the Dragon: You Won’t Believe How Daemon Dies

This post includes spoilers from House of the Dragon season 2.

Death is often unexpected in Westeros. Your favorite character thinks they’re at their uncle’s lavish wedding and then bam! He’s dead, his wife’s dead, and his mom’s dead. Elsewhere, characters as sickly as King Visyers (Paddy Considine) on House of the Dragon last four or five episodes longer than you ever imagined. There are a rare few, however, who don’t just tempt fate but choose it.

Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is one of those lucky (“lucky”) characters. He even calls it the day it occurs. Think what you will of a guy who marries his own niece and then hires assassins to kill children in their sleep, but he’s got flair. His dragon, Caraxes, is one of the strongest beasts in Westeros, and his sword, Dark Sister, was last wielded by Aegon the Conqueror’s sister-wife, Visenya Targaryen.

If you’ve read George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, then you already know what’s ahead. For those curious about how Daemon’s story pans out, beware that it also involves the fate of another dragon-riding warrior.

Theo Whiteman//HBODaemon Targaryen decides his own fate.

Daemon Dies in Battle with AemondSorry to spoil two deaths for the price of one, but the fight between Daemon and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) is one for the books. As you may recall, Daemon had it out for his nephew after Aemond murdered Lucerys in the season 1 finale. He hires two assassins named Blood and Cheese to infiltrate the castle in King’s Landing and kill “a son for a son” while Aemond slept. The mission doesn’t go according to plan in the season 2 premiere. Blood and Cheese kill the young heir, Jaehaerys, instead.

Later in the source material—and probably at some point on TV—Daemon remains unfazed in his quest to kill Aemond and knock the largest dragon, Vhagar, out of play. He challenges Aemond to a fight, one-on-one. As the two duke it out over Harrenhal, Daemon jumps from Caraxes and stabs Aemond right through his sapphire eye. Both men and their dragons fall into the sea to their deaths.

HBODaemon’s death will dramatically affect the series.

When Will Daemon’s Death Happen on House of the Dragon?Once Daemon leaves Dragonstone for Harrenhal, there isn’t much left for him to do but trade lives with Aemond. Aemond, however, does fight in a significant battle before he takes on Daemon, so this isn’t likely to happen in the immediate few weeks.

In fact, with House of the Dragon renewed for season 3 (and no doubt thinking beyond), I wouldn’t expect this fight to occur in season 2. It’s possible that the writers will even save it for the end of the series, since Smith’s and Mitchell’s characters are both so popular. All you need to know for now is that Daemon’s days are numbered.