George R.R. Martin explains Daeron Targaryen's absence from House of the Dragon season 1
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As House of the Dragon nears the end of its first season, viewers have gotten to see various members of the Targaryen dynasty through several iterations. Just as Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke replaced Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower, this past Sunday's episode saw Tom Glynn-Carney and Ewan Mitchell take over the roles of Prince Aegon Targaryen and Prince Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen. Aegon is married to his own sister, Helaena (Phia Saban), though neither of them seem particularly happy about it.
But where, fans have asked, is their youngest brother, Daeron Targaryen? After all, Daeron has an important role to play in the civil war to come — as does his dragon, Tessarion, nicknamed "the Blue Queen."
Worry no longer: A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R.R. Martin explained Daeron's absence in his latest blog post.
"Yes, Alicent gave Viserys four children, three sons and a daughter," Martin confirmed. "Their youngest son Daeron is down in Oldtown, we just did not have the time to work him in this season."
Ollie Upton/HBO Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen on 'House of the Dragon'
This does make sense. Fans who are familiar with Fire & Blood (Martin's book about the history of the Targaryens that provides the source material for House of the Dragon) know that Daeron doesn't show up until later in the war, and when he does appear he's with the Hightower army. Oldtown is the seat of House Hightower, the family of Daeron's mother, and also the location of the maesters' Citadel and the Starry Sept of the Faith. It is a common destination for younger sons of the nobility who aren't assumed to inherit power themselves.
Daeron's absence isn't the only thing Martin wished the show had more time for in season 1, though. He also rued the lack of time to explore the relationship between Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), who is the clear father of Rhaenyra's sons but who only got limited screen time before his fiery death at the hands of his brother Larys (Matthew Needham), as well as the marriage between Daemon (Matt Smith) and the late Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell). Daemon and Rhaenyra have now married in the wake of their partners' deaths.
Martin also made a note of praising Paddy Considine's performance as King Viserys I Targaryen, which came to an end this past episode. That is one character who has actually been explored more in House of the Dragon than in Fire & Blood, as Martin himself admitted.
"Kudos to Eileen Shim, the scriptwriter, to Geeta Patel, the director, to our incredible cast… and particularly to Paddy Considine, for his portrayal of King Viserys, the First of His Name," Martin wrote. "The character he created (with Ryan [Condal] and Sara [Hess] and the rest of our writers) for the show is so much more powerful and tragic and fully-fleshed than my own version in Fire & Blood that I am half tempted to go back and rip up those chapters and rewrite the whole history of his reign. Paddy deserves an Emmy for this episode alone. If he doesn't get one, hey, there's no justice. Meanwhile, I am going to give Archmaester Gyldayn a smack for leaving out so much good stuff."
That last line is, of course, a reference to the fictional narrator of Fire & Blood. House of the Dragon has a different storytelling perspective, which has led to some interesting changes.
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