“He might help us soon.”
Who says start of the week, says decryption of the last episode of House of the Dragon. Unlike the first season, this second part takes the time it takes to set up the elements of the plot. The calm pace allows spectators to appreciate the manipulation of the characters and the strings of power tied between them. In this second episode, freshly released, it is Team Green’s turn to mourn the death of the heir. King Aegon then declares war and the pawns advance little by little on the immense political chessboard. On the weakened Black side, a schism seems to be taking place. And as with the previous episode, the last minutes keep us in suspense – culminating in a heartbreaking fratricide.
House of the Dragon, saison 2 : la fin pour Daemon et Rhaenyra ?
Among the new elements to remember from this episode, there was one that should not be missed. Certainly brief, it is no less important in the eyes of the Targaryen dynasty. During a conversation between Queen Alicent and her father, Otto Hightower, stripped of his position as Hand of the King in favor of Ser Criston Cole, the latter declares that he is retiring to Villevieille. It is there, he continues, that the last son of Alicent and the late King Viersys I is found: Daeron Targaryen. “He might help us soon.”
If for readers of the novel Fire and Blood, from which the series is taken, this name is evocative, for ordinary spectators, here is another character who complicates the already complex genealogical tree of the family with three-headed dragons. Absent from the show and yet emblematic of the saga, Daeron is mentioned here for the very first time. But who is he exactly?
Entrusted to Lord Ormund Hightower, Otto’s brother, and raised in Villevieille, Daeron is the youngest of the royal children. During the first season, his absence made fans believe that the writers chose to sideline him in favor of his brothers and sisters: Aegon, Helaena and Aemond. However, in October 2022, GRR Martin confirmed on his personal blog the existence of this character in the series and justified himself: “We just didn’t have time to work on his character in this season.”
What will happen in season 2? A few months before the return to Westeros, Ryan Condal, the showrunner, teased in this sense:
“Daeron is a staple and a character in the series. Don’t worry. He will arrive in due time.”
Is its brief mention at the end of this episode a sign that that time has arrived? Well, maybe not. In an interview given to Variety, when the journalist asked Condal who was chosen to play Daeron, the latter declared that no actor would play this character in this season:
“Daeron hasn’t been cast yet. I said he was a character in the show, but at this point in the story he’s in Oldtown where he was sent as a child. (…) He will join the narrative and have a role to play just like in the book – but at this point we haven’t gotten to that point in the story yet.”
So would this mention serve as a simple reminder? A subtle way of not throwing this character into oblivion? In the meantime, his prolonged absence in the series calls into question the very structure of this second season.
In the novel, during a battle, the presence of Daeron and his dragon Tessarion allows this side to regain the upper hand. We can read :
“This dragon was Tessarion, the Blue Queen, cobalt and copper. On her back rode the youngest of Queen Alicent’s three sons, Daeron Targaryen, fifteen years old, Lord Ormund’s squire, this same gentle and polite young man who had once been foster-brother of Prince Jacearys.”
Thanks to his courage, he was knighted and renamed Ser Daeron the Bold. In the Green camp, he constitutes a major and military force and positions himself as a potential heir to the Iron Throne if his brothers were to disappear… or die.
If the young man is not visible in season 2, we could imagine that this battle and each event including it will be rewritten, modified, or postponed to season 3. By then, perhaps we will know- us more about his presence in the series. The third episode of House of the Dragon will be available next Monday on Max.
House of the Dragon will indeed have the right to a season 3
