Daemon’s House of the Dragon plan connects him to a key Targaryen tyrant

Through Daenerys Targaryen’s rise to power game of thrones, the ghost of her father, the Mad King Aeris, looms large. Over the course of the series, as Daenerys experiences setbacks and successes in her quest for the Iron Throne, many characters, from Barristan Selmy to Tyrion Lannister, Varys, and Jon Snow, will see her eventually rise to greatness. One wonders if she’ll show off or give in to a genetically predisposed madness…of her line.

Similarly, House of the Dragon Using the memories of the previous king, known for his ferocity and cruelty, we will tell the characteristics of one of its central characters, the Demon Prince. It’s no coincidence that throughout the series, the cruel King Meigor was repeatedly invoked in relation to Daemons. But who exactly was Maegor the Cruel, and what is the show trying to say about his Daemon by creating this link between the two of them?

Iron Throne Abomination

The cruel Megor was the son of Aegon the Conqueror and the third Targaryen ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Like his descendant Daemon, he is the second son and his half-brother Aenys is heir to the throne of Aegon. Whereas Aenys set out to pursue brains, Maegor was more of a joke. When he turned thirteen, his mother Vicenya gifted him the Valyrian steel sword Dirk, and at sixteen he was knighted by his father, the highest in the kingdom at the time. Became a young knight.

Despite their differences in proclivities, Aenys and Maegor got along well enough. When Aegon died, Aenys declared to his brother, “We will rule this realm together, you and I,” but in reality only Aenys was crowned. Maegor helped his brother (brutally) put down several rebellions and was named Hand of the King. However, the brothers made up over the marriage. After thirteen years childless at Serise Hightower, Maeger decided to take a second wife, an act so insulting to the seven faiths and so upset the public that King Ainis ordered him to be his last. A notice was given: either put aside the second wife, or go into exile.. Mager chose exile.

When Aennis suddenly died, he returned, but rather than bow to Aegon, Meigor’s nephew, Aennis’ heir, Meigor claimed the Iron Throne for himself. Eventually, Aegon began to rally his forces to push his case, prompting Maeger to meet him in battle atop Valerion the Blackdread, the greatest Targaryen dragon in Westeros. He killed his own kin (and true heir to the Iron Throne), earned the nickname “The Cruel Maygor”, and the Kinslayer, believed to be one of the most cursed and disgraceful things in Westeros. earned the black mark as Be.

Meigor’s conflict with the Church and his capacity for atrocities escalated when he took his third wife, leading to religious riots led by Sons of Warriors and Faith Extremists (the church’s military wing). I was. The uprising ended when Magar used dragon fire to burn his memory of September and everyone within it. He then ordered the construction of the Dragon Pit on the spot where the church once stood. In other construction-based atrocities, Maegor celebrated the completion of his Red Keep, and he threw three days of massive feasts for all who worked on its construction. When the feast was over, he executed all the workers, and he was the only one who had full knowledge of its many hidden rooms and secret passageways.

Maegor’s reign of six years and sixty-six days ended when his gruesome and mysterious death began one of the great urban legends of the Seven Kingdoms. It ended in a bloody mess.

Meigo Reborn

Photo: Olly Upton/HBO

Like the Mad King closing in on Daenerys game of thronesMaeger is retained as a demon prince comp in both obvious and subtle ways. House of the DragonIn Episode 1, Otto Hightower blatantly warns that naming a Daemon successor risks giving the realm another Megor the Cruel. Much of that sentiment stems from Otto running his own long game to control his line of inheritance, but there’s a core of truth that underlines the comparison that helps it resonate.

Like Mager, he is the second son, and like Mager, the throne has been usurped by his younger brother. Both wielded the Dark Sister. Both achieved military fame and glorious battle pirates at Stepstone. Both are considered warriors compared to their bookish brothers. And both were banished by the king’s brothers for their sins. However, despite Otto’s insistence, Maeger remains the worst-case scenario of Damon’s progression, rather than reflecting who he is when. House of the Dragon to start.

But by episode 2, Daemon appears to be leaning into comparisons for his own ends: banished from court, squatting in Dragonstone, craving his brother’s attention, he’s going to marry steals a dragon egg for its unborn child through a woman who announces that she is — despite the fact that he is already married to another woman. It is the Dragon Egg that ultimately lights the spark under Viserys, but the declaration of his intention to accept Damon’s (ultimately false) second wife is at odds with Meigor’s history of polygamy. , is a quick reminder of how his desire to marry and marry again led to significant struggles. Tremendous bloodshed throughout the church and kingdom. The standoff in Dragonstone represents his Daemon, perhaps the most Maegor-like he has ever been.

Photo: Olly Upton/HBO

in the meantime House of the Dragon Amplifying the Maegor/Daemon comparison — the Dragonstone standoff is almost entirely the show’s making, heightening drama and cinematic panache to what’s aside Fire & Blood — showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik pick up what George R. R. Martin ultimately put down, as the similarities between Maegor and Daemon come from the text of the book. Likewise, Martin hopes readers (and readers of) keep Mager in mind when they read about Damon. Fire & Blood I know the Maegor/Daemon configuration isn’t done yet), I have to worry that Daemon leans too heavily into that comparison, along with Otto Hightower and other areas.

Thankfully, Rhaenyra is able to defuse the situation in Episode 2. Daemon also proves himself superior to her great-grandfather if he doesn’t beat his niece who is elevated above him in the line of succession. In Episode 4, Daemon returns to court and patches up with Viserys, but is thrown out again after being caught hooking up with Rhaenyra (important: Maegor’s one of his six wives person was his niece). But the Daemon his Targaryen story isn’t over. Maeger’s specter continues to haunt him as he delves deeper into the dragon’s dance.

Like the narrative tension created by the question of which way Daenerys’ coin lands, House of the Dragon It evokes memories of the most cruel Targaryen lords and teases the worst-case scenarios of the demonic character arc.