House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 sees Daemon Targaryen settling in at Harrenhal – but one easily missed moment sets up a huge moment for him in the future.
Now, the following is going to go into major spoilers for House of the Dragon and George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood. Turn back now if you’re not up to date and if you don’t want spoilers about what might be coming next!
Now, if you’re still reading, then you’re ready to delve into what the future has in store for Daemon Targaryen.
Daemon’s future is foreshadowed at Harrenhal *Major spoilers*
In the episode, Daemon has strange visions that lead him around the dark castle. In one vision, Daemon is told: “You will die in this place.”
That’s extremely ominous, obviously – and what makes it even worse is that it’s entirely true. In Martin’s Fire and Blood, Daemon meets his glorious end at Harrenhal, and this isn’t even the first time the show has foreshadowed the looming confrontation.
You might have noticed already that Daemon and Aemond have quite the rivalry, and it’s eventually going to come to a head in a fight to the death at Harrenhal, which is known as the Battle Above the Gods Eye.
The duel sees Aemond ride Vhagar and Daemon ride Caraxes, clashing in one of the most epic showdowns in Fire and Blood. “Their roars echoed across the Gods Eye as the two grappled and tore at one another, dark against a blood-red sky,” Martin writes of Vhagar and Caraxes. “So bright did their flames burn that fisherfolk below feared the clouds themselves had caught fire.”
Crucially, Aemond straps himself into his saddle atop Vhagar. This proves to be a fatal mistake, as Daemon is able to dive from his own dragon’s back and strike a deadly blow against his nephew. In fact, he drives his sword through Aemond’s blinded eye, “so hard the point came out the back of the young prince’s throat.” Brutal.
Shortly after this dramatic moment, both dragons and riders plunge into the water below them, and Vhagar’s blood is so hot it boils the lake around her. Both dragons die, and both riders (seemingly) perish, too – Aemond’s skeleton is discovered still strapped into his saddle, and still with Daemon’s Valyrian steel blade up to its hilt in his eye socket.
Daemon, however, is never found. Fire and Blood is written like a history made up of conflicting sources, so some singers believe the Rogue Prince could have survived, while the other narrators believe he couldn’t possibly have lived.
We’ll just have to wait and see what Daemon’s ultimate fate is, then – but, judging by the tease in this episode, he’ll be riding to his death when he takes to the skies above Harrenhal and meets Aemond and Vhagar in battle.
House of the Dragon season 2 continues weekly on HBO in the US and Sky and NOW in the UK. For even more on the show, check out our deep dives on:
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