House of the Dragon's Daemon Targaryen Explained: His Full Book Backstory From Fire and Blood

Daemon Targaryen, the character Matt Smith plays in House of the Dragon, has a long and storied history in Fire and Blood, and in this piece I am going through all of it, from his life to his death and what happened to those around him. When I wrote this in August 2022, as the series was just getting started, the show had set him up to be one of its major antagonists or antiheroes, and his history in the book meant there were some major moments coming.

Full spoilers ahead. Because I am covering the whole of the character's history, including his final fate, this may ruin the show for you if you read on.

Fire and Blood introduces Daemon as a dashing prince with a sadistic side

Daemon first came to prominence in chapter 12 of Fire and Blood, titled Heirs of the Dragon. That chapter recounts all the events of the show, including all of its characters. Early on, Daemon is introduced as the heir to King Viserys, but as we see in the show, that position gets passed over to the king's daughter.

Daemon was the second son of Prince Baelon Targaryen and his wife Alyssa. The book describes him as fair and dashing, but he also hides a sadistic side that makes him very dangerous. An early paragraph on the character describes him as someone who cut the hands off pickpockets and slit the noses of thieves. Daemon took pleasure from pain.

Daemon loved Mysaria but was married off to Lady Rhea of Runestone

When he wasn't causing misery, Daemon was spending time in the brothel with his lover Mysaria. She got the nickname Misery basically because of her reputation, and as I see it, "you can see how the two were attracted to each other." The two fell in love and Mysaria ended up becoming pregnant, which I come back to further down.

The whole thing became a bit of an entanglement, because Daemon had actually married Lady Rhea to build an allegiance between the family and those at Runestone. Daemon absolutely hated her and called her the Bronze. It was purely a marriage based on status. The match had been arranged years earlier under King Jaehaerys, and Daemon's pleas to be released from it were refused.

Criston Cole bested an arrogant Daemon at the tournament

Daemon ended up supporting Viserys in his ascension, as this would allow him to become next in line. At the celebration at Maidenpool, he rode into the tournament as arrogant as ever, but he was bested by Criston Cole. That echoes what we see in the first episode of the series.

The show did change the timeline a bit here. In the book, the tournament happens for the ascension of Viserys, whereas in the show it is held for the birth of his son Baelon.

Otto Hightower's attempt to sideline Daemon handed him the City Watch

As we hear in the opening episode, Daemon had many jobs. The first was master of coin, which he held for only a year, and it was during this time that he made an enemy of Otto Hightower. As Hand of the King, Otto convinced Viserys to remove Daemon from the position, and he was then appointed commander of the City Watch.

Where the coin job had bored him, Daemon absolutely loved this new role, because it allowed him to carry out murder under the guise of law and order. He ruled with passion and ferocity and quickly became a highly regarded figure among the City Watch. That backfired on Otto, who had hoped the move would remove Daemon from a position of true power. Instead, Daemon now had two thousand men who loyally served him.

Crime fell under his reign, and he gave every guard a golden cloak, which created the idea that they were truly above the peasants.

Daemon's Heir for a Day remark cost him the succession

Daemon sought the role of heir to the throne, and as we saw in the show, it was taken away from him after the death of Baelon. In both the book and the series, he coined the term Heir for a Day, and Daemon truly believed that a higher power was clearing the way for him to ascend.

Viserys was pretty annoyed by this, and he announced Rhaenyra as his official heir. Daemon left with Mysaria, so he did not attend the ceremony in the Red Keep.

A stolen dragon egg and a lost child turned Daemon against Viserys

From there, the pair flew to Dragonstone, which is where Mysaria fell pregnant. Daemon gave her a dragon egg, which was supposed to symbolise the birth of a new child in the family. Typically these eggs would be placed in the crib alongside the baby, and they were meant to show a connection to the royal family.

The only thing is, Daemon took the egg that had been meant for Baelon, "which added further insult to injury." Viserys commanded that he return the egg and told him he had to go back to Rhea in the Vale. Daemon abided by this and sent Mysaria away to Lys. On that journey she lost their child, and that made Daemon fully start to turn against his brother.

King of the Stepstones, and the rumours about Daemon and Rhaenyra

Daemon then made an allegiance with Corlys and was declared King of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea. It didn't last long, though. Daemon became bored and returned home, burying the hatchet with his brother, giving up his kingdom and taking a seat on the small council once more.

While all this was going on, Viserys had married Alicent, and together the pair had children, which meant Daemon was now further down the line. So he started to really sink his claws into Rhaenyra, and according to the book the pair allegedly slept together. Because the book is built from texts, it offers two takes on this. One tale says Rhaenyra simply said she loved him, while the character Mushroom said Daemon taught her how to seduce champions.

Rhaenyra apparently approached Criston Cole, but he rejected her. Many told Viserys he should execute his brother for treason, but instead he simply exiled him.

Daemon killed a rival to marry Laena Velaryon

Shortly after this, Rhea fell from a horse and died, which meant Daemon could claim Runestone for himself. He was rejected by the house, however, and so he turned his eyes to another house, namely House Velaryon. He asked Lord Corlys for his daughter's hand in marriage, but she was promised to the son of a sea lord. Daemon wouldn't let that get in the way: he killed him and then married the girl.

Because the marriage was not approved by the king, the pair left for Essos, where they had twin daughters. Daemon wrote to his brother asking if they could receive a royal blessing, and because Viserys believed fatherhood had changed him, he allowed them to attend. His wife Laena fell pregnant again but died in childbirth, and that sent Daemon off the deep end even further than before. Mysterious fires started springing up, which he was suspected of, and he continued his quest for power.

A secret marriage to Rhaenyra and the Dance of the Dragons

Unbeknownst to King Viserys, Daemon married his daughter Rhaenyra in secret, and it was believed that Daemon had also killed her previous husband to create an opening for himself. The pair had two sons, Prince Aegon and Viserys. It gets confusing, because a lot of people are called Viserys.

At one point there were a ton of people in line for the throne, and when Viserys died of an illness, the Dance of the Dragons began. That is basically the term for when everyone fought it out for the throne, and it led to a lot of bloodshed. It also saw the Blacks and the Greens come to prominence, two sides that supported the people they believed should be next on the throne. Alicent was prominent among the Greens and pushed the idea that her son Aegon was the true heir, while the Blacks supported Rhaenyra and Daemon.

Rhaenyra and Daemon had another daughter who was stillborn, with the blame placed on the Greens. Daemon called together the houses that hadn't pledged loyalty and tried to gain a vast majority. Under his command the crown was smuggled out of the capital and placed on his wife's head. From there he led several attacks on the Greens. Aegon was also announced as king, and with the Targaryens gaining allegiances on both sides, the family went to war with itself. Because they all possessed dragons, the entire landscape became a hellscape covered in ash.

Nettles, Aemond and Daemon's apparent death over the lake

Daemon also started an affair with a woman called Nettles. Mysaria popped up out of nowhere and told Rhaenyra about it, and Rhaenyra ordered the death of Nettles. Daemon found out in advance and sent her away on his ship before announcing his own departure.

He knew it wouldn't be long before he was found, and eventually he was tracked by Aemond, who arrived on his dragon Vhagar. They battled Daemon and Caraxes, which led to them all apparently dying in the air. Daemon jumped from Caraxes onto Vhagar and killed both, causing them to plummet into the lake below. Aemond's body was recovered, but Daemon's never was, and though it was thought he died, you never really know.

Which of these moments from Daemon's book history did you most want to see brought to the screen?