It was abundantly clear in the season finale that Daemon truly values Rhaenyra as the queen, and it doesn't appear to be for his own gain. All of his actions indicate that he looks to her as his leader even before she's taken power and has every intention to get her to her rightful throne.
They have a lot of love for each other and Daemon does still support Rhaenyra despite his temper in this episode. He still bends the knee to Rhaenyra and calls her his queen, and he's the one who delivers the news to her at the end that Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) is dead.
1 Daemon Probably Loves Rhaenyra
However, Fire & Blood gives some insights into Daemon's character, which House of the Dragon only touches on in the last episodes of Season 1. Daemon shows his genuine care and attention to Rhaenyra several times before the two marry.
When she was 17, Daemon tried to seduce her in a brothel as a ploy to have her virtue questioned and make Viserys marry her to him. However, realizing Rhaenyra was actually excited by his sexual advances and that he actually had feelings for her, Daemon stopped and abandoned her.
Daemon's underlying motivations in seducing Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon episode 4 weren't simply to sleep with her, as he truly wanted to make his brother angry and have her virtue questioned.
While Daemon and Rhaenyra have been circling each other for quite some time, the finale revealed a darker and more toxic aspect of their relationship when, arguing over how to proceed against Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), Daemon chokes Rhaenyra in order to get his point across.
In "King of the Narrow Sea", Rhaenyra seduced Ser Criston after she herself was denied by her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith). She and her paramour spent the night together, and she was warm towards Ser Criston afterward.
It was clear that Leana and Laenor had a close relationship, and she likely would not appreciate her uncle choosing this moment to make a statement while her brother grieves. Daemon laughs at this moment because Vaemond is choosing this moment to guilt Rhaenyra for having children with Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr).
Though Rhaenyra has sympathetic motives, having been declared her father's heir, her treatment of the dragonseeds and Velaryons, along with her tyranny means she is regarded as a villain.
Daemon's age in the show is not explicitly revealed, but neither are we led to believe that his age is significantly different from what it is in George R. R. Martin's books. So, let's agree that he is (give or take) 16 years older than Rhaenyra. This places him in his early 30s when we first see him meet his niece.
While this is a revelation in and of itself, this sequence also highlights the truth of Daemon and Rhaenyra - he is an abuser and she is his victim, albeit perhaps one who does not see herself as a victim.
We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
According to the accounts of Septon Eustace, prior to her turning sixteen, Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle, Prince Daemon, after he seduced her.
After Daemon's first wife dies, he gets together with Laena Velaryon—who was initially suggested as a bride for King Viserys. They have two daughters. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra marries Laena's brother, Laenor Velaryon, and they have several kids.
Daemon couldn't perform with Rhaenyra after she took control of the situation. “It's the idea that Daemon is using Rhaenyra as a way to get at her father,” showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said.
After the beginning of Daemon and Rhaenyra's marriage played offscreen, viewers were able to return to the story to see the pair after they'd established their life together. It's obvious that in that time, the two gained an awareness of both themselves and each other.
Although she has married another and had other lovers, she clearly has a crush on her uncle, whom she secretly marries (after becoming a widow and mistress). Initially married to Rhea Royce, whom he kills to be free, he marries Laena Velaryon, with whom he has two daughters and lives well.
He doesn't only ignore Laena on the issue, though, he actively ignores his daughter Rhaena (Eva Ossei-Gerning) as well, perhaps because she doesn't own a dragon like her sister Baela (Shani Smethhurst) or her parents.
Many fans have been pointing to Rhaenyra as being similar to Queen Cersei Lannister. After all, both had three children, both were romantically interested in a family member, and both found themselves ruling over ungrateful lords and members of the smallfolk.
Later, in episode seven, Daemon tells Rhaenyra that he and Laena were "happy enough" in their marriage. In that regard, there was far more love between Daemon and Laena than there ever was between him and Rhea, even if it wasn't entirely romantic.
Daemon probably had a better relationship with Laena than he did with Rhaenyra, but in general I feel it's a safe assumption that he did love both as his spouses.
Then Daemon kissed her. And she was very much interested in that. The uncle and niece got steamy fast. Clothes flew off and Rhaenyra gave back to Daemon as good as she got.
A sordid and controversial story began to spread that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle Daemon at age 16. No one knows if that is true. But Targaryens had long married within the family to keep their bloodlines pure. And King Viserys did exile his brother shortly after.
Turns out, Rhaenyra and Daemon are endgame, meaning they have a sexually tense relationship, eventually hook up, and get married—which is pretty significant from a power play perspective considering (1) they both want the throne and (2) their Targaryen union is almost sure to guarantee that happens—even though Alicent ...
Ser Criston Cole, we have to understand, was never a good guy. He wasn't an honorable knight who went over to the dark side. He merely wore a chivalrous façade. He didn't want Rhaenyra to run away with him because he loved her despite his claims to marry “for love.” Nor was he heartbroken over her refusal.