Rhaenyra asks Daemon to marry her because she feels she cannot face the greens alone and she needs him on her side if it came to war.
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 ...
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.
Rhaenyra's marriage to Daemon gives her claim to the Iron Throne a massive advantage, as it strengthens Targaryen representation on the throne, establishes her as ruling alongside the King's original heir, and gives her the opportunity to produce full-blooded, trueborn Targaryen children.
However, after she is seen having sexual relations with her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) in a brothel, Viserys, takes matters into his own hands. At the end of episode 4, Viserys orders Rhaenyra to marry Lord Corlys Velaryon's son Ser Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) in a bid to avoid scandal.
While House Of The Dragon episode 4 showed Daemon was able to seduce Rhaenyra by kissing and undressing her, he couldn't fulfill the act due to impotence.
8 Rhaenyra Loves Her Uncle
In Fire & Blood, however, Rhaenyra is in love with Daemon from a young age. Things change after she meets Criston Cole. Nevertheless, George R. R. Martin's books show that Rhaenyra's first love was Daemon, whereas House of the Dragon has a slower build-up between the two.
Despite Rhaenyra and Daemon's excitement over having another child, their daughter will tragically never take a breath of air. Upon hearing the news of King Viserys' death and Aegon seizing the Iron Throne and being crowned King, Rhaenyra goes into dangerously premature labor.
But, while time may heal all wounds, 10 years certainly wasn't enough time for Alicent's wounds to heal over being lied to by Rhaenyra. We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
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.
Laena and Daemon marry soon after. Laena and Daemon were a power couple, and their marriage was celebrated by nearly all of Westeros and Essos — except for King Viserys and his court, who considered it another sign of Daemon's disrespect.
This story contains spoilers for “House of the Dragon,” Episode 7 “Driftmark.” The romance that has long been teased in “House of the Dragon” is finally official. The seventh episode of HBO's “Game of Thrones” prequel starts with a funeral and ends with the wedding of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her uncle Daemon.
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.
The story of the princess and her valiant knight did not end as a fairy tale, though. 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.
'” D'Arcy further underliner how it was ultimately Rhaenyra taking control over her own bodily autonomy: “The advice Rhaenyra is receiving is to have patience, in the hope of preventing the child being stillborn or preventing harm to the child. And she ignores the advice, seeking instead to get this body out of her.
So, who is the real father of Rhaenyra's children? In the show and in George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood novel, it is heavily implied that Ser Harwin Strong, a knight and the captain of the City's Watch, is the true father of Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey.
In the books, they have three: daughter Visenya, who does not survive infancy; and two sons, Aegon III and Viserys II, who will grow up to be next Kings of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.
Or, at least, his little dragon knows something his brain doesn't. According to co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, in a featurette that aired after the episode: “Ultimately, his impotence in the scene is a reflection of the fact that he knows, deep down, that what he's doing isn't right.”
We know that while the two came close, they never actually did the deed. Daemon, thrown off by his lack of ability to shock Rhaenyra, left her to get drunk and pass out. While Rhaenyra did go on to sleep with Criston Cole — the big problem of the episode — Viserys (Paddy Considine) was made more cautious of Daemon.
In "Fire & Blood," Rhaenyra's longest-lasting relationship is with her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen. In addition to the age gap and the incest, their relationship starts off on an especially controversial foot, with rumors that he either seduced her or taught her to seduce Ser Criston Cole, resulting in his exile.
Rhaenyra will have two marriages (and two lovers) in House of the Dragon, with six children (technically three by each husband, the suspicion that the first three are by another man is a source of much violence and discord in Westeros).
In George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, we are told of the incident where Rhaenyra Targaryen's husband Laenor Velaryon dies while attending a fair in Spicetown, on the island of Driftmark. We learn he was “stabbed to death” by a knight in his father's service, his paramour Ser Qarl Quarry.
The unpredictable Daemon has always been someone who seeks excitement, with the character quickly becoming bored in what he may perceive as monotony. As such, it shouldn't be too surprising that Daemon would stray outside his marriage to find pleasures with women like Mysaria, A.K.A. the White Worm.
Soon after being widowed, Daemon and Rhaenyra marry each other in secret when he is 39 years old, and she is 23. Their marriage causes a huge scandal at court and another rift between Daemon and Viserys, but it is eventually accepted. The couple has two sons together, Aegon and Viserys.