In House of the Dragon's most powerful moment, Daemon aids Viserys as he makes his walk to the Iron Throne. While others would mock and stare at the King, Daemon does not waver in his support. He even is the one to crown Viserys respectfully, in a moment that proves he does not covet his brother's position.
He was loyal to his brother, Viserys Targaryen. Daemon had always aspired to become the Hand of the King. He was blamed for being treacherous, but not even once did the thought cross his mind to usurp his brother's position.
(Show only) I think it's obvious that the only people Daemon every truly loved and cared about were Viserys and Rhaenyra. The impassioned speech in Ep. 1 by Daemon wanting to be hand of the King shows how much he loves and cares for his brother.
He's ambitious, cruel, and violent, a deadly combination when you're as close to power as Daemon is. This toxic triad of personality traits means Daemon has a tendency to betray people. So far, he's betrayed his brother King Viserys Targaryen, his paramour Mysaria, aka The White Worm, and not one but two wives.
His brother, Daemon (Matt Smith), once sought the power Viserys had. However, he helps his brother to the throne, returning the crown to his head. This was one of the most emotional scenes in the series so far, and as it turns out, it was completely improvised.
Frankly, Viserys didn't tell Daemon about Aegon's dream because he didn't trust him with it or believe he would give it the dedication it required.
Viserys sends some knights with a letter to Daemon saying that he is sending a troop to help them with the war. Daemon did not know about Vaemond's letter to his brother, so the arrival of the letter from Viserys made him angry. His only goal was to return to King's Landing without failure.
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.
Daemon strangled Rhaenyra because he felt betrayed by Viserys. “It's a moment that I think is surprising and shocking for Daemon as a character, but I also think it's one of those things that's been set up over the course of the entire season.
That's right, during the Oct. 2 episode of House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) stopped fighting their feelings for one another and finally got together. However, this was more than just an illicit liaison, as Rhaenyra and Daemon got married at the end of the episode.
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.
The age difference between Aegon and Rhaenyra
While Princess Rhaenyra was 17 or 18 years old. Viserys was obviously opposed to this idea just as he had refused to marry Laena Velaryon. While this age gap may not seem significant since Rhaenyra and Daemon too have a 16 year gap between them.
Daemon Targaryen: Born in 81 AC, Daemon is supposed to be four years younger than his brother, Viserys, according to the chronology in Fire & Blood. Matt Smith, who portrays Daemon, is 39 years old.
Daemon Targaryen reveals that Viserys never told him about Aegon's dream in House of the Dragon, confirming Daemon was never going to be his heir.
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 ...
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.
Daemon shows wife Rhaenyra the message; she recognizes that if Luke's claim to the title is questioned, so could the legitimacy of her three sons with Harwin Strong. Daemon puts a hand on Rhaenyra's belly. She is pregnant with their child.
Daemon laughs at this moment because Vaemond is choosing this moment to guilt Rhaenyra for having children with Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr).
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.
We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
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.
As the two dragons struggled in the Battle Above the Gods Eye, Daemon plunged from Caraxes, wielding his sword Dark Sister and stabbing it into Aemond's remaining eye. Both dragons crashed into the Gods Eye, and Vhagar drowned with Aemond's body still chained to the saddle while Caraxes died on the shore.
Viserys had a form of leprosy in House of the Dragon.
In the podcast he explains, “He is not actually old. He's still a young man in there. He's just, unfortunately, got this thing that's taken over his body.
He reconciled with Viserys I Targaryen by offering him his Stepstones crown. Viserys welcomed his brother's return and Daemon was given a seat on the small council. Neither age or exile had changed Daemon's nature, however.
Daemon got super bitter and celebrated when the baby died only a day after being born. That attitude got him disinherited from the throne.