‘House of the Dragon’ Showrunner Explains Why Daemon Was at Harrenhal All Season

The Big Picture

• Daemon’s time at Harrenhal in
  House of the Dragon
  Season 2 was a necessary journey for personal growth and loyalty to Rhaenyra.
• Showrunner Ryan Condal explains Daemon’s evolution and newfound focus on supporting his queen.
• Season 3 of
  House of the Dragon
  is currently being written with plans to film in early 2025.

Since the very beginning of House of the Dragon, viewers haven’t fully known what to think about Daemon’s (Matt Smith) intentions. He was obviously jealous of his brother Viserys (Paddy Considine) for inheriting the throne and then choosing Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) as his successor. Yes, there have been plenty of moments throughout the series where we saw Daemon doing right by his family – like placing the crown back on his ailing brother’s head when it tumbled in a Season 1 episode – but still, his intentions haven’t always been forthright. And then, in Season 2, he departs from Rhaenyra’s side at Dragonstone to go do his own thing at Harrenhal and, while there, makes several statements about ruling the realm by himself.

As anyone who read the first books published by George R.R. Martin or even watched Game of Thrones will know – Harrenhal is a dilapidated castle haunted by the spirits of the past or maybe something else entirely. Daemon learned this during his stay at the haunted mansion castle thanks to plenty of visits from Viserys and even one from his mother that he (and, unfortunately, we) will never forget. After having a vision of the future in the godswood – which included classic hits like the White Walkers, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), and Bloodraven (Joshua Ben-Tovim) – Daemon returns a changed man, ready to swear his fealty to Rhaenyra.

Why Daemon Simply Needed His Time-Out At Harrenhal

A lot of fans were annoyed that after the first season, which saw him constantly covered in the blood of his enemies, Daemon seemed to retire to Harrenhal for his own off-shoot of Ghost Adventures.

But, according to showrunner and co-creator, Ryan Condal, Daemon’s journey was a slowburn for a reason. On Monday morning, following the Season 2 finale, Condal addressed members of the press, including Collider’s Therese Lacson, and really broke down what was going through Daemon’s mind during his big change of heart, selfless moment.

“I think it’s the kind of real thing that Daemon needed to be able to hang his hat on. And I think, you know,
Daemon’s decision to bend the knee, swear again to Rhaenyra, reaffirm his loyalty to her, one event doesn’t lead to that. It’s a confluence of factors.
It’s a whole complicated equation that he experienced over
the course of the season that led him to that point
, and we were really interested in humbling Daemon, for lack of a better word, over the course of the season, to bring him to a place where he’s more evolved, and in many ways, at least to his enemies, more dangerous. Because now we have a very focused Daemon with a singular goal, which is put Rhaenyra on that throne.”

The time spent at Harrenhal was also necessary for Daemon’s own personal growth and relationship with himself, Condal said, as he could now put all of his eggs in Rhaenyra’s basket. Not only that, but it completely reframed his brother’s time on the Iron Throne.

“And I think he’s been filled with power and self-belief and belief in Rhaenyra, and those are the things that we wanted to kind of arm him with moving, and, you know, moving into the future and again, give him this thing that was undeniable to him, that he saw and shook him and made him realize that
Viserys wasn’t just, you know, full of history and nonsense
, as Daemon probably saw it. And there is a harmony between what Viserys believed and what Damon believed about Targaryen exceptionalism. And there is, as with everything, it’s not one or the other. It’s somewhere in the middle of the two.”

Season 2 of House of the Dragon is now streaming on Max.

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