How Are Daemon and Rhaenyra Related to Daenerys Targaryen?

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from Fire & Blood and potential spoilers for future seasons of House of the Dragon.

The Big Picture

• Daemon doesn’t recognize Daenerys in his vision; he sees a woman with dragons, hinting at their bloodline connection.
• Daenerys is eight generations removed from Rhaenyra, making her a great-great-great-great-great-grandchild.
• Daemon and Rhaenyra’s generation ensures the survival of Daenerys’ dragon eggs, paving the way for her eventual appearance.

Even by Westeros standards, House Targaryen is not a normal family, given all the dragons and incest. Now, with the appearance of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) vision sequence in House of the Dragon Season 2, many viewers have been wondering how those two seemingly distant characters are connected. They both belong to the same noble house, of course, but are they even in the same bloodline? And Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), where does she fit? There is a simple, spoilery answer to this, but there are some things that are important to consider first.

Daemon Isn’t Aware of Whom the Girl With Three Dragons in His Vision Is

Daemon’s vision is still giving fans plenty to talk about since it’s filled with nods to the future of House Targaryen and Westeros as a whole — there are even White Walkers there. But the most scathing part of it is, of course, when Daenerys appears with her three dragons. That particular moment in her life is from the Season 1 finale of Game of Thrones, when she grabs her three supposedly petrified dragon eggs and walks into Khal Drogo’s (Jason Momoa) funeral pyre. When the fire is spent, only Dany remains, unburnt, with her three children having miraculously hatched.

This part of the vision is supposed to tell Daemon that dragons will rise again. He sees the dying of the dragons in Westeros as the main consequence of the war, and, with the Others approaching with the coming winter, there will be nothing to stop them. He understands that, for the world to have a fighting chance, the right Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne must be his wife, Rhaenyra, and that, eventually, dragons will rise again.

Daemon doesn’t know who Daenerys is. He simply sees a young woman with three baby dragons in a desert. We, as the audience, are the ones who know that Daenerys is a direct descendant of Daemon and Rhaenyra, and that she is the Targaryen who will bring back the dragons to fight against the coming of the darkness. For Daemon, though, that girl could be anyone. A future daughter, a granddaughter, or even a great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter — which just happens to be the truth.

Daenerys Is a Direct Descendant of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s Line

Every family has stories about past relatives who did something great. House Targaryen has more examples of people who did terrible things, but they also have a fair share of greatness. To understand how Daenerys is related to Daemon and Rhaenyra, though, it’s impossible not to get into spoiler territory about future seasons of House of the Dragon and the original book, Fire & Blood, so be warned.

It’s no secret that Rhaenyra dies in the Dance of the Dragons, eaten by Aegon II’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) dragon Sunfyre — Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) says that in Game of Thrones. Daemon is also bound to a deadly confrontation against Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) in Harrenhal, the series has made that pretty clear. They do have heirs, though, and it’s their two sons who eventually ascend to the Iron Throne after the fighting is done. Aegon III becomes king, but his two sons, Daeron I and Baelor I, leave no heirs, so it’s his brother (and Daemon and Rhaenyra’s youngest son), Viserys II, who inherits the throne.

Through Viserys II, the Targaryen line continues, going from his terrible son, Aegon IV (“the Unworthy”), all the way to the Mad King, Aerys II (David Rintoul), who is Daenerys’ father. In total, Daenerys Targaryen is eight generations removed from Rhaenyra Targaryen, making her a member of the ninth generation starting from Rhaenyra, making Rhaenyra Daenerys’ great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. It’s important to point out, however, that this is following Fire & Blood, since Game of Thronesremoved Jaehaerys II, who is Aerys II’s father in the books, from its lore, according to Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan) in Season 1. Unless some retconning takes place, then, in the series, Daenerys is just seven generations removed from Rhaenyra, making the Black Queen Daenerys’ great-great-great-great-grandmother.

Daemon and Rhaenyra’s generation is the one who kills all the dragons of House Targaryen, but Rhaenyra has already ensured the survival of Daenerys’ dragon eggs by now. With her line continuing, it will only be a century and a half until Dany comes along with some much-needed dragonfire.

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

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