WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5!
Summary
Daemon Targaryen has a shocking vision of his mother, Alyssa Targaryen, inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5, which is now in the running for Daemon’s darkest moment yet. Ever since he arrived at the cursed castle,Daemon has had several visions at Harrenalthat seem to be influenced by Alys Rivers’ powers, Harrenhal’s cursed background, and the weirwood bed he sleeps on. Eachvision so far has brutally tackled Daemon’s subconscious guilt, fears, insecurities, desires, and resentments, with the figures he sees in suchdreams including Young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell), and Alyssa Targaryen.
While it was initially theorized that the silver-haired woman Daemon was envisioned sleeping with at Harrenhal would be Aemma Targaryen, it actually turned out to be Alyssa Targaryen. His dream inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5 features Daemon being sexually intimate with a Targaryen woman, who continues to praise him over Viserys and inform him of his strength and worthiness on the Iron Throne. In a disturbing twist, the vision ends whenthe woman whispers to Daemon that he’s her “favorite son,” revealing Daemon envisioned he was having sex with his mother, Alyssa, who died when he was a child.
Who Was Daemon’s Mother? Alyssa Targaryen Explained
Alyssa Targaryen Was The Fierce Daughter Of King Jaehaerys & Queen Alysanne
While she’s hardly been mentioned inHouse of the Dragon, Alyssa Targaryen is an important figure inHouse Targaryen’s family tree. Not only was she the mother of King Viserys I Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen, but she was also thedragon-riding daughter of King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne Targaryen. Alyssa was one of Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s few children to survive to adulthood, though she died from complications after giving birth to her third son, Aegon, who also died only six months after his birth.
Died in infancy
Died at age six due to illness
Father of Princess Rhaenys; died during the Myrish Bloodbath
Baelon Targaryen
Father of King Viserys I & Daemon; died of illness & a “burst belly”
Alyssa Targaryen
Mother of King Viserys I & Daemon; died after giving birth to third son
Maegelle Targaryen
Sent to the Faith at age 10; died of greyscale complications
Became Archmaester of the Citadel; fate is unknown
Mother of Aemma Arryn; died from childbirth complications
Saera Targaryen
Sent to the Faith but fled to Lys; fate is unknown
Died at age 15 from a horseback riding accident
Gael Targaryen
Died by suicide at age 19
Daemon’s mother was married to her elder brother Baelon the Brave, with Alyssa being the first rider ofRhaenys’ dragon Meleyswhile Baelon rode Balerion the Black Dread. According to George R.R. Martin’sFire & Bloodbook, Alyssa was known for her ferocity, roughness, wit, and headstrong nature.Alyssa died when Viserys and Daemon were young children, which is whyHouse of the Dragon’s Alys Rivers remarks to Daemon that it’s a shame he never really knew her.
Viserys noted inHouse of the Dragonseason 1, episode 4 that Daemon was always their mother’s favorite, stating, “No, it’s no great mystery. You [Daemon] were. Our mother, she had no regard for custom or tradition, rules. And I, sadly, was no great warrior.”
Who Plays Alyssa Targaryen In House Of The Dragon
Where You Might’ve Seen Daemon’s Mother’s Actor Before
Alyssa Targaryen is played by Emeline LambertinHouse of the Dragon’s cast. Lambert hasn’t had many previous roles, but has appeared in a couple of notable TV shows. They played Caroline Turner in multiple episodes of the French-Italian dramaDjango, and also appeared in five episodes of Apple TV+’s Sci-Fi show,Invasion, as Dr. Esmee Gagneux. It remains to be seen whether they’ll reprise the role of Alyssa in future episodes ofHouse of the Dragon.
Why Daemon Has Sex With His Mother In His Dream
Daemon’s Twisted Sense Of Intimacy & Power Is Highlighted In His Vision
Daemon’s vision of sleeping with his mother is certainly themost disturbing extent to whichHouse of the Dragonhas taken House Targaryen’s incest, as impossible as that may seem given the other marriages between cousins, uncle and niece, and brother and sister. Sigmund Freud would be having a field day analyzing Daemon’s psychology. In one interpretation, his dream of Alyssa fits the neurologist’s divisive theory of the Oedipus complex, which suggests that males unconsciously develop a sexual infatuation with their mother and responsive hostility toward their father.
As Daemon seeks to regain his sense of power, he subconsciously finds himself intimately drawn to the woman who has always given it to him and never looked down on him.
In the past, Daemon has also conflated sex with power.Daemon seducing Young Rhaenyrawas a way to try to get himself closer to the Iron Throne and his perceived inheritance, and sleeping with Mysaria gave him more power and influence as the “Prince of Flea Bottom.”Daemon’s superiority complex and sense of power and greatness over others appear to be rooted in the idea that he was his mother’s favorite child, so his vision of having sex with her twistedly brings him closer to the original source of this confidence and authority. Daemon becomes most aroused by dominance over others, and nobody instilled this feeling in him more than Alyssa.
Why Daemon Looks Like Aemond In His Dream & What It Sets Up In House Of The Dragon
Daemon dreaming about Aemond but seeing his own face instead tells a lot about both characters and sets up their futures in House of the Dragon.
Daemon has become increasingly insecure throughoutHouse of the Dragonas Rhaenyra no longer trusts or respects him, he fails to obtain respect or loyalty from the rest of the realm, and feels an overwhelming loss of power. As Daemon seeks to regain his sense of power, he subconsciously finds himself intimately drawn to the woman who has always given it to him and never looked down on him. Alyssa died when Daemon was still a young child, and whether he wants to admit it or not,he’s always been seeking intimacy from women who remind him of his mother, which includes Rhaenyra.
What Daemon’s Vision Of His Mother Really Means
Daemon Is Losing His Grip On The Power Complex That Began With His Mother
When Daemon wakes up from his vision inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5, he’s ashamed of imagining a sexual relationship with his mother, but it also inspires him to take action. After this vision,Daemon realizes that he needs to escape his subconscious insecurities from these dreams and take power for himself back in reality, which is why he decides to take up his own claim against both Rhaenyra and Aegon. His vision of Alyssa tells him that he’s stronger than Viserys, Rhaenyra, Aegon, and any other claimant, and he responds with violence and betrayal. Of course,Daemon’s story at Harrenhalwill only culminate in further horrors.
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Daemon’s vision of his mother also means that his entire conception of himself and facade is slipping at Harrenhal inHouse of the Dragon. Within the walls of Harrenhal, his solitude and nightmares under the influence ofAlys Rivers’ powersrevert him to a helpless state in which he seeks the comfort of his mother as his ambition slips away from him, while alsohaving to confront what he’s become since her death. Daemon has been rejected by everyone he so desperately sought power over – Rhaenyra, Viserys, the Black Council, his own children – and now refuses to wash away the blood on his hands as he further pursues the favoritism and superiority he could never reclaim.
House of the Dragon
Cast
House of the Dragon is a 2022 fantasy drama set in the world of Westeros, chronicling the Targaryen dynasty at its height. The story revolves around King Viserys’s controversial decision to name his daughter Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne, sparking tensions and divisions within the realm.
