How Daemon and his dragon Caraxes reflect his relationship with his brother, King Viserys I Targaryen

Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is set in a time when the Targaryen dynasty is at its peak in Westeros. The realm has witnessed a long period of peace without any major upheavals, and King Viserys I Targaryen wants to continue that legacy. However, his brother Daemon Targaryen, The Rogue Prince, is an interesting case. He can either be described as chaotic good or chaotic evil, wherever he is, chaos is bound to follow.

Daemon is the most feared man in all of Westeros at the time of House of The Dragon, a great warrior with a turbulent nature. As the saying goes, when a Targaryen is born, Gods flip a coin to see whether they will be great or evil. In Daemon’s case, it is still flipping in the air, indicating how volatile his character truly is.

Yet, in all his overly-sensitive, over-reactive glory, Daemon has a sense of loyalty to his brother that is unrivalled in King Viserys’ kingdom. The brothers love each other very much, but fail to show that due to the veil of toxic masculinity obscuring their true feelings. They also know there’s no one else who understands the other as much as they do, they respect each other in their own way.

In the first episode of The Official Game of Thrones podcast, Matt Smith described how Daemon felt about his brother, “Ostensibly most people are afraid of Daemon and, interesting for someone to say that Viserys is weak, [because] as soon as Viserys goes, ‘Oy, Daemon. Wind your neck in,’ Daemon does … and Daemon shuts up and eats his porridge when he’s told to, but only from him.”

Paddy Considine also explained how Viserys sees Daemon, “Viserys does love Daemon, massively, they just can’t articulate it between each other. Daemon, in Viserys’ eyes, is a fuck up. He’s always bringing trouble to his door. You know, but a part of Viserys envies Daemon, because part of him wishes that he could go off and do what Daemon does.”

So how does all of this relate to Daemon and Caraxes? In an earlier interview, Matt Smith called Caraxes the “heart of Daemon Targaryen”. He said, “He’s like a huge rabid dog, in many ways, who only calms and soothes around Daemon. He’s almost an untrainable dragon in many respects.”

Isn’t that exactly what Daemon’s character is? He is an uncontrollable volatile beast for the realm, save for his brother, King Viserys, who is the only one who can keep him in check. Daemon sees a part of himself in Caraxes, and just as Viserys wishes he could go off and be free to do what Daemon wants, a part of Daemon wants to be as free as Caraxes, and fly up high into the sky, explore the realm, go on adventures and cause chaos for s**ts and giggles.

Do you think any of the other Fire & Blood characters share a similar relationship with their dragons? Tell us in the comments below!

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