Here’s why Daemon actually choked Rhaenyra, according to House Of The Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal

You would be right and wrong to call Daemon Targaryen from House of the Dragon, a good guy. He has won many viewers’ hearts because of his “bad boy” persona. Even though he has killed people, when he strangled Rhaenyra in the season one finale, viewers and readers did not see it coming. It has been a matter of discourse about the reason behind this violence, but Ryan Condal has revealed the real reason through a virtual call at the official Game of Thrones Convention in Los Angeles. Here’s what he had to say.

The show’s co-creator explained that Daemon had had one “helluva” day, which included the Greens taking over his wife’s rightful throne, losing his unborn child, and finally having to hear the fact that his brother did not trust him with the prophecy. This leads to the moment that Condal agrees is “an act of violence against Rhaenyra, but it is a lashing out of a wounded man, and it’s the only way he knows how to express it.”

The relationship between Viserys and Daemon is anything but simple, and Condal shares that the writers want to express that Daemon looks at Rhaenyra “as an extension of his brother,” King Viserys. “Because he can’t put his hands on Viserys, that’s the next best thing,” he said.

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