Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is a choke-full of repressed emotions, and there are many occasions we have seen them overflow. Prince Daemon Targaryen is one such character, who might seem impulsive and do stuff on a whim, however, he also holds back a lot of things he needs to say, and that comes out as the impulsiveness we see in House of The Dragon. Not only him, but a lot of the other characters also do the same, including his older brother, the late King Viserys Targaryen.
In the final episode of House of The Dragon season 1, Daemon comes to know why it is so important for Rhaenyra to sit on the Iron Throne, and how it is connected to a prophecy, the fated Aegon’s Dream. Rhaenyra explains to Daemon it is important to keep the kingdoms united, not only for power but when the time comes the ruler of Westeros will need to get everyone together against the icy threat coming from the North.
Daemon, on the other hand, has always believed in power and dragons, but not in prophecies. When he first comes to know about it, and is finally struck with the feeling that there might be some truth in it, he grabs Rhaenyra by the throat. However, he does not do it out of hate for Rhaenyra, but rather, out of his repressed anger against his brother. He suddenly realizes how less his brother thought of him, and his lack of faith in him, as he was never told of the secret despite him being the heir for years before Rhaenyra. However, deep in his twisted mind, he still has some love for Rhaenyra, and his deceased brother, and that’s why he lets her go.
Showrunner Ryan Condal also explained the scene’s motive to Variety:
“It’s a moment that I think is surprising and shocking for Daemon as a character, but I also think it’s one of those things that’s been set up over the course of the entire season. Daemon — while an incredibly charismatic and deeply interesting, complex character, I think — he’s also capable of great darkness. It’s simmering just beneath the surface. When he learns in that moment that Viserys never believed in him enough, as his actual heir to the throne, to pass this thing on that he clearly just easily passed on to Rhaenyra, it breaks him. He loved his brother so deeply and trusted him, even through all the problems that they had, and Viserys never shared it with him. He kept [Daemon] in the dark, and it just it breaks Daemon. Instead of reacting with grief or sadness that you see out of him later, he reacts with rage and he takes it out on Rhaenyra.”
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