House of the Dragon: Daemon's Deadly Plan Revealed

Daemon Targaryen is starting to say the quiet part out loud. It has been clear since he arrived in Harrenhal earlier in House of the Dragon Season 2 that he wasn't thinking only of winning the war for Rhaenyra. There has long been something more sinister up his sleeve. In Sunday's new episode , Daemon made his longterm intentions quite clear, while also showing just how far he will go to achieve victory for himself. WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk...

Since stepping foot in Harrenhal, Daemon has been having terrifying visions of the people in his life he has hurt in his quest for power, or those who had a hand in him arriving at his current place. It's no secret that he always wanted to rule, and that he believed he should've been named king over Viserys. It's safe to say a reason he even pursued Rhaenyra is so he could be attached to the Iron Throne once Viserys died.

To this point, he has worked to make his quest for power seem like a noble husband fighting on behalf of his queen. While talking to Simon Storm in this new episode, Daemon essentially laid his cards on the table, asking to be referred to as "King." He was corrected and referred to as the King Consort, but he simply said the end part didn't really matter.

Daemon's move to build an army at Harrenhal and take control of the Riverlands will aid Rhaenyra in the war, but he also believes he will be able to control that army beyond that. And he intends to rule with an iron fist. When the Brackens refused to bend the knee, he sent the Blackwoods to change their rivals' minds by any means necessary. This included pillaging their towns and slaying innocents.

This plan has already started to bite him, as the Lords of the Riverlands came to Harrenhal near the end of the episode and renounced their loyalty, saying they refuse to fight for a tyrant. Now, Daemon has to scramble to secure at least one of the victories he set out to accomplish when first flying to Harrenhal.

Based on George R.R. Martin 's "Fire & Blood" book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones . In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.