Right now half the internet is wondering why the hell Rhaenys didn’t yell “Dracarys” when she stood with her dragon in the midst of Aemond Targaryen’s coronation, however, the other half, who have possibly read the book of fire and blood questioning something even more transcendental and disconcerting: where is the fourth son of Viserys I and Alicent? Because yes, in this first season we have seen Aegon, Aemond and Helaena all the time, but it turns out that the kings had a fourth son, Daeron. why the series The House of the Dragon hasn’t shown it at any time?
We have the explanation.
The difficult adaptation of the book to TV
We are not telling you anything new if we tell you that it is quite complicated to adapt to the small (or big screen) a literary work, even more so when it comes to stories as complex and rich as those that are part of the George RR Martin universe. Between so many king, consort, son, warrior and traitor, it is difficult to accommodate and develop all their plot arcs, especially considering that there are usually only 8 or 10 episodes maximum per season, with a duration that does not exceed an hour per season. episode.
And that is precisely what has happened with an important character that appears in the novel and that readers are probably missing: the fourth son of Viserys I and Alicent. Because yes, the king of the Seven Kingdoms and his wife, Alicent Hightower, they had a total of four childrenbut in the first season we have only seen three of them: Aegon, the firstborn; Helaena, who will precisely marry her brother Aegon; and Aemond, nicknamed Aemond the One-Eyed. Nothing is known about Daeron, who is the fourth child of the couple, and not even a reference to his existence has been made.
George RR Martin, who is involved in the production of the series, has spoken about it on his blog: «Wish I had more time to explore the relationship between Rhaenyra and Sir Harwin, Daemon and Laena’s marriage and their time on Pentos, the birth of many different children (and YES, Alicent gave Viserys four children, three boys and a daughter; his youngest son Daeron is in Antigua, we didn’t have time to talk about him this season) and other things we’ve skipped over? Of course«.
The absence of the little prince is therefore due to a deliberate decision of condense the storybut of course, that does not have to mean that we will not meet him…
Daeron has to show up
We know that one second season of The House of the Dragon has already been confirmed and that, according to good George, the ideal would be to tell the story in four seasons. The chances therefore that the four son of the kings appears are very high.
On the one hand, because Martin himself emphasizes that they did not have time to talk about him “in this season”so that it clearly drops that they will have it in another.
On the other, and even more decisive but without wanting to go into spoilers for the book, because Daeron plays a big role of the Dance of Dragons, the great civil war that is about to explode between the greens and the blacks. Enough so that HBO omit it.
We will therefore see him return to Antigua at some point to take up his responsibilities. Don’t worry.
