We love to hate him.

Matt Smith has created a paradoxically charming and multidimensional character who is fascinating to watch. Daemon constantly changes masks, acts decisively, and tries to emerge victorious from every situation.

George Martin ‘s universe has many ambiguous characters, but the Rogue Prince stands out for his ability to inspire both hatred and sympathy. After all, there is no other villain like him in the vastness of Westeros.

We hate him because…

1. Daemon Committed (Too) Many Atrocities

Daemon does not inspire much sympathy in the early episodes. The members of the Small Council speak of him as nothing but a demon who brings chaos and destruction, calling him the Rogue Prince and Lord Flea Bottom. So they try to convince King Viserys not to give his brother any serious power under any circumstances.

And in his very first on-screen appearance, Daemon lives up to his nicknames, first leading a bloody raid through the streets of the capital and then going to a brothel. Later, Daemon commits a number of other nasty deeds: he gives his stillborn nephew the nickname Heir-for-a-Day, steals a dragon egg to spite his brother – and that is just the beginning.

2. Daemon Deliberately Tried to Disrupt the Court

Daemon is the embodiment of chaos. Matt Smith tried to make his character as unpredictable as possible. The prince is partly the main antagonist of the first episodes, since he is the one who creates the most problems for the other characters.

It is clear that Daemon only feels alive in the maelstrom of disaster and madness. Daemon clearly understands that chaos is a potential ladder to the top. He may not be as resourceful as Littlefinger and Varys from Game of Thrones, but he still manages to turn chaos to his advantage.

3. Daemon is The Cruelest Targaryen Family Member

Daemon is one of the most violent characters in House of the Dragon. It is not typical for him to weave webs of intrigue and achieve his goals through cunning – his methods are extremely straightforward.

He even personally beats his wife to death with a stone instead of getting rid of her in a more humane way. And we see Daemon’s violence right away – when he and the guards go on a raid in the capital.

4. Daemon Was the Reason Blood & Cheese Happened

Under the cover of night, Daemon arrives in the capital and hires two thugs nicknamed Blood and Cheese to take care of Aemond. And if they fail to kill the prince, they will still have to spill the royal blood. The mercenaries infiltrate the Red Keep. Aemond is not there, so Blood and Cheese take Helaena prisoner and kill her little kid right in front of her.

No matter how much the audience sympathizes with the death of Lucerys, the murder of Jaehaerys was clearly too gruesome a form of revenge. But Daemon acted in his spirit: without consulting Rhaenyra, he did the only thing he could think of – blood for blood.

We love him because…

1. Daemon Defeated the Crabfeeder

However, as the show progresses, Daemon does less and less pure evil, winning the viewer over with his actions. He turns out to have a moral compass, albeit a very specific one. Daemon begins to charm the viewer when he channels his energy into a noble cause and goes to fight on the Stepstones.

Wanting to demonstrate his strength to the King, Corlys Velaryon joins Daemon on a campaign to defeat the Triarchy. It is the Prince who ends the war, storming the enemy’s fortifications, easily defeating the Crabfeeder and his army, and triumphantly returning to the capital with the enemy’s head as a trophy.

2. Daemon Took Sincere Care of Laena

Then Daemon marries Laena Velaryon, daughter of Corlys Velaryon. This relationship will show a different side of him. He settles down with his family in Pentos, raises children, and treats his wife well. Cruelty and excessive ambition seem to have vanished.

The idyll is shattered when Laena fails to bear a child. At the fateful moment, Daemon shows mercy and refuses to kill his wife to save the baby, allowing Laena to decide for herself how to spend the last minutes of her life.

3. Daemon Became Rhaenyra’s Main Support

Soon after Laena’s funeral, Daemon decides to marry Rhaenyra, and sincere feelings emerge in the conflicted relationship between the characters. It is Daemon who always supports Rhaenyra in all her decisions. The characters go from rivals for the throne to the most loyal allies.

Although the relationship between Daemon and Rhaenyra is not without its share of destructiveness, it is hard to deny that their union is the bond of two kindred spirits, and their secret wedding was the most romantic episode of the first season.

4. Daemon Truly Loved Viserys

But Daemon does not fully reveal himself until the eighth episode of the first season. When a sick Viserys falls on his way to the Iron Throne, Daemon comes to the king’s aid and guides him through the throne room.

The scene is made almost entirely without dialogue, but thanks to the brilliant acting of Matt Smith and Paddy Considine, we understand the dynamics of the relationship between the characters, we see that the brothers love and respect each other, even if they cannot always express it.

The moment when the crown falls from Viserys’ head and Daemon picks it up was improvised. The showrunner decided to leave it in because it accurately conveys the meaning of the scene. The grudges and resentments fade into the background: it is clear that Viserys is one of the few people the Rogue Prince truly loves.