House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal spoke about Daemon’s involvement in his first wife’s death and fans aren’t happy with his comments.

Prince Daemon Targaryen is one of the most fascinating characters in House of the Dragon, with an equally powerful performance from Matt Smith. The character is known for his moral ambiguity and unpredictableness, making him a wild card in the quest for the Iron Throne. Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that Daemon is a fan-favorite.

Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen is a fan-favorite in House of the Dragon (Credit: HBO).

However, the television adaptation makes one major change to Daemon’s story from the source material. In the process, it shifts Daemon’s depiction from that of a morally grey character to an outright villainous one. As a result, fans are extremely unhappy with the change. Here is what fans had to say about House of the Dragon‘s major deviation with respect to Daemon’s story.

House of the Dragon Changed How Daemon’s First Wife Died

House of the Dragon stars actor Matt Smith in the role of Prince Daemon Targaryen, a fan-favorite character, who, despite his unpredictable behavior, is a major contender in the race for the Iron Throne. For the most part, Daemon’s depiction is loyal to the source material except for one change.

Daemon Targaryen is responsible for his first wife’s death in House of the Dragon (Credit: HBO)

In the books and the show, Daemon is first married to Rhea Royce, but the couple becomes estranged over time. Eventually, Rhea is killed, dying after falling down from her horse and cracking open her skull. However, in the television adaptation, showrunner Ryan Condal opted to change one aspect of Rhea’s death.

So, I stared at it and I was like, well Daemon obviously went home and murdered his wife.

Condal made the above statement in a behind-the-scenes video regarding the description of Daemon’s first wife’s death in the book.

In the show’s fifth episode, Daemon startles Rhea’s horse, leading to her death. Condal’s comments suggest that he tweaked the scene to provide context to Rhea’s death. As a result, the series frames Daemon as having deliberately caused his wife’s death.

Fans Disapprove of House of the Dragon Showrunner for Making Daemon the Villain

Die-hard fans of the source material, especially those who love the morally ambiguous side of Daemon, weren’t happy with the change Condal made to his wife’s death. As a result, fans voiced their displeasure with the showrunner and his decision on social media.

Fans are unhappy with Ryan Condal fo making Daemon a villain in House of the Dragon (Credit: HBO).

Here is what fans had to say about Condal’s change making Daemon an outright villain in House of the Dragon on X (formerly Twitter).

Bro, just say that your mom brought you the book so you would understand it even so you did nothing right 😭😭😭.

— The melody of the dragon #LUCEMONDTRUTHER 💚🖤 (@Eddard_Blckfyre) July 6, 2024

The book also doesn’t say that. It says she died 9 days after that accident. Maybe he really only looked at the line and nothing else lmao.

— Six💕 (@7minus1) July 6, 2024

it’s the fact they’re always talking about how morally grey daemon is meant to be, only for them to cut out all scenes that are favourable to him and write in things like him murdering his first wife for no reason like… this man says one thing, his writing says another💀

— 😔 (@evilwomenonly) July 6, 2024

Ntm she survived for days after her accident. And was literally up and walking around before she died.

— morbs (@grimalkiin) July 6, 2024

They could have at least made it sketchy like “did he do it?” Like with the heir for a day comment or etc.

— Ash98 (@Ash_B1998) July 6, 2024

As the tweets suggest, fans are clearly unhappy with the series depicting Daemon as being the one responsible for his first wife’s death.

Fans argued that not only was the show’s depiction inaccurate with the source material, but it also took away the moral ambiguity from Daemon’s character very early on in the series. Hence, fans called out Condal for making a major change to Daemon’s story and characterization that did not sit well with them.

House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.