House of the Dragon: How Does Daemon Targaryen Die in the Book?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 3 (and potentially major spoilers for future episodes).

Harrenhal healer Alys Rivers foretells Prince Daemon Targaryen’s death on the castle’s grounds in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 3 – but will her prophecy come true? How does Daemon die in George R.R. Martin’s original book, Fire & Blood?

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Daemon Targaryen’s Death in Fire & Blood, Explained

Alys Rivers’ prediction about Daemon Targaryen’s death does indeed come true in Fire & Blood. Daemon meets his maker following an epic aerial duel with his nemesis (and nephew), Prince Aemond Targaryen, over the God’s Eye, a lake near Harrenhal. The sky-based scrap also claims the life of Daemon and Aemond’s respective dragons, Caraxes and Vhagar. That said, Daemon technically won the fight – even if his victory was short-lived. As both combatants and their dragons hurtled toward the God’s Eye, Daemon launched himself onto Vhagar and rammed his sword through Aemond’s false eye into his skull, presumably killing him.

Related: House of the Dragon: Did Arryk or Erryk Win the Fight in Season 2 Episode 2?

And even if Aemond did survive, slamming into the lake at high speed quickly finished him off. Both dragon riders and their mounts supposedly hit the God’s Eye so hard that the resultant splash was as high as Harrenhal’s tallest tower. In short: it’s not something you walk away from. Yet funnily enough, only Aemond’s corpse was ever found; Daemon’s body remains unaccounted for. This sparked rumors that the rogue prince made it out alive and linked up with his lover, Nettles, elsewhere in Westeros. Fire & Blood makes it pretty clear this is just a myth, however.

Will Daemon Targaryen Die in House of the Dragon Season 2?

Maybe, although we wouldn’t count on it. Yes, Martin and House of the Dragon co-creator (and showrunner) Ryan Condal have clearly signposted a book-accurate demise for Daemon’s death via Alys’ prophecy. Even so, the exact timing of said demise is still up in the air. In the book, Daemon dies around a year after he claims Harrenhal for the Black Targaryen camp (as depicted in Season 2, Episode 3). A lot happens during this time, and it’s hard to imagine House of the Dragon squeezing all of it into Season 2’s remaining episodes.

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Notably, Daemon and Caraxes take part in one of Fire & Blood‘s big events: the Fall of King’s Landing. Given what we know about the book’s timeline, this will almost certainly serve as a major set piece in House of the Dragon Season 2’s second half. The upshot is that Daemon’s death probably won’t happen until Season 3 (at the earliest). This will also give Condal, Martin, and the House of the Dragon team more room to chronicle other aspects of Daemon’s Fire & Blood arc, such as his relationship with the as-yet-unseen Nettles.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently airing on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.