Does Daemon Die Before Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons?
Episode 10 of House of the Dragon allowed us to see the final event that will lead to the Dance of the Dragons, which is the all-out war between the Blacks and the Greens in the Targaryen civil war. Of course, we know that Daemon Targaryen is the best fighter among the Blacks, as he is the most experienced out of them. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra Targaryen is still the leader of the Blacks but is not the kind of fighter that her husband is, as Daemon is always going to be on the front lines. So, does that mean that Daemon will die before Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons?
Daemon does indeed die before Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons. That’s because he died during the time that Rhaenyra was still in control of King’s Landing. However, Rhaenyra died not long after Daemon’s death, as both of them died in the same year, which is 130 AC.
The deaths of both Daemon and Rhaenyra were huge blows to the Blacks, but that didn’t mean that the Blacks were defeated. In fact, the war still raged on, especially with Cregan Stark doing good on his promise to send 10,000 northmen for the Blacks. As such, even though Daemon did indeed die before his wife did, he still left a parting gift by killing the strongest fighter of the Greens.
Does Daemon Die Before Rhaenyra In The Dance Of The Dragons?
Ever since the start of House of the Dragon, the romance between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen has been strongly hinted at. The young princess seemed to have a toxic kind of attraction to her chaotic uncle. Of course, the feeling was mutual on the side of Daemon, who was also quite attracted to Rhaenyra when she was still just a young girl.
In that regard, they were finally able to consummate their love for one another by marrying each other in episode 7, right after they faked the death of Laenor Velaryon, who was still Rhaenyra’s husband at that time. As Rhaenyra said, she and Daemon were always meant to burn together, and that was why they needed to be with one another. She also needed Daemon in her battles against their common enemy, as she knew that having Daemon by her side would make her enemies tremble in fear at the strength of two legitimate Targaryens united as one.
Daemon displayed his penchant for war when he didn’t waste any time preparing Dragonstone for a possible attack from the Greens. This happened the moment he and Rhaenyra found out that the Greens had taken over the Iron Throne and had installed King Aegon II on it. In that regard, it was clear that Rhaenyra wanted him because of his strength as a fighter and as a military commander.
Of course, the death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon at the hands of Prince Aemond, who rode Vhagar, at the end of episode 10 was the first move that the Blacks were waiting for to start a war against the Greens. And that means that Daemon will now be on the frontlines of the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
According to Fire & Blood, however, Rhaenyra and Daemon won’t live long to see the end of the Dance of the Dragons. They did end up ruling King’s Landing for a while, but they weren’t able to see the end of the civil war because they both died during the violent rivalry against the Greens. But who between Rhaenyra and Daemon died first in the Dance of the Dragons?
Even though Rhaenyra told Daemon that they were supposed to burn together, the fact of the matter is that it was the husband who died before the wife. Of course, this is quite understandable because Daemon, unlike Rhaenyra, was a frontliner that was more likely to face danger than his wife. On the other hand, Rhaenyra was the most important member of the Blacks, and that meant that her safety was the priority for them, even though there were instances wherein she actually fought in the war while she was on dragon back.
When Does Daemon Die?
In the Fire & Blood book, Daemon and Nettles were sent to the Riverlands by Rhaenyra during the time that the Blacks were the ones occupying King’s Landing following their successful invasion of the capital. Daemon was sent to the Riverlands so that he and Nettles could hunt down Aemond and Vhagar as they were burning the different Black settlements there. Of course, Daemon’s Caraxes and Nettles’s Sheepstealer were the only dragons large enough to stand a chance against the enormous Vhagar.
Daemon and Nettles went to the Riverlands, but the prince needed to face Aemond on his own. That’s because he allowed Nettles to escape after Rhaenyra was told that she and Daemon were sleeping together on the same bed. Rhaenyra ordered the execution of Nettles, who escaped on Sheepstealer before she could be killed. Meanwhile, Daemon waited for Aemond in Harrenhal for 14 days.
On the 14th day, Aemond finally answered his uncle’s challenge, as they engaged in a duel called the Battle Above the Gods Eye. Daemon plunged his sword straight into Aemond’s eye when Caraxes locked onto Vhagar’s neck. This happened on the twenty-second day of the fifth moon of 130 AC—one year into the Targaryen civil war—as Daemon, Caraxes, Aemond, and Vhagar all died in that fight.
When Does Rhaenyra Die?
Rhaenyra, meanwhile, continued to reign in King’s Landing after her husband died in the Battle Above the Gods Eye. However, things were not well in King’s Landing because Rhaenyra had grown to become a tyrant due to the many experiences she had before and during the Dance of the Dragons. In the wake of the betrayal of the Two Betrayers and the death of Queen Helaena Targaryen, the people of King’s Landing rioted.
The riots in King’s Landing were too much for Rhaenyra to handle, as she was forced to vacate the capital. She fled all the way to Dragonstone, where she was betrayed by her men there, as Aegon II was on the island the entire time. King Aegon II fed Rhaenyra to his dragon, Sunfyre. She died on the twenty-second day of the tenth month of 130 AC, and that means that she outlived Daemon by only five months.
