Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon.
After enduring nearly an entire season of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) moping around Harrenhal while being haunted by the ghosts of his past and not-so-subtly insinuating that he—and not his niece-wife Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy)—should rule the Seven Kingdoms, we finally got some clarity on the significance of Daemon's time in the Riverlands.
Sunday's Season 2 finale saw Daemon seemingly learn the truth about the Prince That Was Promised prophecy, also known as the Song of Ice and Fire, by placing his hand on the same Weirwood tree that appeared in the very first vision he had during his extended stay at the dilapidated castle. The tree showed Daemon a rapid-fire series of visions, several of which linked directly to Game of Thrones-era Westeros. He saw flashes of a young, blond Three-Eyed Raven—lending credibility to the popular fan theory that Bran Stark's greenseer mentor was none other than future Targaryen bastard Brynden Rivers—the White Walkers, and, most notably, Daenerys Targaryen the morning after her three dragons hatched.
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Daemon seeing Daenerys seemed to confirm that it was in fact the Mother of Dragons, not Jon Snow, who was the Prince That Was Promised. This was a point of contention in Game of Thrones, as Jon was also a Targaryen and led the charge in rallying the army of the living against the White Walkers. Not to mention that Arya Stark ended up being the one to kill the Night King.
However, House of the Dragon has placed a lot of emphasis on the idea that the reason the Targaryens need to hold the Iron Throne is to one day unite the realm against a terrible threat that Aegon the Conquerer witnessed in a prophetic dream. In the show's very first episode, Viserys (Paddy Considine) passed down his knowledge of Aegon's dream to Rhaenyra after naming her his heir—just as his predecessor, King Jaehaerys, passed it down to him and Rhaenyra passed it to Jace (Harry Collett).
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"Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men," Viserys told her. "It is to begin with a terrible winter gusting out of the distant North. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this great winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne, a king or queen strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream the Song of Ice and Fire. This secret has been passed from king to heir since Aegon’s time. And now you must promise to carry it and protect it."
As we know from Game of Thrones, Daenerys never actually got the chance to sit the Iron Throne. But it was her decision to walk into the flames of Khal Drago's funeral pyre that brought dragons back into the world and gave the living a fighting chance against the army of the dead. Daenerys being the Prince That Was Promised would also make her fire immunity make more sense, as that was a power that no other Targaryen ever possessed.
We know from Rhaenyra and Daemon's fight in the Season 1 finale of House of the Dragon that Viserys never told Daemon about the Song of Ice and Fire during the years that Daemon was considered his de facto heir. And when Rhaenyra alerted him to his brother's lack of trust in him, he reacted by violently choking her.
"My brother was a slave to his omens and portents," he told her. "Anything to make his f*ckless reign appear to have purpose. Dreams didn't make us kings. Dragons did."
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Now, it seems that Daemon has been convinced of the truth of the prophecy and the role he must play in supporting Rhaenyra to eventually bring it about. When Rhaenyra comes to Harrenhal to confront Daemon about the mutiny she suspects he is planning against her, he pledges her alliegance to her. Daemon tells Rhaenyra that he saw the Song of Ice and Fire vision and the coming White Walker threat. Only Rhaenyra, he says, can lead them into the future where a hero saves Westeros from peril.
When Alys (Gayle Rankin) told Daemon that he would "die in this place" in that first Harrenhal vision, she was right, in a sense. It just turned out to be more of an ego death than a literal one.
