Highlights
- In the first season of House of the Dragon, there have been several instances of betrayal that have shocked viewers.
- Daemon Targaryen taunting Viserys about his deceased son, Prince Baelon, in “The Heirs of the Dragon.” This familial betrayal is particularly jarring because it goes beyond the pale and highlights the rift between the two brothers.
- Aemond Targaryen claiming Vhagar, his late aunt Laena’s dragon, from his cousin Rhaena in “Driftmark.” This act of treachery is made worse by Aemond’s brash and callous behavior towards Rhaena.
From bosom companions suddenly turning on one another to shockingly Machiavellian political maneuvers, there is no set form of betrayal in Westeros. While House of the Dragon has yet to match Game of Thrones‘ shocking propensity for the art of the double cross, the prequel charting the bloody “Dance of the Dragons” has already produced a number of jaw-dropping instances of backstabbing, both figurative and literal.
Considering that the show revolves around a family ripping itself and the surrounding country apart in a desperate struggle for power, this is hardly surprising. What is a considerably more jarring notion is the fact that House of the Dragon has barely gotten started. Despite already producing enough perfidious material in one season than most shows muster throughout their entire run, some of the more blockbuster case studies in deception from George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood have yet to play out onscreen.
8 Daemon’s Disregard For Viserys’ Grief
Taunting The Heir For A Day
- Season 1, Episode 1: “The Heirs of the Dragon”
Even by Westeros’ depraved standards of morality, the idea of a man mocking his brother’s recently deceased son stands as an abhorrent breach of the unique bond between male siblings. As such, Daemon Targaryen’s taunting of the deceased Prince Baelon in Season 1’s “The Heirs of the Dragon” is a familial betrayal that goes beyond the pale, dubbing Viserys’ late son “The Heir for a Day.”
Utterly unrepentant upon being confronted about his actions, Matt Smith’s ruthless response is to smirk as an incandescent Viserys roars at him, lambasting Daemon for his failures as an uncle and a brother in one of Season 1’s most emotionally charged sequences. The scale of the Rogue Prince’s betrayal is compounded further by the sheer levels of raw despondency in Paddy Considine’s voice; despite trying to offer a regal outlook, Viserys literally chokes in sorrow when he asks his beloved sibling why he wounds him so deeply.
7 Aemond Claims Vhagar
Stealing Rhaena’s Inheritance Out From Under Her
- Season 1, Episode 7: “Driftmark”
Before the chaotic events of Season 1’s “Driftmark,” the prevailing logic indicated that Rhaena Targaryen would be the one to inherit Vhagar. The mightiest dragon in existence, the gargantuan beast had been the steed of her late mother Laena, but Rhaena had also yet to claim a fire-breathing mount of her own.
Completely ignoring his status as a guest in Laena’s family home and the sanctity of Rhaena’s implied inheritance, a brash and young Aemond Targaryen stealthily claims Vhagar in the dead of night instead. The young boy compounds the scale of his betrayal by callously dismissing Rhaena’s furious protests, shaming Daemon’s youngest daughter for not claiming the dragon herself before launching himself into a full-on brawl with his cousins.
6 Laenor’s Deception
Breaking His Parents’ Hearts
- Season 1, Episode 7: “Driftmark”
Laenor Velaryon endured a rocky relationship with his parents in light of his romantic proclivities. This was particularly evident with the Lord of the Tides; Corlys was completely unable to accept his son’s sexuality, initially dismissing his antics as no more than a phase that he would eventually grow out of.
However, Laenor’s parents still clearly loved their son deeply in spite of their differences, a state of affairs that made his eventual betrayal all the more devastating. Passing off a smoldering corpse as his own to defuse any suspicion, the eldest Velaryon ultimately fakes his death to pursue a life of adventure with his lover, Qarl Correy. While Laenor’s motivations were entirely understandable, leaving his own mother and father to grieve his apparent brutal murder was a notably shocking breach of faith.
5 Alicent Marries Viserys
A Marriage Solely For House Hightower’s Benefit
- Season 1, Episode 2: “The Rogue Prince”
One of the more heartbreaking examples of double-dealing on the show to date, Alicent’s marriage to Viserys spelled the end of her childhood friendship with Rhaenyra. The realization that her oldest and closest confidante had seemingly been scheming behind her back to further her own position was a devastating personal blow to “The Realm’s Delight,” one that irrevocably altered the nature of her relationship with Alicent.
That’s to say nothing of the insult inflicted upon House Velaryon, considering that the proposed marriage between the King and Laena Velaryon appeared to be a done deal. Viserys’ rejection of the union in favor of a weaker political match would have been offensive in itself; whipping the rug out from beneath Corlys and Rhaenys at the last second was a humiliating contraversion of trust that the Lord of the Tides never truly forgave.
4 Daemon Seduces Rhaenyra
The Worst Uncle And Brother In History
- Season 1, Episode 4: “King of the Narrow Sea”
Highlighting the polarising nature of Matt Smith’s enigmatic charge in sharp relief, Daemon’s initial seduction of Rhaenyra in Season 1’s “King of the Narrow Sea” is a case study in familial betrayal from start to finish. Taking advantage of and seducing his own brother’s daughter is a shocking breach of trust in itself, but Daemon goes a step further in his deceitfulness by petulantly abandoning Rhaenyra in the dangerous bowels of King’s Landing.
Callously dispensing with any sense of responsibility towards the young girl, Daemon’s lack of disregard for his niece’s safety is appalling, and that’s without even touching upon his utter disloyalty to the King. Casually flaunting behavior that would have any other man put to death in screaming agony, Daemon’s perfidious actions made a complete mockery of his brother Viserys, one of the few individuals in King’s Landing who actually had the Rogue Prince’s back at the time.
3 Viserys Sacrifices His Wife
The Heir Trumps The Queen
- Season 1, Episode 1: “The Heirs of the Dragon”
House of the Dragon wasted zero time in attempting to raise the betrayal bar to its maximum height with the death of Rhaenyra’s mother Aemma, after complications arise when she attempts to give birth to Viserys’ long awaited son, Baelon. The maesters grimly inform the King that his son may still live, provided that he allows them to carry out a C-section on Aemma at the cost of her life.
Reluctantly assenting to the maesters’ advice, Viserys’ sheer desperation for a son influences him to betray his wife’s trust in the most heartbreaking manner imaginable. Ignoring his beloved’s howls for mercy, the King watches in dismay as Aemma bleeds to death after being sliced open without an anesthetic. Placing a devastating cherry atop an already harrowing cake, Baelon follows his mother into death soon after, rendering Viserys’ abhorrent sacrifice utterly meaningless.
2 Rhaenyra Deceives Her Father
Duplicitous Dealings From The Realm’s Delight
- Season 1, Episode 6: “The Princess and the Queen”
Viserys Targaryen’s love for his daughter was so great that he defied centuries of tradition by naming her heir to the throne, fighting tooth and nail against all who would challenge a woman’s succession or cause his child harm of any description. This is evident in Season 1’s “The Lord of the Tides,” where the late King quite literally crawled off his deathbed just to prevent Vaemond Velaryon from supplanting Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys as heir to Driftmark.
Regrettably, that’s what makes Rhaenyra’s slights against her father all the more heartbreaking. While Viserys’ willful ignorance can be blamed to an extent, his daughter never stopped taking advantage of the love he held for her. Making a mockery of her ancient house and any sense of tradition or decency, Rhaenyra gave birth to illegitimate children with about as much subtlety as a brick through a window. She further insulted her father’s intelligence by insinuating that there was nothing out of the ordinary with her sons’ “Strong” features,” despite looking about as Targaryen as Samwell Tarly.
1 The Greens Seize The Iron Throne
Usurping Rhaenyra’s Birthright
- Season 1, Episode 9: “The Green Council”
The most shocking political flashpoint in House of the Dragon to date, the Greens’ seizing of the Iron Throne is about as significant a betrayal imaginable in George R.R. Martin’s universe. It’s hard to envision a scenario that could rival ignoring the final wishes of the most powerful individual in the country before quickly taking control of his court in the most ruthless manner imaginable.
While the argument could be made that she genuinely misheard him, Alicent’s willful misinterpretation of Viserys’ last words betrayed every iota of trust in their relationship – a fact that she doubles down on in Season 2. The shocking scale of the Greens’ double-cross only builds in the immediate aftermath of Viserys’ death, with the revelation of the Small Council’s long-held plot to usurp the succession and install Aegon on the throne swiftly followed by Otto’s ruthless plans to have Rhaenyra murdered on Dragonstone.
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