House of the Dragon creator baffled by Daemon “super-fandom”

House of the Dragon’s showrunner has addressed the “super-fandom” surrounding Daemon Targaryen, saying he’s having “trouble understanding it.”

If there’s one way to sum up people’s problematic affinity with Game of Thrones characters, just think of the thousands of parents who named their baby Dany before the final season aired.

Westeros isn’t like Middle-earth or other clearer-cut worlds. Sure, there are heroes and villains, but everyone tends to have a bit of an edge, like Jaime Lannister, Theon Greyjoy, and Oberyn Martell.

We’ve only just finished Season 1 of House of the Dragon, and Daemon is the frontrunner for the most wilfully misunderstood character across both shows.

House of the Dragon showrunner addresses Daemon “super-fandom” after Episode 10 controversy

In House of the Dragon Episode 10, the finale of Season 1, Daemon lets his anger slip and chokes Rhaenyra when she tries to explain Aegon the Conqueror’s Song of Ice and Fire. Some fans criticized the scene, feeling it was a disservice to his development thus far, while others believe it illustrated his complexity as a character.

In an interview with The New York Times, Ryan Condal spoke about the response to Daemon, especially after the backlash against writer-director Sara Hess for saying she was “baffled” by him becoming an “internet boyfriend.”

“I’m having trouble understanding it. We established right out of the gate, in the pilot, that Daemon is a fascinating guy, but he’s not Ned Stark. So I didn’t see it coming,” he said.

“To me, Daemon is the antihero of this story. He’s a character with a real darkness to him, who’s dangerous and charming in equal parts. I knew people would be fascinated by him and latch onto him, but I figured they’d do it in the way they did with Jaime Lannister or Bronn or the Red Viper.

“I did not think they would oddly apply this sort of super-fandom to him and try to justify every single thing he’s done as being intrinsically heroic. It simply isn’t. It’s not the case. Nor will it be in the future.”

Condal defended Hess, saying they wrote the vast majority of Season 1 together, but “every choice comes through [him].”

“We did not set out to write villains and heroes in this. We set out to write interesting humans and complex characters who are hopefully compelling, but compelling doesn’t always mean heroic or unimpeachable,” he continued.

“I see Daemon as having heroic aspects to him, and I understand why people would. I mean, he’s incredibly charismatic, he’s handsome, he looks great in that wig, he rides a dragon, he has a cool sword. I totally get it. But if you’re looking for Han Solo, who’s always going to do the right thing in the end, you’re in the wrong franchise, folks.”

House of the Dragon Season 1 is available to stream now. For more on Season 2, click here.