The Targaryen Lineage: How Daenerys Is Connected to Rhaenyra and Daemon

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from Fire & Blood and potential spoilers for future seasons of House of the Dragon.

By the standards of Westeros, House Targaryen is far from ordinary. However, following Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) appearing in a vision sequence involving Daemon (Matt Smith) in House of the Dragon Season 2, many viewers are questioning how deeply connected these two branches of the family truly are. While they share the same noble house, the question of bloodline remains complex. Furthermore, where does Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) fit into this equation? The answer, which carries significant spoilers for the rest of the House of the Dragon saga, is far from straightforward.

Daemon Remains Unaware of Daenerys’s Identity in His Vision

Daemon’s vision is replete with foreshadowing regarding the future of House Targaryen and Westeros itself, even featuring the White Walkers. However, the most astonishing element is his encounter with Daenerys and her three dragons. This vision is drawn directly from the Season 1 finale of Game of Thrones, depicting Daenerys carrying her petrified dragon eggs into Khal Drogo’s (Jason Momoa) funeral pyre, from which she emerges unburnt as her dragons hatch. Significantly, this vision follows his sighting of the dying dragons in Westeros—a consequence of the ongoing civil war. The hatching of Daenerys’s dragons symbolizes their resurgence, which is crucial for combating the impending threat of the Others. Daemon recognizes that for the world to survive, the Targaryen destined for the Iron Throne must be his wife, Rhaenyra.

Though Daemon cannot recognize Daenerys, the audience knows she is a surviving member of the once-great house. The nature of his vision leaves him unaware of the timeframe, meaning Daenerys could be a future daughter, granddaughter, or even a great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter—which, unbeknownst to him, is the truth.

To comprehend the relationship between Daenerys, Daemon, and Rhaenyra, one must delve into the spoiler-rich lore of George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood. It is well established that Rhaenyra perishes at the conclusion of the Dance of the Dragons, a fact confirmed by Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) in Game of Thrones when he reveals she was devoured by Aegon II’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) dragon, Sunfyre. Similarly, Daemon meets his end in a fatal clash with Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) at Harrenhal. Despite their deaths, their two sons ultimately ascend to the Iron Throne following the conflict. While Aegon III initially claims the throne, the absence of heirs from his sons Daeron I and Baelor I leads to the succession of their brother, Viserys II—Daemon and Rhaenyra’s youngest son.

Through Viserys II, the Targaryen lineage persists. His notorious son, Aegon IV (“the Unworthy”), leads to Aegon V, known as Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, who is Daenerys’s great-grandfather and Rhaenyra’s great-great-great-grandson. This line culminates in the Mad King, Aerys II (David Rintoul), Daenerys’s father. Consequently, Daenerys Targaryen is eight generations removed from Rhaenyra Targaryen, making Rhaenyra her great-great-great-great-great-grandmother. It is worth noting that this calculation follows Fire & Blood, as Game of Thrones omitted Jaehaerys II—Aerys II’s father in the books—from its lore, as noted by Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan) in Season 1. Unless retconned, Daenerys is seven generations removed from Rhaenyra in the show franchise.

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