'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 5 Takeaway: Daemon's Oedipus complex moment could push him to claim Iron Throne
Contains spoilers and speculation
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 5 aired on HBO on July 14, 2024. The enthralling episode saw the Greens and Blacks planning their next course of action after a brutal Battle at Rook's Rest.
Away from the war, however, is a different internal battle that Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) seems to be fighting as he battles hallucinations in a castle that is known to be haunted. Daemon's grief, guilt, and aspirations have manifested in the castle in the form of hallucinations where he first saw a younger version of his wife Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and his wife Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell).
In this episode, he is sexually intimate with a woman who is later revealed to be his mother Alyssa Targaryen (Emeline Lambert).
Who is Alyssa Targaryen?
Alyssa Targaryen is the mother of Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Daemon Targaryen. She was the daughter of King Jaehaerys Targaryen and the wife of Baelon Targaryen.
She died during the childbirth of her third child who was named Aegon and died soon after he was born. In Episode 5, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) talks about how it is a shame that Daemon never got to know his mother. She says so because both Daemon and Viserys were young when their mother died.
She was fierce and rode the dragon Meleys who had been paraded on the streets of King's Landing at the beginning of the episode after the dragon died in the previous episode. Meleys was killed by Vhagar who was her husband Baelon's dragon.
What is the significance of Daemon's vision of Alyssa?
Daemon's mother Alyssa affirms to him that he was her favorite son and was a more capable ruler than Viserys. In Episode 2, Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) have an argument after which Daemon leaves Dragonstone and has since been in Harrenhall.
Daemon is fighting an internal battle of ambition where he is divided between his lust for power and his duty towards the Queen he has pledged his loyalty to. Rhaenyra's words where she claims that Viserys never trusted him as a successor play on his head and his loyalty towards Rhaenyra seems to be dwindling.
Daemon has forever been an unpredictable character who acts on his emotions without giving a second thought to it. His actions seem to be having consequences now in the form of these hallucinations.
As for his relationship with his mother, it seems to be the Shakespearean Oedipus complex where a young Daemon Targaryen harbored subconscious romantic feelings towards his mother before her death. The reaffirmation could mean that his war for the blacks may now become more personal and focused on his own ambitions as a King. He tells Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) about his intentions of being King, and not just King consort.
Episodes 1-5 of 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 are streaming on HBO