HBO’s Latest ‘House of the Dragon’ Twist Finally Confirms a Major Fan Theory

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 3.Fans of Game of Thrones have been used to shocking plot twists for a while, and House of the Dragon just delivered the newest one after a long time of speculation by the fans. Season 3, Episode 3 finally introduces a young Daeron Targaryen, played by Charlie Gordon, only to reveal at the end of the episode what some might have already suspected, that this Daeron is an imposter. His capture is Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) only victory since her arrival in King’s Landing, but when Alicent (Olivia Cooke) fails to recognize her youngest son, it becomes clear that Rhaenyra has been played by the Greens. So, now, new questions arise: where is the real Daeron, and who is playing him?

Daeron’s Absence in ‘House of the Dragon’ and His Casting Have Long Confused Fans

When adapting a book like Fire & Blood, it’s natural to change some aspects of the original story for many reasons, and House of the Dragon has certainly changed quite a bit. Daeron’s absence is one of these changes, as he is only mentioned for the first time at the end of Season 2, and, up until now, we’ve only seen his dragon, Tessarion, but never him. Shortly before this week’s episode, Daeron’s arrival was teased by HBO with footage of Gordon being taken by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), but that didn’t convince many fans.

Initially, it was believed that Daeron would be played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, whose casting was only confirmed in June, shortly before the third season premiere. Fans felt it was a perfect casting, as Ainsworth is young and will play a similar role as Link in the upcoming The Legend of Zelda adaptation, making him a great choice for Daeron the Daring, a dragonrider. In the premiere, however, Ainsworth briefly appears as Lord Ormund Hightower’s (James Norton) squire and notably has red hair.

Now, the series finally explains what’s up. Ainsworth is indeed playing the real Daeron, whose hair has been dyed red to pass as a Hightower and fool Daemon, Rhaenyra, and the Blacks. Daeron’s absence so far is also justified as part of this plot, to keep him and Tessarion as the Greens’ secret weapon in the Reach on their way to King’s Landing, now that Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has taken Vhagar to Harrenhal. He is young, and nobody knows what he really looks like. It’s the perfect ruse.

Editor’s Note: The below contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood, which House of the Dragon is based on.

A “Fake Daeron” Plot Comes Straight From ‘Fire & Blood,’ but With a Different Setting

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In Fire & Blood, Daeron shows up much earlier in the story as the youngest son of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Alicent Hightower. It is only in his teens that he is sent to squire for Alicent’s cousin, Lord Ormund, and then plays a key role in securing the Reach for the Greens. The Hightower army struggles initially, but the tide turns thanks to Daeron and Tessarion. To honor his young cousin, Ormund titles him “Daeron the Daring,” and they progress until Tumbleton, right at Rhaenyra’s doorstep in King’s Landing.

Parallel to that, with Aegon II’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) having escaped to Dragonstone and Aemond gone to Harrenhal, Daeron suddenly becomes a serious contender to the Iron Throne, despite his young age, and this is part of his plot until after the end of the Dance of Dragons. He is killed in the war, but how he dies is disputed by the diverging accounts in Fire & Blood, and his body is never identified. Because of this, some believe Daeron never actually dies, and some people even try to use it to their advantage.

After the war ends, it’s Aegon III, Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son, who ascends to the Iron Throne. During his reign, many pretenders show up claiming to be Daeron, but they are proven to be impostors by Aegon III and Viserys, his brother and Hand of the King. Because House of the Dragon is slated to end with Season 4, it’s unlikely that there will be time for Fire & Blood‘s “fake Daeron” plot after Aegon III takes the throne to make it to the screen. Still, it’s nice that the series found a way to incorporate it into its story somehow.

‘House of the Dragon’ Uses the Fake Daeron Plot To Smartly Set Up the Battle of Tumbleton

At the end of this week’s episode, Rhaenyra is warned that the Greens have taken Tumbleton by a surviving dragonkeeper who likely tended to Tessarion. Tumbleton’s lords had previously declared for her, so the “fake Daeron” is a smart gambit by Lord Ormund — Rhaenyra can’t allow herself to have been made a fool by admitting she fell for the imposter, but she also can’t target the people she swore to protect. Whatever card she plays, she loses something in this business.

In Fire & Blood, the Battle of Tumbleton simply starts with the Hightower host taking over the town and infiltrating as civilians, with Daeron flying Tessarion. By then, he had already won the Greens some battles and “avenged” his nephew Maelor‘s death (Aegon II’s third child, who hasn’t appeared in the show). Rhaenyra then sends Ser Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew) and Ser Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) to protect Tumbleton, and the fateful battle begins.

In the series, however, there is more happening. Lord Ormund and Daeron’s ruse now forces Rhaenyra’s hand, but, at the same time, if she sends Hugh and Ulf, she is giving them a dilemma of their own, since she refuses to acknowledge them as Targaryens. Hugh’s wife, Kat (Ellora Torchia), has also fled to Tumbleton after he became a dragonrider, so, for him, there are personal stakes as well. With so much happening, we’re finally bound to see the real Daeron in action.

House of the Dragon is available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays.