Book Daemon Was So Much Better Compared to Whatever's Going on in HotD
If you think House of the Dragon was unfair to Daemon Targaryen, wait until book fans say what they have to say.
Daemon Targaryen enjoys an unprecedented amount of love, but at the same time, many House of the Dragon fans believe that the show has done him dirty. It's not only in terms of his relationship with his wife (or wives, if we're being precise), but also about how he reacted to the casus belli in episode 10, just before Dance of the Dragons erupted.
In the show, Daemon appears to be a warmonger who urges Rhaenyra to immediately start a war with the Greens and have her throne back. He even goes as far as choking her when she does not seem to immediately share the sentiment.
But in the books, Daemon is absolutely different, as noted by Twitter user rhaenyratrgryns in a lengthy thread.
Fire and Blood had Daemon insisting that dragons can be used in "better way" than simply throwing them into a war with each other; besides, the rogue prince demanded that the war has to be fought "with words before we go to battle".
The one who advocated for using the dragons against the Greens was in fact Rhaenys, according to the book, and not Daemon. However, showrunners appeared to have switched them; while Daemon is warmongering all the way he can, Rhaenys is visibly questioning whether she even wants to participate in the upcoming battle.
Earlier, fans lambasted House of the Dragon showrunners for axing the scenes where Daemon is seen consoling his daughters, Baela and Rhaena, after the death of their mother Laena. According to them, House of the Dragon is deliberately trying to get rid of Daemon's "human" moments.
However, there is a season 2 for the showrunners to prove fans wrong. The filming is set to begin in March 2023, with HBO to announce the premiere date later.