Daemyra May Be the Best HotD Team, But The Relationship is Still Toxic
You might think that after Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) had shown his true nature in the finale of House of the Dragon he would lose much of his fandom, or at least the part which genuinely considered him and Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) a perfect pair. But apparently you would be thinking wrong.
A good part of the Internet still loves them together.
Justifications go along the lines you can easily guess. He has changed from the reckless and impulsively violent man he always was thanks to Rhaenyra's influence.
He actually loves her, and not, you know, his chance to rule through her. He is truly supportive of her as a Queen and does not disobey her (in public). He allows her to take the lead.
They are emotionally close. They complement each other's strengths well and make the best character team overall.
Ooookay. By "complementing each other's strengths" people probably mean that Daemon actually does things, while Rhaenyra stands around looking regal and procrastinates.
Sure, if you want to be maximally complementary towards them, you can say that she keeps Daemon's murderous impulses in check – at least half the time – though how smart this is at the point where the situation had already deteriorated to the point where the choices are total surrender of one party or a civil war between them, is anyone's guess.
As about the rest, Daemon obviously cannot oppose and undermine Rhaenyra in public, when she is acting in her capacity as a Queen, without undermining their collective position.
The legitimacy of their whole party rides on the assumption that Rhaenyra is fit to rule. While you might have a valid argument that a person as outrages as Daemon would not care about all that, had he truly looked down on his wife as a ruler, we also are given another indication about the strength of his emotional bond to her – or lack thereof – in the same episode, besides the chocking scene.
We get the scene when he ignores Rhaenyra's calls for him, as she is in a difficult childbirth, preferring to busy himself with preparations for war. Certainly, at the moment preparations for war were necessary for Rhaenyra and any of her children to survive, but Daemon did not exhibit any visible conflict about where he was supposed to be at the moment.
And people in love just don't act in such collected and rational fashion, at least not on the screen.
So, you can say that Daemon treats Rhaenyra about as well as he can treat anyone, that she if one of the very few people he cares about… but that still won't be a very high standard of treatment and care.