That Deleted HotD Scene Does Not, In Fact, Make Daemon a Good Father (Or a Good Person)
House of the Dragon fans have been outraged by the show's apparent deletion of scenes showing Daemon Targaryen's affection for his daughters. But are the deleted scenes really the case?
The first season of House of the Dragon was notorious for leaving out a lot of content that fans consider very important to the story and character development, especially when it comes to Matt Smith 's Daemon Targaryen.
One of the most grieved deleted scenes in the Game of Thrones prequel is when Daemon comforts his daughters, Baela and Rhaena, shortly after their mother and his wife, Laena, dies in childbirth.
According to fans, cutting the scene was tantamount to depriving Daemon of any chance to appear more human and show that he was a loving father with a strong bond to his family.
However, some fans believe that the opposite is true. The fact that Daemon once comforted his daughters does not necessarily make him a good father, let alone a good person, a certain section of the fandom believes.
"Giving your kids one hug after their mother burned alive by her dragon is bare min.The bar's in hell if that's a big deal. It doesn't change that he ignored they were hurt by Aemond. [...] All this happening the day of their mother's funeral. He's not only neglecting to offer safety because he's not with them. What's worse is that they can't even get emotional comfort from him after everything went down," Redditor UglyBarbieDoll noted.
Basically, Daemon rushed off to marry Rhaenyra after Laena's death, leaving his two daughters practically without a parent to care for them. That doesn't sound like Parenting 101, and a hug certainly wouldn't fix that.
Still, it's worth noting that House of the Dragon is not a show about picture-perfect family relationships; after all, it was family tragedy and internal strife that eventually brought the Targaryens to the point where only a dragon-driven war could resolve the conflict.
Still, Daemon remains the ultimate "Internet boyfriend" after the first season of the Game of Thrones prequel, no matter what atrocities he commits. Even when he does something bad, fans tend to blame the showrunners, accusing them of trying to "dehumanize" the rogue prince.
The show, meanwhile, tries to steer clear of explicitly taking sides, reminding fans that every House of the Dragon character is "morally gray. In that sense, no deleted scenes are likely to change that; but even the knowledge that they exist may lead fans to another round of Reddit debates.