Rhaenyra is confronted by both Criston Cole and Daemon Targaryen about her marriage to Laenor, with her responses indicating who she really wants.
WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon season 1, episode 5!Rhaenyra rejects Criston Cole’s proposal to run away together but still offers to flee with Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon episode 5, with the two men offering her very different futures and relationships. House of the Dragon episode 4 included major twists for Rhaenyra when she acted on her sexual tensions with Daemon and Criston, as Rhaenyra slept with Criston after Daemon abandoned her in a pleasure house. Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding in House of the Dragon episode 5 led both Criston and Daemon to plead for the Princess to abandon her future husband, but she was only truly prepared to run off with Daemon.
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Plagued with guilt and shame for breaking his Kingsguard vows, Criston implores Rhaenyra to run away with him to Essos, where they can live freely without titles. While first appearing excited by the proposition, Rhaenyra rejects Criston’s offer because of her duty as heir to the Iron Throne. However, at her wedding celebration with Laenor, Daemon pulls Rhaenyra away, asks her if this marriage is what she wants, and says the dragon-riding Laenor Velaryon will bore her too much. In response, Rhaenyra tells Daemon that his time is running out, so if he wants her, he needs to cut through Viserys’ Kingsguard, take her to Dragonstone, and make her his wife. However, the two are interrupted as Criston kills Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, with their idea made impossible when Rhaenyra and Laenor marry that night.
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Since Rhaenyra had just rejected Criston’s proposal to run away, it was extremely telling that she soon suggested Daemon run off with her to Dragonstone. However, Criston was offering Rhaenyra a life she simply couldn’t choose, as she couldn’t abandon her responsibilities in fulfilling Aegon’s dream, which Viserys emphasized was bigger than her own desires. Running away with Daemon, on the other hand, would mean only going to Dragonstone, where she could still keep her title as heir despite briefly angering her father. Daemon is certainly a more controversial man to run off with, but he’s also a Targaryen prince with whom Rhaenyra could reasonably marry and multiply her succession. House of the Dragon episode 5 proves that while Rhaenyra is infatuated with and enjoys the company of Ser Criston, she’s not deeply and emotionally invested in him like she is with Daemon. Criston was always just going to be a brief lover for Rhaenyra, whereas Daemon offers much more.
Would Viserys Disinherit Rhaenyra If She Married Daemon?
Viserys already considered disinheriting Rhaenyra when hearing the rumor that she and Daemon “coupled” in a pleasure house, so unless she were to do something entirely unforgivable, Viserys will protect her as his heir. Viserys himself even contemplated marrying Rhaenyra to Daemon in House of the Dragon episode 4, but rejected it upon realizing Daemon’s proposal was simply a power play. Marrying Daemon simply wouldn’t be enough of an error for Rhaenyra to be disinherited, with prior Targaryen rulers having committed the same defiance before. Even the great King Jaehaerys I Targaryen defied his mother’s wishes to marry outside of House Targaryen by fleeing to Dragonstone and secretly wedding his sister Alysanne.
Although Rhaenyra and Laenor get married in House of the Dragon episode 5’s ending, her romance with Daemon is far from over. Following Laenor’s death in House of the Dragon season 1, Rhaenyra and Daemon will flee to Dragonstone and wed in secret, just as she suggested in episode 5. While this further strains Daemon’s relationship with Viserys, the King doesn’t disinherit Rhaenyra, with her second marriage perhaps better following Viserys’ wishes by continuing the Targaryen line. Rhaenyra’s sons with Laenor take the Velaryon name (though they’re technically bastards of House Strong), whereas her sons with Daemon are full-blooded, trueborn Targaryens.
