House of the Dragon, Daemon and Rhaenyra’s plan explained: why did they fake that death?

The death of Laena Velaryon, Daemon Targaryen’s wife in ‘House of the Dragon’ sets all the pieces in place for the impending civil war in Westeros between factions that support Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent Hightower.

With the entire royal family gathered for Laena’s funeral, several meetings occur. Like how Rhaenyra and Daemon were familiar in a brothel after 10 years of not seeing each other.

Their desire has not diminished over the years and with Daemon the widower and Rhaenyra in sham marriage, the two Targaryens have affairs on the beach, but beyond the physical there is also a political reason for them to be together.

As it is an open secret that Rhaenyra’s children are not from her husband Laenor Velaryon, this gives more power to Queen Alicent’s team, her children and the Hand of the King. while the questions against Rhaenyra grow.

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He explained Rhaenyra and Daemon’s plan in ‘House of the Dragon’.

Tensions in House Targaryen are at an all-time high, with Alicent and Rhaenyra’s children at odds with each other, the Velaryons seeking to establish a legacy, and King Viserys’ health increasingly critical.

Rhaenyra and Daemon show that they truly love each other and that the rest of their relationship was just protocol. However, for us to be together, Laenor would have to die and leave Rhaenyra a widow.

Their union would not only be based on their love for each other, it would also mean a powerful political coup by strengthening the Targaryen blood bond, increasing their military powers and dispelling doubts that Rhaenyra is the next queen.

As Rhaenyra Targaryen explains to her uncle Daemon, she cannot face the Greens and their powers alone, so she needs their support and the power of her dragon Caraxes.

They both plan to kill Laenor and secretly marry in a ritual that unites their blood. This assassination creates rumors and suspicions that Rhaenyra is willing to do anything to sit on the Iron Throne.

But that’s exactly what the couple wants their enemies to think and see them as a latent danger so they don’t dare challenge or attack them thinking there will be no consequences.

The Death and Fate of Laenor Velaryon in “House of the Dragon”

Although Laenor had realized that he had not fulfilled his part of the bargain he had with Rhaenyra (to assume the role of husband and father to her children), his repentance came too late and his service was no longer needed.

But instead of murdering him like everyone thinks, Rhaenyra and Daemon make a deal with him and his lover Ser Qarl Correy, fake a fight in front of witnesses, burn a body and pass it off as Laenor.

The fake death leaves the door open for Rhaenyra and Daemon to marry and Laenor and Correy to exile themselves with lots of gold to live together where no one criticizes their relationship.

This happy ending for Laenor and Correy does not appear in George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood books and is one of the changes the HBO Max series makes to the story to give it more depth and surprise readers of the novels.

Laenor’s death in the books occurs when she visits a Spicetown fair and is stabbed to death by her friend and partner Correy. This is because Correy thinks that Laenor has fallen in love with another gentleman and is cheating on him.

According to the text, the traders told Corlys Velaryon, Laenor’s father, that his son and Correy had argued before the incident and the killer already had a boat waiting for him to escape.

After his escape, Ser Qarl Correy was never seen again and some people believe that Daemon paid him off and then threw him overboard. In the series Laenor and Correy could appear again and the lie about his death could create even more tension for Rhaenyra.