IfGame of Throneshas a central message, it’s that there is no such thing as a good noble. All the people born into the aristocracy will either grow up with cruelty and sadism, give up their honor to seize power, or die trying to keep their morals intact. Whoever wears the crown and sits on the throne will eventually find a way to mess things up because the problem is bigger than any individual person. With that in mind, the best noble might be one like Daeron the Drunken, who only wants to use his power to get loaded and have a good time.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdomsmight feature the most straightforward narrative of anyGame of Thronesmaterial. The show is an adaptation ofGeorge R. R. Martin’sshort stories, which are a lot simpler thanA Song of Ice & Fire. They’re about a young, low-born knight and his squire, who is secretly a prince. It’s still far from family-friendly, but it feels like a narrative for fans sick of tracking dozens of characters across the Known World.
Who is Daeron the Drunken?
Daeron Targaryen was the first son of Maekar Targaryen, the fourth son of his namesake, King Daeron II Targaryen. The franchise’s royal lineagereuses a lot of names, as do most generational monarchies. Prince Maekar grew up angry at his distance from the throne. Daeron II, nicknamed Daeron the Good, was an uncommonly decent ruler who brought Dorne into the Seven Kingdoms without a war. While the firstborn son of a Targaryen king typically becomes the Prince of Dragonstone, their younger siblings might settle in the Dornish March castle of Summerhall. Daeron likely grew up in Summerhall, one of House Targaryen’s most enjoyable residences. He loved it so much that he stayed there even after his father ascendedto the Iron Throne, and he was expected to move to Dragonstone.
Daeron wasn’t as interested in the Iron Throne as his father. Daeron hated allthe usual knightly activities. He didn’t want to ride horses, fight with swords, or study history. His calling was at the bottom of his wineskin. Daeron became Daeron the Drunken. He hung out in bars and spent his time with sex workers. Daeron didn’t look anything like a Targaryen. He had sandy blonde hair and a yellowish complexion, far from the silver locks and pale skin of his siblings. He did, however, have one uniquely Targaryen trait. Daeron the Drunken had the gift of prophecy, seeing cryptic glimpses of the future in his dreams. They did little to save Daeron, who lived out most of his life in Summerhall, sired one daughterwith his Tyroshi wife, and died of an illness he likely contracted from a night at a brothel. Daeron the Drunken’s most interesting legacy might be that he saw the return of the dragons in his dreams.
Where did Daeron the Drunken first appear?
Daeron the Drunken is a minor character inThe Hedge Knight, the first of several George R. R. Martin short stories. Those tales will be the inspiration for the upcoming HBO series,A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Daeron has a strange role in the story. It follows young knight Duncan the Tall and his squire, Daeron’s disguised younger brother Aegon. Daeron was the helpful sibling who helped Aegon disappear by shaving his head and pulling him away from his handlers, turning him into Egg. Dunk and Egg travel to a tournament, where Dunk gets into a scrape with Daeron’s cruel brother, Aerion. The fight leads toa trial by combatthat Aerion upgrades to a trial by seven, forcing both sides to draft a team and settle the matter with violence.
Despite his protests, Daeron winds up on Aerion’s team. When Aegon slipped away, Daeron lied to his father,claiming that a robber knightmade off with the young prince. This worked against Dunk, adding to Aerion’s accusations and making his situation worse. To make up for his actions, Daeron promised Dunk that he would not participate in the fight. He would show up on his horse and in his fancy armor, but he wouldn’t fight. Daeron tells Dunk that he saw the young knight in his dreams, predicting that a dragon would fall dead on top of him but that Dunk would walk away unscathed. Daeron kept his promise, falling off his horse during the first charge and remaining in the mud until the fight concluded. He even stayed down after his own horse stepped on his ankle, severely injuring him. His dream came true when Daeron’s uncle, Prince Baelor, died in Dunk’s arms. Daeron offered this excellent summation of his character before the bout:
My brothers have my measure when it comes to fighting and dancing and thinking and reading books, but none of them is half my equal at lying insensible in the mud.
Who will play Daeron the Drunken inA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
Henry Ashton will portray Daeron Targaryen inA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Ashton is a relatively new talent with a few substantial TV roles. His first notable performance came in Sky’sCreation Stories. He later appeared inOutlanderas a Revolutionary War soldier. He’s much better known for two shows that came out this year. He portrays Max Hastings inA Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, earning a lot of attention for his performance. He also plays Lord Stan Dudley in the Tudor romance seriesMy Lady Jane. Daeron will be an interesting role to add to his career.
Daeron the Drunken is one of very few relativelydecent nobles in Westeros. He only attains that dubious glory by completely avoiding every element of his power and living a life mostly free of impact. He wasn’t even willing to move to a different castle to live up to the usual expectations of his station. Daeron is an example of what royal family members can achieve when they simply lie insensible in the mud.
