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Interestingly, Daenerys’ descent had been hinted at since early seasons, effectively determining the outcome of her character arc. That said, Game of Thrones routinely painted the Targaryens as power-hungry despots and tyrannical foreigners with a genetic proclivity toward mental collapse — and Daenerys only confirmed that trend with her own actions. Luckily, House of the Dragon dispels this myth by painting a highly nuanced and surprisingly volatile family system, revealing that the Targaryens were a lot more than just their inevitable Madness.

House Targaryen’s Power Waned Over the Centuries

Image via The World of Ice & Fire, Chase Stone

Originating from Old Valyria, the first Targaryens moved to Westeros based on the precognitive abilities of Daenys the Dreamer, who foresaw the Doom of Valyria in Essos. A hundred years on a new continent did little to advance the family’s cause, at least until the ascension of Aegon I Targaryen. Westeros was thoroughly transformed by Aegon’s Conquest, bringing together factions that had been warring for hundreds of years. With three dragons and two sister-wives, Aegon blazed across the continent and brought its greatest Houses under his heel.

Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes allowed Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya to subdue six of the Seven Kingdoms, with House Martell of Dorne being the only holdout. A combination of cunning diplomacy — allowing Houses Lannister, Stark, and Tyrell to remain relevant within their territories — and unquestionable might essentially destined House Targaryen’s takeover of Westeros. For the first time in its history, the continent was (mostly) unified under the three-headed red dragon sigil.

When Balerion the Black Dread forged the Iron Throne from the swords of Aegon’s enemies, the only one with the power to maintain their newfound power was House Targaryen. The construction of King’s Landing occurred during Aegon’s reign, who was unfortunately followed by incompetent successors. Aegon’s son Aenys I was essentially forgettable, whereas Aenys’ half-brother Maegor I terrorized Westeros. It wasn’t until the ascension of Jaehaerys I that Westeros was blessed with an era of peace.

No matter the nature of individual monarchs, from Maegor’s violent malevolence to Jaehaerys’ peaceful conciliation, Westeros was bound to House Targaryen for the same reason it was conquered: dragons. The dragons of Old Valyria existed no more, forcing the Targaryens to keep breeding more eggs from the ones they had. Inbreeding was always going to be an unpredictable venture, but Westeros’ First Family didn’t suffer the consequences for centuries.

Dragons would keep House Targaryen in control as long as possible, but there was another worry. Those with the blood of Old Valyria flowing in their veins were small in number, pitted against the vast forces of the Westerosi legacy that could potentially dilute them out of existence. And since the dragons only seemed to obey those with Valyrian heritage, the Targaryens may not have wanted to share their “magical” genes with other families. Unfortunately for them, keeping their blood “pure” wouldn’t be a fraction as easy as conquering a continent.

Marrying into the existing Houses of Westeros was a common practice between themselves, but the Targaryens instead preferred another tactic: incest. With the same consequences as the inbreeding of dragons, it was incest that actually diluted the blood of Old Valyria. Aegon’s sons were born to his sisters, and many kings married women with Targaryen genes. House of the Dragon‘s Rhaenyra was three-quarters Targaryen, but her sons, who later became kings, were nearly 90% Targaryen because they were sired by Daemon.

Interestingly, the monarchs following the Dance of Dragons took a successful detour from incest by marrying into Houses Rogare, Martell, Penrose, Dayne, and Blackwood. Every consecutive king had mothers from across Westeros, potentially neutralizing the effects of incest. This ended with Jaehaerys II, whose marriage to his sister Shaera produced the first and only Mad King of Westeros. Centuries of mixed blood were somehow nullified, making Aerys II go slowly insane over the course of his reign.

The tyrannical nightmare inflicted by the Mad King had a severe effect on Westeros, as countless lives were lost because Aerys II wouldn’t (or couldn’t) listen to reason. The continent breathed a collective sigh of relief upon the triumph of Robert’s Rebellion, overjoyed that they didn’t have to suffer the Targaryens anymore. In a single fell swoop, Aerys II married his sister and painted his entire dynasty as unhinged and unpredictable.

The Targaryen Line Became Associated with Incest & Madness

Image via HBO

Although Aerys II was officially known as the Mad King, he was one of many Targaryens to exhibit the mysterious signs of madness. King Baelor the Blessed was infamous for his piety, making him a saintly ruler with the best interests of the people at heart. This was a drastic deviation from the usual “fire and blood” energy of House Targaryen, and in stark contrast to the ultimately futile invasion of Dorne led by the boy-king, Daeron I. And yet both of them technically embodied a form of madness because they were extremes in nature.

George R.R. Martin wrote that “there’s sometimes a fine line between madness and greatness,” reminding his viewers that perception is everything. Unfortunately, the public image of the Targaryen Dynasty was torn to shreds by the actions of Aerys II, whose increasing insanity only led to more calamitous outcomes for the people of Westeros. And Game of Thrones mostly reflects the opinions of the Mad King’s survivors, explaining why many doubted Daenerys’ potential as Queen.

Many characters talk about Targaryen Madness, either through oblique references or direct statements. Illyrio Mopatis comments that “Viserys was Mad Aerys’ son, just so.” Meanwhile, Ser Barristan Selmy informs Daenerys of King Jaehaerys II’s words: “Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” A reduced version of this quote is used by Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, effectively entrenching the admittedly justified preconceptions against House Targaryen.

Incest jokes were constantly made at Daenerys’ expense, who was herself born to a brother-sister union. Characters like Prince Quentyn Martell and Lord Mace Tyrell openly express their distrust of the upstart Targaryen, implying that she could bear the same “affliction” as their father. Despite having the power to change the world, Daenerys proves her detractors right by succumbing to Targaryen Madness, at least in Game of Thrones — George R.R. Martin might go in a different direction.

House of the Dragon Paints a Layered Picture of House Targaryen

Image via HBO

Game of Thrones spent countless scenes reiterating the terrors of the Mad King, but nothing damned House Targaryen as much as Prince Viserys. An absolute blowhard of the first order, Viserys irrationally believed in his right to sit on the Iron Throne, no matter the cost to anyone else. After securing a marriage alliance between his sister and Khal Drogo, Viserys grows increasingly more insane as his dreams come to naught. In fact, someone who behaved so disrespectfully to the Dothraki would have to be mad. Daenerys merely completed the pattern started by her brother.

And that taint of madness has continued to haunt House Targaryen, a grand, noble family with a single flaw that supposedly led to their doom. But that’s exactly what House of the Dragon has set out to disprove. The Targaryens don’t have a single flaw; they have dozens, and that makes them much better characters. Themes of destiny that drove Daenerys to her doom play very small roles in the Game of Thrones prequel, which largely dedicates its narrative to the complex dynamics of House Targaryen.

As mentioned earlier, it was the Dance of Dragons that led the family away from incest, so House of the Dragon also includes incest commentary without making it the central highlight of the narrative. The relationship between Rhaenyra and Daemon isn’t portrayed as exclusively incestuous; it actually spans a range of emotional spectrums. That being said, the power of the series lies in the title. The dragons matter just as much as the family they represent, and their fall from grace will parallel the Targaryens themselves.

House of the Dragon Seasons 1 and 2 take viewers on an epic journey that ultimately dispels the worst Targaryen myth of all. The madness of Daenerys Targaryen did not bring down the family that once conquered Westeros. On the contrary, the Targaryens never quite recovered from the fracture between the Blacks and the Greens, which was the biggest factor in their eventual downfall.

With some notable exceptions, the period of time between the deaths of Rhaenyra and Aerys II lacked the distinctive flavor of House Targaryen. There was very little fire and blood because most of it was used up in the Dance of Dragons.