Why Daenerys & Other Targaryens Don’t Have Purple Eyes In Game Of Thrones & House Of The Dragon

Targaryens have several signature traits in the Song of Ice and Fire universe, but Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon overlook one of them: their purple eyes. While not every member of House Targaryen has the platinum hair and violet eyes so often associated with this Great House of Westeros, many of the prominent ones in George R.R. Martin’s books do. This includes Daenerys Targaryen, but you wouldn’t know it from Game of Thrones. Emilia Clarke’s version of the character has the platinum blonde hair, but she keeps the actor’s natural green eyes.

And even House of the Dragon, which features many more Targaryen characters than Game of Thrones, continues this trend. Characters like Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen should have purple eyes, according to their descriptions in the source material, but the platinum hair remains the defining characteristic of HBO’s Targaryens. Viewers who value book accuracy may be wondering why Game of Thrones and HOTD do away with this detail — and it mostly comes down to practicality.

The Practical Reason Behind Daenerys & Other Targaryens Not Having Purple Eyes

Contacts Impacted Performances & CGI Would Be Costly

There were ways to give Daenerys Targaryen her book-accurate eyes in Game of Thrones, but the series omitted this detail for practical reasons. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss revealed in the special features for the Game of Thrones season 1 Blu-ray that they felt using contacts impeded Clarke’s performance (via PopCulture.com). They noted that “actors act with their eyes, and [purple contact lenses] really hurt the emotion.” There were also whispers that the contacts irritated Clarke, which would have further affected her acting.

Of course, Game of Thrones could have used CGI to make Daenerys’ eyes purple after the fact, but Benioff and Weiss felt this wasn’t worthwhile. It makes sense, as it would cost time and money to accomplish, and the payoff wouldn’t be that impressive. While diehard fans of the Song of Ice and Fire books would have appreciated a faithful appearance, Daenerys’ eye color is a small detail in the grand scheme of things.

And this cut Daenerys detail changed every other Targaryen in House of the Dragon, with HBO leaving them all with their actors’ natural eye colors. Again, it would have been costly and risked the overall performance quality to alter this detail. Plus, with eight seasons of Game of Thrones in the books, it would have been confusing to make this change. Those only familiar with the show wouldn’t know about Daenerys’ purple eyes — or that they’re an ancestral trait — and thus, wouldn’t understand the reason for the addition.

Why Doesn’t Jon Snow Have Silver/White Hair & Purple Eyes?

His Stark Traits Are Dominant

Jon Snow is revealed to be half-Targaryen — and the heir to the Iron Throne — in later seasons of Game of Thrones, but his appearance doesn’t match the typical Targaryen look at all. This is because the Stark traits Jon gets from Lyanna are dominant, whereas the common Targaryen traits are typically recessive. And it’s probably for the best that Jon misses out on the characteristics Daenerys has, as it’s unclear what Ned would have done if he was more noticeably Targaryen. It certainly would’ve made it much harder to hide him from Robert Baratheon.

It would have made it more difficult for the show to keep this secret from viewers, too, ruining one of Game of Thrones‘ best twists. As Martin’s books are likely to feature the same reveal, it’s necessary for Jon to have darker features than Daenerys in both iterations of the story. This makes it believably surprising when other characters learn the truth about Jon — and it allows fans to enjoy the revelation after all the more subtle clues.