In House of the Dragon, while King's Landing and Dragonstone are devising strategies to defeat each other, Matt Smith's Prince Daemon Targaryen is off to his own side-quest after his domestic spat with his wife, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. He goes off to Harrenhaal to take control of the castle there, but to his utter surprise, they fold in easily. Staying there to get more forces in his fold from the Riverlords, Daemon finds out that the castle holds some strange, eerie hold on his mental faculties. He begins to experience strange dreams and hallucinations, but his weirdest one comes in episode 5 of House of the Dragon episode 5. ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 5 Ending Explained: Did ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel Just Hint at ‘Dragonseeds’? We May Have Already Met Them!

After sending Blackwoods to pillage the Brackens, Daemon is seen later having passionate sex with a white-haired lady, who is presumably a Targaryen woman. It is clear that this is one of his dreams, but the lady was neither his dead wife, Laena Velaryon nor was it his present wife/niece, Rhaenyra. What's more, the naked lady keeps praising her sex partner as he is shown going down on her. The dream takes an even more bizarre turn in the end when Daemon finds blood on the lady's body. But the shocker is when she calls him 'My favourite son'!

Much to the shock of Daemon and even the viewer, the lady is seemingly Alyssa Targaryen, the mother of Daemon and his dead elder brother Viserys. Emeline Lambert had played Alyssa Targaryen in the episode.

As to why he didn't recognise he was having sex with his mother, it was because Daemon doesn't remember his mother's face since she died when he was just three years old.

Most likely, this is the handiwork of Alys Rivers, the mysterious healer of Harrenhal, who seems to know a lot more about Daemon's visions and dreams, and could possibly be responsible for them. Has she planted his mother in his incestuous sex dream?

Naturally, the sex scene has creeped out the fans of the show, which is saying something since House of the Dragon (which featured an actual act of fellatio in season 2, episode 3) and its predecessor, Game of Thrones, are known for pushing boundaries when it comes to sex and violence. House of The Dragon Season 2 Episode 1: Did JioCinema Censor Sex and Violence in the HBO Show? Here's What We Know!

Fan Reactions on HOTD S2's Incest Dream:

'This is So Creepy'

'Made Me Want to Throw Up'

'Leave Harrenhal ASAP'

'What's the Point?'

The answer to this puzzling riddle will be revealed in the upcoming episodes, but before that, it is imperative to understand who Alyssa Targaryen is.

Who is Alyssa Targaryen, Mother of Viserys and Daemon?

Alyssa Targaryen is the daughter of King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne Targaryen, their fifth-born child. She was also a dragon-rider like most in her clan. She married Baelon, the King of Winterfell, and gave birth to Viserys two years after their marriage. Four years later, Daemon was born. When he was two, Alyssa was pregnant with his younger brother Aegon (not the present King). She suffered complications from childbirth and died a year later after that when Daemon was just three. Aegon also died six months after that. Alyssa was mentioned in the books The World of Ice & Fire, Fire & Blood and The Rise of the Dragon.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2024 05:13 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).