Season 1 of House of the Dragon has introduced a huge amount of characters thanks to the various pivotal marriages of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and his brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith).
In fact, between Episodes 7 and 8, Rhaenyra had an additional two children and was pregnant with a third to her second husband, Prince Daemon. Previously, she had also given birth to three boys while married to Ser Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan) — none of which were his.
Daemon also has two daughters to Laenor’s sister, Lady Laena (Nanna Blondell), who died back in Episode 6.
In addition to this, Alicent is also shown to have produced two sons and a daughter to King Viserys. Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is the eldest son, followed by Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who lost an eye in Episode 7.
Finally, a daughter, Helaena (Phia Saban), has made an appearance. She and her brother Aegon are also married and produced their own children.
But, according to the book, Fire and Blood, Alicent actually has four children with King Viserys.
George R. R. Martin confirms Alicent has four children
Fire and Blood is written by George R. R. Martin and tells the various stories of House Targaryen. Because of this, we know that Alicent actually has four children.
So, who’s missing?
A third son, Daeron, was born to Alicent and Viserys. This child is the youngest of the four and, according to Martin, is set to appear at some point in House of the Dragon.
“Yes, Alicent gave Viserys four children, three sons and a daughter, their youngest son Daeron is down in Oldtown, we just did not have the time to work him in this season,” Martin wrote in his most recent blog post, confirming that HBO plans to still include this child in the TV adaptation.
When will Alicent’s third son appear?
While George R. R. Martin doesn’t specifically say when the addition of the fourth child will be addressed in House of the Dragon, he does imply that he will appear.
Of course, by stating that the network did not have time in Season 1, confirms that viewers will not get to see Daeron in either Episode 9 or 10.
This means that, most likely, he will appear in Season 2, which has already been greenlit by HBO.
Martin has also addressed the reason why this child was absent from Season 1, giving his current location. However, why the child was sent to Oldtown, which is the seat of House Hightower, has not yet been revealed.
As pointed out by Entertainment Weekly, Daeron plays a significant role in the book, Fire and Blood, on which House of the Dragon is based, so his appearance will have to occur sooner rather than later, but viewers will just have to tune in to further episodes in order to find out more.
House of the Dragon airs every Sunday night at 9/8c on HBO Max.