House of the Dragon season 3 could be hiding a missing Targaryen in plain sight

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Daeron Targaryen may have already appeared in the House of the Dragon season 3 premiere

James Norton as Ormund Hightower
(Image credit: HBO)

House of the Dragon season 3 is set to introduce Daeron Targaryen, the youngest son of King Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. And fans think he's already quietly appeared in the season 3 premiere.

In House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1, we meet Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton). During a brief scene where Ormund receives a dispatch from King's Landing, a young man with auburn hair can be seen standing behind over left shoulder. The character doesn't speak, and isn't addressed by name, but fans have already put two and two together and come up with Daeron. Check out the clip below.

Now, this casting has yet to be officially announced by HBO, but there's plenty of evidence that backs up this theory. First, we know that Daeron was sent to live with Lord Ormund as his ward. Second, Daeron's small blue dragon, Tessarion, is penned up among Ormund's army in the episode, meaning Daeron is almost certainly close by. And third, the actor playing the young squire is Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who'll appear as Link in 2027's The Legend of Zelda. While he's still a relative unknown, it's unlikely an actor on that star trajectory has little more than a walk-on part.

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Of course, the unnamed squire could be nothing more than that. Canonically, Daeron has traditional Targaryen silver hair, which the young squire notably does not. However, it's very possible that Daeron is wearing a wig or has dyed his hair, so he can't be easily identified as the dragon-riding Targaryen he is.

House of the Dragon season 3 got off to a fiery start with the Battle of the Gullet, which claimed a major victim in the civil war between Team Green and Team Black. The actor did have one request before his character met an untimely end. The season 3 premiere also featured a surprise location, which has major implications for Game of Thrones lore.

House of the Dragon season 3 is streaming weekly now on HBO Max in the US, and on HBO Max and NOW in the UK. Never miss an episode with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule, and read our verdict on the first four episodes of the new season with our House of the Dragon season 3 review.

Jordan Farley
Jordan Farley
Managing Editor, Entertainment

I'm the Managing Editor, Entertainment here at GamesRadar+, overseeing the site's film and TV coverage. In a previous life as a print dinosaur, I was the Deputy Editor of Total Film magazine, and the news editor at SFX magazine. Fun fact: two of my favourite films released on the same day - Blade Runner and The Thing.

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