It’s not a proper House of the Dragon or Game of Thrones episode without someone getting severely injured or killed, and we certainly got plenty of that in the sixth episode of HBO’s new series. Here’s why Daemon let Laena get burned to death by Vhagar the dragon in House of the Dragon.
Why Did Daemon Let Laena Kill Herself in House of the Dragon?
To put things simply, while Daemon may not necessarily have seen Laena as the wife he always wanted or even loved her, he respected her enough to allow her to decide how she wanted to die.
Earlier on in the episode, Laena said that she wanted to die a dragonrider’s death, and not die from giving birth to some rich, fat lord. While her relationship with Daemon is clearly a little strained, he wanted to respect her wishes when he learned that there was no way of saving both her and his unborn child by cutting her open in labor.
This seems to be a rather significant event as well, especially when you consider that Daemon has two daughters, and no male heirs. Viserys had been in a similar position in the first episode, where he opted to sacrifice his wife’s life so that he could have a son to succeed him. While Daemon is certainly ruthless in his own ways, he is not so preoccupied with the idea of having a successor that he would subject Laena to a painful death.
Instead, he allows her to command Vhagar to burn her, as he recognizes that she’d prefer to go out that way instead of dying in childbirth.
That’s all you need to know about why Daemon let Laena get burned by Vhagar in House of the Dragon. Be sure to search for Twinfinite for more news and information on the show, including why Rhaenyra’s children all have dark hair, who Joffrey’s real father is, and the symbolism behind Alicent’s green dress.
