TV

HotD Pairing You Never Thought Could Be a Thing... Is a Thing

HotD Pairing You Never Thought Could Be a Thing... Is a Thing
Image credit: HBO

If you thought the couples on this show could not get any worse, well...

Fandoms can sometimes be surprisingly creative when it comes to pairings, but with House of the Dragon, it more often than not goes just a wee bit too dark.

As fans mentally prepare for the second season, they also recap everything from the first installment. And if you take a look at people's favorite fan fiction (according to Archive of our Own stats at least, posted on Reddit), one particularly disturbing pairing emerges.

The most popular couple is, predictably, Daemon and Rhaenyra. But right after that, there's a surprise.

Emma D'Arcy With Long Hair Will Change How You See Rhaenyra Completely

It turns out that alongside Daemon and Rhaenyra, people really like the pairing of Aemond Targaryen and Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra's son.

There are several details about this pairing that Redditors find troubling, starting with the fact that the two are related (though who on earth would be surprised by incest when it comes to House of the Dragon).

Will Daemon Targaryen Get Greyscale in House of the Dragon Season 2?

Another thing is that the show does not particularly portray Aemond or Lucerys as someone who enjoys warm relationships and is part of a big, loving family. Lucerys is the one responsible for Aemond being called One-Eye, and Aemond really hates him for it. It all comes to a point where - spoiler alert - Aemond attacks Lucerys while the two are riding their dragons, and the clash does not end well for Lucerys.

While some fans were already calling out the popularity of Aemond/Lucerys, others were genuinely surprised. Sure, the "enemies turned lovers" dynamic is a popular trope, but with Aemon and Lucerys, some people find it too twisted.

To be fair, Ewan Mitchell's Aemond Targaryen has become almost as popular as Matt Smith 's Daemon - not least because the two characters are quite similar in appearance and attitude. The pairing of Daemon and Rhaenyra is also disturbing to many in the fandom, with many accusing them of being quite toxic and sometimes abusive (let's not forget that Daemon actually strangled Rhaenyra in the last episode when he didn't like her stance on the coming war.