Why Did Daemon Kill His Wife Rhea Royce in ‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 5?

House of the Dragon Episode 5 “We Light the Way” might have been all about Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Milly Alcock) dramatic wedding to Ser Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate), but the episode kicked off with the death of Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford). While we hadn’t met Rhea Royce of Runestone before, we’ve heard about her since House of the Dragon Episode 1. Lady Rhea is the “Bronze Bitch” married to Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).

Rhea Royce and Daemon Targaryen loathe each other so much that they’ve never even consummated their political marriage. It’s a point that comes up in their dark encounter in a grim way as Rhea, back broken from falling off her spooked horse, mocks Daemon for not being able to finish. It’s this remark that compels him to take a rock and, uh, crush her skull.

But who is Rhea Royce, the Lady of Runestone? Why is she important? And did Daemon really mean to murder his lady wife when he showed up at Runestone? And what’s the big deal about Runestone? Here’s everything you need to know about the death of Rhea Royce in HBO’s House of the Dragon and how she fits into the larger Game of Thrones saga…

WHO IS RHEA ROYCE IN HOUSE OF THE DRAGON? ALL ABOUT PRINCE DAEMON’S “BRONZE BITCH”

As you probably gathered, Rhea Royce is the Lady of Runestone, an ancient seat in Westeros. Before the invasion of the Andals, the Royces ruled the Vale as “Bronze Kings.” They are a powerful political family with ties to the First Men.

Lady Rhea Royce was known as an avid hunter and horsewoman. We see her in her element in House of the Dragon Episode 5 “We Light the Way” before she succumbs to her fate.

In George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, we’re told that Prince Daemon was wed to Lady Rhea during King Jaehaerys’s reign and it was a disaster. Prince Daemon wrote, “In the Vale, the men fuck sheep. You cannot fault them. Their sheep are prettier than their women.” House of the Dragon alludes to this line in Rhea and Daemon’s own conversation. Daemon calls Rhea his “Bronze Bitch” because of the bronze runic armor she and all the Royces wear.

It’s worth noting that the Royces are super into runes. They’re engraved in their bronze armor and inspired the name of their family’s crown. Since they are tied to the First Men, it’s possible there is some deeper power in these runes that has been lost to time. We also met a few Royces in Game of Thrones. The cocky Night’s Watch ranger who rides to his doom in the show’s original cold open is Ser Waymar Royce (Rob Ostlere) and later we meet his father Lord Yohn Royce (Rupert Vansittart). Yohn Royce comes to prominence after the death of Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie) and leads the Knights of the Vale to Winterfell during the Battle of the Bastards.

HOW DID DAEMON KILL HIS WIFE RHEA ROYCE IN HOUSE OF THE DRAGON EPISODE 5?

In Fire & Blood we are told that Lady Rhea Royce “fell from her horse while hawking and cracked her skull upon a stone. She lingered for nine days before finally feeling well enough to leave her bed…only to collapse and die within an hour of rising.”

As House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal points out in the official HBO “Inside the Episode,” it seems highly suspicious that Rhea would not only fall off her horse, but crack her skull. That, coupled with the fact that Daemon was immediately unwelcome to the Vale or his wife’s property, seems to point to Daemon as the culprit. So did Daemon have some evil master plan?

In the same “Inside the Episode” clip, director Clare Kilner credited Matt Smith’s performance for being purposely nebulous. We don’t know if Daemon hatched a plan to kill his wife by…spooking her horse?? But we do believe that when he saw the opportunity to finish the job, he had a split-second of doubt. It’s Rhea’s insult — “I knew you couldn’t finish!” — that pushes him to take advantage of the situation.