The Targaryen family tree is not for those who prefer simple things that are easier to explain. Instead, it is a mix of incest and politics. From the time of Aegon the Conqueror to Jon Snow, the last surviving Targaryen by the end of HBO’s Game of Thrones, several generations of silver-haired dragon riders came and went. Between this long and messed-up passage of lineage were House of the Dragon’s Rhaenyra and Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen. 

With all the similarities that the prequel alludes to between the two characters separated by centuries, viewers often wonder how exactly the two women might be related apart from, of course, sharing the same surname.  

Rhaenyra Targaryen, whom Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones has been likened to in House of the Dragon, is her distant relative, and so is Daemon Targaryen, who lived almost eight generations apart. There are over a dozen Targaryen kings between King Viserys I and Aerys II, Daenerys' father (also known as the Mad King), since the prequel series is set over two centuries before Game of Thrones.

The incestuous habit of marrying sister and brother complicates the Targaryen family tree; however, Rhaenyra is comparable to Daenerys' great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother, and similarly Daemon is her great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather. 

However, it should be kept in mind that Daenerys is not a direct descendant of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen. She most likely comes from Rhaenyra’s half-brother, Aegon II Targaryen’s side. The Mad King and his sister-wife, Rhaella are the parents of Daenerys. After Viserys and Rhaegar, Jon Snow's father, she is the youngest of their three children.  

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Although they are not directly related, they share some pretty uncanny characteristics that mirror each other at times.

Despite being hundreds of years apart, Daenerys and Rhaenyra Targaryen are connected by their shared situation. The two are similar in the long run. Both are dragon riders who started pretty young, where Rhaenyra rode Syrax when she was seven years old, and Daenerys rode Drogon. 

They have also been noted to have an affectionate bond with their respective dragons. Both characters grow up thinking they will be the first queen of the Seven Kingdoms, and they both have two older brothers who pass away. While Daenerys’ story has already ended with the conclusion of Game of Thrones, Rhaenyra’s quest for the Iron Throne still goes on, with House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 seeing her sitting on the throne after a quick siege of King’s Landing. 

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What similarities, according to you, bring the two characters a lot closer to each other? Share your thoughts.