House of the Dragon has introduced us to so many wonderful characters.
The brilliant writing and stellar performances have given the audience such incredibly three-dimensional and relatable people. But we have also been given some characters that have left us scratching our heads wondering what on earth they are doing.
Take, for example, Vaemond Velaryon, considered by fans to be the dumbest character in the entire first season.
Vaemond’s first mistake was to make his thirst for power and ambition so obvious. He never tried to hide his true goals from anyone, even those he considered his enemies.
His own brother tried to talk him down many times but finally conceded that Vaemond was simply who he was and would never change.
His second mistake was almost turning his niece’s eulogy into a roast. Laena died a true dragon rider’s death, commanding her dragon Vhagar to burn her when she learned that she would not survive her third pregnancy.
Instead of keeping her funeral sombre and respectful, Vaemond chose to make some telling comments about Velaryon blood while looking directly at Rhaenyra and his nephew, Laenor’s children.
While it was obvious to everyone, including the audience, that Laenor was not the father of Rhaenyra’s children, Vaemond was far too blunt in expressing that fact.
Politically, it was a terribly stupid thing to do, given that Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys, was still alive at the time. But Vaemond was not done doing idiotic things.
His next misstep was trying to take Driftmark away from his brother’s chosen heir, Lucerys Velaryon, one of the children whose parentage he so deliberately questioned at Laena’s funeral.
Not content to let things play out as his brother wished, he travelled to King’s Landing and pleaded his case to Queen Alicent and her father, Hand of the King Otto Hightower.
King Viserys was dreadfully unwell at the time, so they spoke for him. And because of their growing dislike of Rhaenyra, they agreed to support his claim to Driftmark.
Feeling he had the support he needed, he made his case to the people in the Great Hall, relying on his true Velaryon blood to assert his claim.
Knowing that Alicent and Otto had declared their intention to be in his corner, he acted with confidence, truly believing he would win.
And then King Viserys shocked the entire court by making a slow walk to the throne to defend his daughter’s honour.
Thus the scene was set for Vaemond’s final act of foolishness. Instead of realising that Viserys would never allow a bad word to be spoken about his only child, Vaemond chose to inflate his argument with aggression and name-calling.
The last thing he did before he died was to call Rhaenyra a “whore” and her children “bastards”. An enraged Viserys threatened to have his tongue removed, but his brother Daemon had other ideas and quickly decapitated him, ending his life.