Daario Naharis

Daario Naharis
A Song of Ice and Fire character
Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis
First appearance	Novel: A Storm of Swords (2000) Television: "Second Sons" (2013)
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Portrayed by	Michiel Huisman (season 4-present) Ed Skrein (season 3) Game of Thrones
Information
Title	Commander of the Second Sons
Nationality	Tyroshi

Daario Naharis is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.

Introduced in 2000's A Storm of Swords, Daario Naharis is the commander of the Second Sons from the continent of Essos. He subsequently appeared in Martin's A Dance with Dragons (2011).

Daario is portrayed by Michiel Huisman in the HBO television adaptation.^[1][2][3]

Character description

Daario is a confident and seductive warrior who is a lieutenant in the Second Sons, a group of 2000 mercenaries. Daario has an unusual code of honor: he won't sleep with sex workers or kill innocents as he believes in making love with women who want to make love with him and killing those who want to kill him.

Overview

Daario Naharis is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Daenerys Targaryen. Daario is mostly a background character in the novels.^[4]

Storylines

In the books

Daario Naharis a leader in the Stormcrows mercenary company. Daario is won over by Daenerys and brings the Stormcrows over to her side. He becomes romantically involved with her, eventually becoming one of her advisors.^[5] He is later given as a hostage to Yunkai to vouchsafe for Daenerys's good intentions.

In the show

Under the leadership of his Captain Mero and second in command Prendhal na Ghezn, the Second Sons were hired by the Slaver city Yunkai to fight against Daenerys' army in Season 3. Smitten with Daenerys, Daario refused to obey his superiors when they decided to assassinate her, which forced him to kill Mero and Prendhal in self-defense. With the Second Sons under his command, Daario and his men pledge their allegiance to Daenerys. In season 4, Daario attempts to romance Daenerys by offering her flowers and lecturing her about the special use of these flowers, as he claims it is important to know the land she is going to rule. At the gate of Meereen, Daario volunteers to fight Meereen's champion in single combat after Daenerys rejects the rest of her inner circle from fighting. Daario declines the use of a horse, noting that they aren't as intelligent as humans. Daario ends the duel with ruthless efficiency, striking down the horse with his stiletto and decapitating the dazed champion with his arakh. Later on after conquering Meereen, Daario sneaks into Daenerys' private chambers and gives her more flowers. As Daenerys initially refuses him, he tells her he only has two talents in his life: war and women, and that in Meereen he serves no purpose. Daario asks her to let him do what he does best, killing her enemies. Instead, Daenerys focuses on the other thing Daario claims to be good at and orders him to take off his clothes. The morning after, Daenerys informs Jorah that she has sent Daario, Hizdahr zo Loraq and the Second Sons to Yunkai in order to bargain with the masters who retaken control of the city.

In season 5, Daario returns with Hizdahr zo Loraq, informing Daenerys that the mission was successful, but the masters want Daenerys to reopen the fighting pits in return. Daenerys refuses, and while in bed, Daario attempts to convince her otherwise, claiming that it was his early life in the fighting pits that led him to join the Second Sons and meet Daenerys in the first place. After Barristan Selmy is killed and Grey Worm left near death, Daenerys heeds Daario's advice and reopens the pits, but refuses Daario's advice on publicly executing all the slave masters. Daario is present on the opening day of the fighting games, and banters with Hizdahr and Tyrion Lannister about who will win the competition. He fights to protect Daenerys when the Sons of the Harpy launch another attack and watches her fly away on Drogon. In the aftermath, Daario advises Tyrion, Grey Worm and Missandei to stay in Meereen and hold the city together while he and Jorah depart to search for Daenerys.

TV adaptation

Ed Skrein as Daario Naharis in season 3.

Daario Naharis is played by the Dutch actor Michiel Huisman in the television adaption of the series of books.^[6] But was played by English actor Ed Skrein in Daario's first three appearances in season three.^[7]

References