Daario Naharis is a fictional character in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novels by American author

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

and its television adaptation '' Game of Thrones''. Introduced in ''

A Storm of Swords ''A Storm of Swords'' is the third of seven planned novels in ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 8, 2000, in the United Kingdom, with a United States edition fol ...

'' (2000), Daario is the leader of a mercenary group from the continent of

Essos The fictional world in which the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels by George R. R. Martin take place is divided into several continents, known collectively as The Known World. Most of the story takes place on the continent of Westeros and in ...

called the Stormcrows. He subsequently appeared in Martin's ''

A Dance with Dragons ''A Dance with Dragons'' is the fifth novel of seven planned in the epic fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. In some areas, the paperback edition was published in two parts, titled ''Dreams and Du ...

'' (2011). Daario was portrayed by the English actor

Ed Skrein Edward George Skrein (; born 29 March 1983) is a British actor, film director, screenwriter and rapper. He gained experience as an actor in independent films or television series. In the years that followed, he became known for portraying Daario ...

and then by the Dutch actor

Michiel Huisman Michiel Huisman (; born 18 July 1981) is a Dutch actor who has acted in both Dutch and English-language TV series and films. Huisman began his career in the Dutch soap opera ''Goede tijden, slechte tijden'' (1998). He later played in the Dutc ...

in the HBO television adaptation.

Character description

Daario is a confident and seductive handsome and young warrior, and the commander of the Stormcrows, a company of sellswords comprising 500 mounted mercenaries. He is an efficient killer, bloody and ruthless, although entirely devoted to

Daenerys Targaryen Daenerys Targaryen ( ) is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent Narrative mode#Third-person view, point of view character, and is one of ...

. Nothing has been revealed of Daario's background in the books, save for his Tyroshi heritage.

Overview

Daario Naharis is not a

point of view Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the prono ...

character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, especially

. Daario is mostly a background character in the novels.

Storylines

In the books

''A Storm of Swords''

The Stormcrows are hired by Yunkai to defend the city against Daenerys Targaryen's forces. Daenerys offers the Stormcrows gold if they defect to her. While the Stormcrows deliberate this offer, Daario (having been won over by Daenerys) kills the Stormcrows' captains and pledges the company's support to Daenerys. The Stormcrows aid Daenerys in her subsequent conquests of Yunkai and Meereen.

''A Dance with Dragons''

Following Daenerys' conquest of Meereen, she sends Daario to Lhazar to reopen trade routes between the two regions. After his return, Daenerys takes Daario as a lover but marries the Meereenese nobleman Hizdahr zo Loraq. With Yunkai besieging Meereen, Daenerys offers an exchange of hostages between the two camps to ensure peace, and Daario is amongst those given to Yunkai. However, Daenerys flies away on Drogon, and the Yunkai'i refuse to release Daario until Daenerys' other two dragons are executed.

In the show

The television series develops the backstory that Daario's alcoholic mother sold him to the fighting pits when he was a young boy. Daario was trained as a pit fighter and performed so well that he was released from slavery when his master died. After winning his freedom, Daario joined the Second Sons sellsword company.

Season 3

Under the leadership of Captain Mero and second in command Prendhal na Ghezn, the Second Sons are hired by the slaver city Yunkai to fight against Daenerys' army. Smitten with Daenerys, Daario refuses to obey his superiors when they decide to assassinate her; he instead kills them and presents their severed heads to Daenerys. With the Second Sons under his command, Daario and his men pledge their allegiance to Daenerys. He then assists

Jorah Mormont Jorah Mormont 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 ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996), Jorah is a ...

and Grey Worm in opening the gates of Yunkai, allowing Daenerys' forces to conquer the city.

Season 4

On the march to the neighbouring slaving city of Meereen, Daario unsuccessfully attempts to romance Daenerys. At the gates of Meereen, Daario volunteers to fight Meereen's champion in single combat and swiftly kills him before taunting the Meereenese by urinating in front of the city. After Daenerys conquers the city, Daario persuades her to take him as her lover. When Yunkai begins to rebel against Daenerys' rule, Daenerys sends Daario and the Meereenese nobleman Hizdahr zo Loraq to negotiate with the city's masters.

Season 5

Daario and Hizdahr are successful in their negotiations with the Yunkish, although the Yunkish insist as part of the agreement upon reopening the city's fighting pits. Daenerys initially refuses, despite Daario's pointing out that his youth as a pit fighter gave him the skills necessary to join the Second Sons and meet her. Daenerys changes her mind after the Meereenese insurgents, the Sons of the Harpy, kill her advisor Ser Barristan Selmy. She takes Hizdahr as her husband but keeps Daario as her consort. After Daenerys flies off on her dragon Drogon during an attack by the Sons at the opening of the fighting pits, Daario and Jorah decide to leave Meereen to find her.

Tyrion Lannister Lord Tyrion Lannister, also known by the nicknames the Halfman or the Imp and the alias Hugor Hill, is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its televis ...

tries to join them, but Daario points out Tyrion is better suited to govern Meereen in Daenerys' absence.

Season 6

Jorah and Daario discover that Daenerys has been captured by the Dothraki, and follow her to the sacred Dothraki city of Vaes Dothrak. They infiltrate the city and meet Daenerys, but she points out that they will be unable to escape the 100,000 Dothraki in the city. Daenerys instead sets fire to the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen, killing the khals but emerges unscathed. Amazed, the Dothraki bow down to Daenerys, and Daario follows suit. While Jorah leaves to find a cure for his greyscale, Daenerys and Daario march on Meereen with the Dothraki. Daenerys flies ahead on Drogon, and Daario arrives at the gates of Meereen. There, he finds the Sons of the Harpy massacring freedmen and leads the Dothraki charge to kill the Sons. With slavery finally abolished in Slaver's Bay, Daenerys decides to return to Westeros and reclaim the Iron Throne. However, she insists that Daario and the Second Sons remain to keep the peace. Daario is dismayed and declares his love for Daenerys, but ultimately agrees, realizing that Tyrion advised her to end their relationship.

TV adaptation

In his first three appearances in

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...

of the television adaptation of the books, Daario Naharis is portrayed by the English actor

. Throughout the remainder of the series, he is portrayed by the Dutch actor

. The reason for the change of actor was initially said to be because Skrein took on a role in the film '' The Transporter Refueled''. However Skrein subsequently stated that the change was due to "politics".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naharis, Daario A Song of Ice and Fire characters Literary characters introduced in 2000 Fictional gladiators Fictional mercenaries Fictional slaves Fictional swordfighters in literature Male characters in literature Male characters in television Television characters introduced in 2013