Rhaenyra and Jacaerys are looking beyond the immediate family. What does it actually take to become a dragon rider? Can any Targaryen descendent hop on the back of a fire-breathing beast?
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 5 of House of the Dragon Season 2.
Rhaenyra is in search of dragon riders. In the fifth episode of Season 2 of House of the Dragon, the usurped queen complains to her son Jacaerys (Harry Collett) that she needs more dragons to take on Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his gigantic fire breather, Vhagar. Aemond is ruling in his brother King Aegon’s stead while Aegon recovers from burn wounds that may or may not have been the result of attempted fratricide on the part of Aemond.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Aemond is a fearsome (and, apparently, ruthless) warrior who has just killed Rhaenyra’s close ally Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon Meleys. He is sure to press his advantage.
“We have no dearth of dragons,” Jace points out to Rhaenyra (Emma D’arcy). “We have two large enough to stand against Vhagar. They are called Vermithor and Silverwing, and they sleep just beneath our feet.”
“Yes, and if only they had riders, none could stand against me,” says Rhaenyra. (Both of those dragons are riderless because their previous riders, King Jaehaerys I and his sister-wife Queen Alysanne, died.)
Then Jace has an idea. “There are those of our line who never ruled,” he says. “Those who married into other noble houses, and their children born with other names.”
His mother furrows her brow, skeptical. “Are you suggesting we put a Mallister on a dragon? A Tarly?” she asks.
“It’s better than death and defeat,” he says. He proposes that they search the histories for descendants, people with just enough Targaryen blood to possibly mount a dragon without getting barbecued. The plan is a brilliant one but it does beg the question, how much Targaryen blood does a person need in order to become a dragon rider? What does it actually take to become a dragon rider? Can any Targaryen descendent hop on the back of a fire-breathing beast? Let’s investigate.
As Rhaenyra points out in the episode, lore would claim that only the purest Targaryens could mount dragons. (Hence why incest is so popular in the Targaryen family.) “A dragon would only accept a dragonlord to ride it,” she says. “Or so say the histories.”
“Valyrian histories written to gild us in glory,” counters Jacaerys.
The idea that only the purest blood Targaryens could mount a dragon is, probably, propaganda—though propaganda so ancient that Rhaenyra accepts it as fact.
It would certainly behoove the Targaryens to tell the common folk that only they can control dragons, the nuclear weapons of Westeros. Targaryens cast themselves as divine beings, and their ability to control dragons is essential to that myth. Rhaenyra has previously said on the show, “Everyone says Targaryens are closer to gods than to men, but they say that because of our dragons. Without them, we’re just like everyone else.”
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If everyone else thinks that they could mount a dragon too, the Targaryens would be susceptible to a coup. So it’s certainly possible that a person needs very little Targaryen blood—or no Targaryen blood at all—to successfully ride a dragon. We just won’t know until someone tries.
We do know that having Targaryen blood doesn’t guarantee dragon acceptance. Dragons are rather picky when it comes to who rides them. Trying to approach one is a dangerous thing. When Aemond claims Vhagar in Fire & Blood, Fire & Blood, the faux-history of Westeros upon which A Song of Ice and Fire is based, author George R.R. Martin writes, “Even for a son of House Targaryen, there are always dangers in approaching a dragon, particularly an old, bad-tempered dragon who has recently lost her rider. His father and mother would never allow him to go near Vhagar, Aemond knew, much less try to ride her.”
During the conversation in the fifth episode of Season 2, Rhaenyra references the fact that Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), the daughter of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), one of the great dragon riders, has been unable to claim a dragon. In Season 1, we learned that the dragon egg she received as a child didn’t hatch even though the egg that belonged to her sister Baela (Bethany Antonia) did. When Rhaena’s mother Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) died, many in the family assumed that Rhaena would inherit Vhagar, Leana’s dragon. But, under the dark of night, Aemond mounted Vhagar himself and thus claimed the largest dragon known to man.
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When the question of who might claim either Vermithor or Silverwing comes up, Jace suggests, “There is Rhaena.”
“Who nearly lost her life in her last attempt. I would not risk it again,” Rhaenyra shoots back.
We never saw Rhaena try to claim Vhagar, or any other dragon, on the show. Presumably this incident that Rhaenyra is referring to occurred offscreen. The upshot? Lineage is no guarantee when it comes to training dragons.
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Viewers encountered Vermithor in the Season 1 finale. After Daemon listed off the dragons that Team Black has access too on Dragonstone, Daemon went down to the caverns there and sang to the beast. Daemon was not only socializing Vermithor, who has been snoozing in those caves for generations, but promising him a rider soon. Translated from High Valyrian, the final lines of Daemon’s song mean, “We shall fly as we were destined, beautifully, freely.”
Known as “Bronze Fury,” because of his bronze wings, Vermithor is around 100 years old. He’s one of the largest living dragons, second only to Aemond’s dragon Vhagar. King Viserys and Daemon’s grandfather, Jaeherys Targaryen, was Vermithor’s previous rider. No one has mounted Vermithor since.
Daemon also mentions Silverwing in Season 1 while doing dragon math with Rhaenyra. Alyssane Targaryen, the sister-wife of King Jaeherys, rode Silverwing. No one has ridden her since.
Those aren’t the only dragons without riders. There’s also Seasmoke, Laenor Velaryon’s old dragon. In Fire & Blood, Laenor dies (or at least the maesters writing the histories think so). When a dragonrider dies, someone else can claim their dragon. But in House of the Dragon, Laenor stages his death (with the help of his wife Rhaenyra) so he can run away with his lover.
Whether someone else can ride Seasmoke with Laenor still alive—or whether Laenor will return—remains to be seen. But we likely will see Seasmoke again: At the beginning of Season 2, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) says of Seasmoke, who she witnesses flying around Dragonstone all day, making noise: “Maybe he’s lonely.” Perhaps he just needs a rider.
In Fire & Blood the maesters mention three other riderless, wild dragons flying around at this time: Cannibal, Grey Ghost, and Sheepstealer. These dragons haven’t been mentioned on the show yet.
There are also the four dragon eggs that Rhaena Targaryen is charged with taking, alongside Rhaenyra’s three children, to safety in Pentos. The director of Episode 3, Geeta Vasant Patel, confirmed that three of these eggs will eventually pass down to Daenerys.
Along the way, Rhaena is instructed to stop in the Vale and visit with Jeyne Arryn, who has requested a dragon in exchange for her loyalty. Rhaenyra sends her Tyraxes and Stormcloud, small dragons who have bonded with Rhaenyra’s third son Joffrey and fourth son Aegon, respectively.
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We really don’t know. Jace muses there could be “scores” of part-Targaryens who could at least attempt to mount a dragon. Depending on how far back in the family tree the Targaryens go, they could discover many candidates. And remember, this franchise loves a secret Targaryen. (See: Jon Snow.)
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During their conversation, Rhaenyra and Jace discuss identifying Targaryens who descended from marriages into other households—in other words, legitimate Targaryens even if they bear a different last name.
But they do not address the possibility that there may be Targaryen bastards with far more Targaryen blood in their veins than ones who are generations removed from their dragonriding forebears.
We’ve already met one man who claims to be the bastard brother of King Viserys and Daemon Targaryen: Ulf. He currently resides in King’s Landing, but we know from his discussion in the pub that he’s loyal to the “true queen” Rhaenyra. He would likely answer a call to arms from her. Eagle-eyed viewers may have also spotted some other Smallfolk with blonde hair frequently popping up in the series. Those people could be possible contenders.
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And given that Westerosi kings and princes have never been the most faithful bunch, there are bound to be more bastards out there who could mount dragons. In the books, these men and women are called dragonseed—people fathered or mothered by someone from a dragon-riding Valyrian family, like the Targaryens or the Velaryons.
Why does all this matter? Now that the Targaryens—who have ruled as one clan for generations—are divided and on the brink of war, each side is taking stock of their firepower. Right now Rhaenyra feels underpowered.
Team Black has more dragons, eight in total plus four eggs: Syrax (ridden by Rhaenyra), Caraxes (ridden by Daemon), Vermax (ridden by Jacaerys Velaryon), Moondancer (ridden by Baela Targaryen), Tyraxes (bonded to Joffrey Velaryon), Stormcloud (bonded to young Aegon), Vermithor (riderless), Silverwing (riderless), and Seasmoke (ridden by Laenor but now riderless).
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But all of the Team Black dragons who currently have riders are far smaller than Vhagar, Aemond’s behemoth of a dragon. In addition, Team Green also has Dreamfyre (ridden by Helaena) and Sunfyre (ridden by Aegon)—though presumably Sunfyre and Aegon are out of commission for awhile after Aegon was burned at the Battle of Rooks’ Rest. If you need a refresher on who rides which dragon and how big the various firebreathers are, we’ve got a handy visual guide for you here.
