Burnt, bitten and bashed by peasants: How every dragon tragically dies in House of the Dragon

We are hurtling towards the conclusion of House of the Dragon, which means we’re about to witness some of the most gutting deaths in the Game of Thrones universe.

A show about dragons is cool and everything, but then the reality sinks in: You have to watch the scaly golden retrievers die. That really hit home when we watched the Night King kill and revive Viserion in Game of Thrones, even though it did not happen in George R. R. Martin’s original books.

Grab the tissues; here’s how our beloved mythical creatures are set to meet their ends in House of the Dragon. Major spoilers, obviously. 

We already saw Arrax’s death in House of the Dragon

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Arrax, the dragon of Prince Lucerys Velaryon, was the first dragon casualty in the Dance of Dragons. Both he and Luke were savagely killed by Vhagar and Prince Aemond Targaryen, with their bodies falling into the ocean below.

To this day, the haunting scene of Vhagar’s shadow in the clouds is terrifying.

Meleys went out fighting with her rider

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Princess Rhaenys, the queen that never was, was easily one of the best characters in House of the Dragon. She was fierce in battle atop Meleys, aptly nicknamed The Red Queen, and so she was a natural choice to challenge the Greens at the Battle at Rook’s Rest.

Initially, Rhaenys and Meleys had Sunfyre and King Aegon on the run, with her line “Angōs Meleys” going viral on TikTok. But then that hag Vhagar got involved, and not even The Red Queen could handle the two V one. Though Rhaenys had a brief moment where she could have escaped, she ultimately decided to go out in fire and ash like any good Targaryen.

Still not over Vermax and Jace the face

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Prince Jacaerys Velaryon would have had a great future on the catwalks of Westeros, but then the Battle of the Gullet happened earlier this season. He and Vermax put up a solid fight during the battle, teaming up with Baela and Moondancer, but Sheepstealer rocked up to the party and f*cked everything up.

Vermax ultimately drowned in the gullet, with Jace taking multiple arrows before dying himself. He was still serving face right up to that last moment. RIP.

Prepare yourself, we’re now into spoiler territory. 

The Second Battle of Tumbleton is going to be a mess

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Now, from here on out, the deaths of the various dragons are based solely on the works of George R. R. Martin.

In The Second Battle of Tumbleton, which the show is setting up right now, Rhaenyra’s dragonseeds betray her for the Greens. Adam of Hull rallies an army and his dragon Seasmoke for the conflict, but it ultimately results in the death of Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Prince Daeron’s dragon, Tessarion, who is put out of his misery by arrows.

Granny Vhagar dies with a BANG in House of the Dragon

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Though the show takes some creative liberties with the source material, the majority of the dragons’ deaths have been fairly consistent.

If the show follows the book, then the nearly 200-year-old Vhagar meets her end at The Battle Above the Gods Eye. There, Vhagar and Prince Aemond go head to head against Prince Daemon and Caraxes.

After a fierce battle, Vhagar gets her throat ripped out by Caraxes as Daemon stabs his nephew in the eye with Dark Sister. When the dragon’s body is recovered years later, Aemond is still strapped to her saddle.

Caraxes dies in the very same battle

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As you’ll quickly learn from reading this, all dragons tend to die when two come into battle against one another.

Caraxes also dies in The Battle Above the Gods Eye after Vhagar rips his stomach open. He manages to crawl from the lake beneath, but dies on the shore.

I’m not ready for Moondancer’s death

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Moondancer is arguably one of the more unique dragons in the show, and she’s fierce in battle alongside her rider, Lady Baela Targaryen.

Baela and Aegon get into it during the fall of Dragonstone, with the latter’s dragon Sunfyre killing Moondancer in a hail of golden fire. Baela is then taken as a political prisoner.

Lol, Moondancer gets Sunfyre in the end

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Though Sunfyre initially rises victorious from the conflict with Moondancer, and he does something unspeakable to Rhaenyra, he eventually dies from wounds sustained from Moondancer and Meleys.

We rarely see Dreamfyre, but she meets a grisly end

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Dreamfyre is the full-grown dragon of Helaena Targaryen, but we rarely get to see her in action. Then again, why do you need to ride a dragon if your head is in the clouds?

Dreamfyre is killed by peasants in what will undoubtedly be the most gutting episode of House of the Dragon yet, the Storming of the Dragonpit. In the books, after being attacked by the angry mob, Dreamfyre is able to break her chains and fly upwards. She crashes into the dome above, killing her and scores of attackers below.

Tyraxes also dies in that attack

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Tyraxes, the rarely seen dragon of Joffrey Velaryon, is also killed in the Storming of the Dragonpit. Though he’s able to take dozens of his attackers with him, being chained ultimately hinders his movement.

Given the small screen presence of Tyraxes currently, it’s unclear whether this will play out the same.

Morghul and Shrykos

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In season two, we briefly saw two dragon incubators beneath the cribs of Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, Aegon’s kids. Their dragons, Morghul and Shrykos, are presumably yet to be properly introduced.

An axe blow to the head kills Shrykos, and Morghul dies from a spear through the eye. Both died without being ridden due to their size.

Syrax dies after the initial battle

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Rhaenyra’s dazzling gold dragon, Syrax, is killed after the initial carnage at the Storming of the Dragonpit. She flies into the chaos and is overwhelmed by the sheer number of assailants.

The mysteries surrounding Sheepstealer, Stormcloud, and The Cannibal, and Silverwing

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There are a few outlier dragons that could end up meeting different fates in House of the Dragon.

The first is Sheepstealer, who is bonded to Princess Rhaena in the show. The story has been changed massively from the book, so it’s unclear where he’ll land. In the original book, he and his rider, Nettles, mysteriously vanish. The same could be said for the wild dragon, Cannibal.

Stormcloud, the dragon of Aegon the Younger, has been briefly introduced in the show. In the books, he dies after ferrying his rider to safety, but Jace was still alive at that point. It’s not clear how their story is being adapted.

Silverwing, the dragon of dragonseed Ulf White, is able to survive the Dance of Dragons without her rider. She eventually becomes wild after the events of the civil war.

The last is Grey Ghost, who has not been introduced (yet) in the show. He gets randomly eaten by Sunfyre.

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Featured image credit: HBO