Westeros is full of dragons during the Targaryens’ early rule, and HotD is finally starting to use them. So here are all the dragons and dragonriders and the sides they’ve chosen in the show so far.
House of the Dragon season 1 saw a lot of politicking. And House of the Dragon season 2 saw a lot of dragons.
Now that House Targaryen is in full civil war, and a big battle on the way seemingly first thing in season 3, every dragon counts — as does every dragonrider. In the second season, Rhaenyra took this lesson a bit more to heart than her siblings in King’s Landing, with the Targaryen queen offering family bastards (even lowborn ones) the opportunity to bond with and ride a dragon on her behalf despite seriously pissing off the dragon tamers in her employ. The road still won’t be easy; after all, as we’ve seen in episode 10, even with the proper rider, dragon warfare can lead to calamitous consequences. But, this is the Dance of Dragons, after all; there’s bound to be a bit of talon on talon.
In a war where the varying strength, might, and size both dragons and their riders impacts who controls which part of the map, any dragons up for grabs are likely to be important. So with season 2’s war well underway, it’s worth taking a second to account for each of the dragons that House of the Dragon has set up so far, whose side they’re on, and who their rider is.
[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers through season 2 of House of the Dragon.]Vhagar
Riders: Laena (deceased), Aemond Targaryen
The oldest and biggest of the Targaryen dragons in Westeros, and the only living remnant of Aegon’s conquest, Vhagar was once ridden by Visenya Targaryen when she, her brother, and her sister united the seven kingdoms. Vhagar then passed to Baelon Targaryen, before being claimed by her most recent (previous to episode 7) rider, Laena Velaryon. After Laena’s death, the dragon remained riderless for only a short time before being claimed by Aemond Targaryen, whose dragon egg baby gift did not hatch. Despite Vhagar’s age, she remains one of the most fearsome and dangerous dragons in Westeros, and is now ridden by one of the Greens’ most ardent supporters.
Vhagar and Aemond were directly responsible for Lucerys’ death at the end of season 1. Now, Aegon is eager to use Vhagar to blast his way through this civil war. Alicent (et al.) are not so stoked on that plan, and would actually prefer Vhagar be left in King’s Landing as much as possible for defense.
Even still, Vhagar got up to some shit in season 2, killing two more dragons (see below), and burning down Sharp’s Point. Technically these were at Aemond’s behest, but no one’s really giving Vhagar the benefit of the doubt anymore.
