Can Targaryens survive dragonfire? An investigation

Warning: This post contains spoilers for episode 4 of House of the Dragon season 2.

The fourth episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 saw our first real dragon fight. (No offense, Luke, but you don’t have much to offer against Aemond.) “A Dance of Dragons” is a thrilling episode, but it also raises a number of questions about how exactly Targaryens and their dragons can harm each other.

During the Battle of Rook’s Rest, Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys, who is rather older, faces off against King Aegon’s Sunfire and Aemond’s giant Vhagar. We rarely see dragons attack each other. Daenerys’ dragons on game of Thrones were united in their goal, and although Aemond’s dragon hunted Luke’s dragon last season, there were no real skirmishes. The characters command “dracarys,” which means “dragon fire” in High Valyrian, left and right. The dragons obey, breathing fire at various troops, castles, and of course, each other.

Both Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) burn Rhaenys (Eve Best) during the fight, but she seems fine, if a little blackened – until she falls to her death. But it was the fall that took her life, not the fire. Aegon, on the other hand, is set on fire by his own brother Aemond, which is not only rude but also treacherous. At the end of the episode, Aegon looks flambéed and it is unclear whether he survived the attack.

Read more: Who lived and who died after this massive House of the Dragon battle

All this heat raises a big question: Can Targaryens survive dragon fire or not? Those who have watched game of Thrones You may remember that the series hinted that the family (or at least Daenerys) was flame retardant. But as Daenerys’ ancestors battle each other, they inflict severe burns on each other. Let’s get to the bottom of this.

Daenerys claims: “Fire cannot kill a dragon”

Let’s rewind to the first season of game of Thrones. This season, two Targaryens were put to the test. First, Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) poured liquid gold over the head of Viserys III (Harry Lloyd), the vile brother of Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). It’s a particularly grotesque death. Daenerys’ reaction? “He wasn’t a dragon. Fire can’t kill a dragon.”

Daenerys later proves her point when she walks into the fire with her dragon eggs in the season one finale and emerges with her three cute baby dragons, earning her the nickname “The Unburnt.” In the series at least, this implies that “real” Targaryens can survive fires and that Viserys is undeserving of his title.

Read more: Deciphering the complex Targaryen family tree on House of the Dragon

In Season 6, she walks through fire again and comes out of a burning building without a trace. (In Season 1, her clothes burn and in Season 6, her clothes are spared from the flames, but we can attribute this to contract renegotiations for Emilia Clarke between seasons rather than any magical properties of Daenerys’ clothes.)

But George RR Martin says Daenerys is the exception

The game of Thrones The show seems to have deviated from the books in this regard, or at least it didn’t take the time to give the audience a full explanation. During an online Q&A in 1999 A song of ice and fire Author George RR Martin said it was a “common misconception” that Targaryens could survive fires. He was clearly very confident of this, and used capital letters to emphasize his point.

Later in the books, Daenerys seems to know that she is not immune to dragon fire. When Daenerys’ dragon Drogon helps her escape the fighting pit in Meereen, Daenerys thinks, “If I run from him, he will burn me and devour me.” In this scene, she is indeed lightly scalded by Drogon. She later realizes, “Her skin was pink and tender, and a pale milky fluid oozed from her cracked palms, but her burns healed.” Daenerys is never burned by Drogon in the series, and escapes the pit cleanly.

There are numerous examples of Targaryens being burned in the books. Maester Aemon’s older brother Aerion Brightflame drank a cup of wildfire to prove he was “a dragon in human form” and died in the process. (Ouch.) King Aegon V and Prince Duncan, both Targaryens, died in a fire known as the Tragedy of Summerhall. Even Jon Snow, another Targaryen, burns his hand when he throws burning curtains at a revenant in Castle Black.

In the series, Daenerys either thought that all Targaryens could survive fire, was wrong and got lucky, or the series changed the parameters of the magic that surrounded the Targaryens. If game of Thrones Showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss had a hunch that Dany would eventually become the Mad Queen. Perhaps they threw in this remark to indicate her growing confidence (or ego). Her confidence helps her raise an army and take King’s Landing – although it also condemns her to the role of Queen of Ash.

Laena dies from flames in House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon is more based on the books of George RR Martin than game of Thrones when it comes to the issue of burning Targaryens. Our first hint that Targaryens are not immune to dragon fire comes in Season 1, Episode 6, when Laena Velaryon, Rhaenys Targaryen’s daughter, realizes she is doomed to die in labor. She takes her fate into her own hands, stands before her dragon Vhagar, and says “Dracarys” as she burns herself alive.

Read more: Why there is so much pregnancy trauma on TV and podcasts right now

This scene was invented by the show. The writers wanted to make it clear that for the women in the series, “the birthbed is our battlefield,” as Rhaenyra’s mother Aemma expressed in the first episode. But the scene in which the woman dies by fire sends a different message: the Targaryens in this series are not immune to flames.

House of Dragons Contradictions about whether Targaryens are fireproof

Despite the Leana scene, House of the Dragon was a bit unclear which encounters with fire will result in injury or death. For example, in Season 1, Daemon is hit by a flaming arrow during the War of the Stepstones. When he returns from the fight, he has a scar on his neck from the injury. However, he also flies through a fireball in this season, but doesn’t seem to be injured at all.

Likewise, Rhaenys looks relatively unharmed after flying through flames in the Battle of Rook’s Rest. The creators of the series could argue that neither Daemon nor Rhaenys direct burned in these fights. They simply ducked as the fire flew around them.

Read more: A guide to all dragons on House of the Dragon

Rhaenys probably could have killed Aegon and Aemond in Season 1

In one of the most controversial scenes in House of the Dragon Fast forward to the present day, Rhaenys frees her dragon Meleys during the coronation of King Aegon II. Meleys breaks through the floor of the Dragonpit and faces the Greens. But rather than burn Aegon, Alicent, Aemond, and the rest of her enemies alive, Rhaenys chooses to fly away without causing any harm – well, saving the many innocent common people she murdered when she destroyed the floor of the Dragonpit.

Some argued that Rhaenys could not have done much harm to the clan if the Targaryens are immune to dragon fire. Sure, she could have killed Alicent and Otto Hightower and Ser Criston Cole (The would have been worth it!) But she would not have killed Aegon or Aemond.

As it turns out, that’s not the case. Even in the unlikely scenario that either Aegon or Aemond was a superpowered Targaryen like Daenerys, Rhaenys would likely have taken out at least some of her enemies. Rhaenys missed her chance to end the war right there and then. As we saw in Season 2, Episode 4, she later suffered the consequences of her inaction when Aemond took her life at the Battle of Rook’s Rest.