Every dragon we expect to see in House of the Dragon season 3, ranked by size

House of the Dragon season 3 is currently in the middle of its run, and if there's one thing you can say about it without a doubt, it's that the dragons have had their time in the spotlight. Over the course of its first two episodes, the show's third season features a naval battle of epic proportions involving six dragons, some quiet scenes that build character for beasts like Sheepstealer and Caraxes, and the stunning Fall of King's Landing sequence, where Rhaenyra Targaryen captures the capital by flying her four largest dragons there and staking her claim to the Iron Throne.

HBO's first Game of Thrones prequel has a lot of things going for it, but there's no doubt that the dragons are one of the most groundbreaking. The 17 or so dragons that will appear throughout the show's run are each brought vividly to life with their own unique characteristics and personalities, making them far superior to the three nearly identical beasts we saw in the original series.

With more of the Dance of the Dragons civil war ahead, it's a good time to check in on the dragons of Westeros to see which ones will crop up in House of the Dragon season 3. There will be SPOILERS for the first three episodes of the season.

As a note before we begin: these sizes are for House of the Dragon only. Due to the way the show has changed the ages and roles of certain characters, several of the dragons' book counterparts in Fire & Blood are different sizes.

Moondancer

Rider: Baela Targaryen

As a young, agile, and incredibly well-trained dragon, Moondancer is the ideal scout for Team Black. She was a cradle dragon for Baela Targaryen. Moondancer is recognizable for her distinct head fin, which no other dragon in the series possesses.

While Moondancer is the smallest dragon on this list, she's actually even smaller in Fire & Blood; there, she's just larger than a warhorse, and Baela only starts riding her midway through the war. In House of the Dragon, both Moondancer and Baela serve much more of a prominent role in war, and the young she-dragon has grown in size and ferocity to match it.

Tessarion

Rider: Daeron Targaryen

We haven't seen much of Tessarion yet in House of the Dragon season 3, but that's all but guaranteed to change. Nicknamed the Blue Queen, this beautiful dragon is the mount of Daeron Targaryen, the youngest son of Alicent Hightower and King Viserys. Daeron has been serving as a ward in Oldtown since he was an infant; Tessarion's egg was placed in his cradle per Targaryen custom, so she grew up along with the young prince. As such, these two have an incredibly close bond.

Tessarion is a bit larger in Fire & Blood, but around halfway through House of the Dragon season 2 it's revealed via a message to the Greens' Small Council that Tessarion has just flown with Daeron for the first time. By that point in the war, all the other dragons on our list had already done quite a bit of flying, marking Tessarion out as the youngest of the lot. Despite that, she's still larger than Moondancer, and close to the same size as Vermax.

Vermax

Rider: Jacaerys Velaryon

As with Tessarion and Moondancer, Vermax hatched and has grown up alongside his rider, Jacaerys Velaryon. As Rhaenyra's eldest child, Jace has spent a lot of time training with his dragon, which enabled them to make larger journeys, such as their flight to the North in season 2.

Despite all this, Vermax is still untested in combat...until the Battle of the Gullet. Unfortunately, it did not end well for Vermax or Jace.

Sunfyre

Rider: Aegon II Targaryen

Sunfyre the Golden was once the most beautiful dragon of them all, with spectacular wings and brilliant scales that lived up to his name. King Aegon Targaryen only rode him into battle once, at the Battle at Rook’s Rest. It would prove tragic for both rider and dragon, as Sunfyre and Aegon fell to their near deaths after suffering wounds from both Meleys and Vhagar.

We have not seen Sunfyre since his fall, and House of the Dragon has been playing with viewers’ expectations by repeatedly saying he has since diedof his wounds…but if you’ve read Fire & Blood, you know this dragon is far too important to leave the story so early. Sunfyre the Golden will almost certainly appear on screen at some point in season 3, as the show sets up his place in the civil war’s endgame.

Syrax

Rider: Rhaenyra Targaryen

Syrax is the agile yellow mount of Queen Rhaenyra. While Rhaenyra and Syrax have a strong bond and have spent much time flying together, they are as yet untested in battle. Syrax is a fully grown adult dragon, who Rhaenyra claimed and started riding at only seven years old. Given that Rhaenyra is the one who named Syrax, it is strongly implied she had no previous riders, even if she was not a cradle dragon for Rhaenyra herself. As such, she’s on the younger end of the spectrum compared to some of the longer-lived beasts on the show, and just slightly smaller than Seasmoke.

Seasmoke

Rider: Addam of Hull

Of all the dragons on this list, Seasmoke is the only one who sought out a new rider on his own. Following the disappearance (and likely off-screen death) of his former rider, Laenor Velaryon, Seasmoke eventually bonded with Laenor’s bastard brother, Addam of Hull. Addam is the first of the dragonseeds, bastard dragonriders sworn to serve Rhaenyra Targaryen.

Seasmoke is one of the more battle-seasoned dragons on the board, having fought for years in the War for the Stepstones. He’s an adult dragon, but on the smaller end of the spectrum compared to some of the true giants of House Targaryen.

Sheepstealer

Rider: Rhaena Targaryen

Sheepstealer is the sole wild dragon we’ve met on the show to date, and he’s already made a large impact with his misadventures at the Battle of the Gullet. This beast has lived a hard, solitary life in the Vale, where he’s survived by eating the flocks of local shepherds, thus earning his name. Now bonded to Rhaena Targaryen, it remains to be seen just how much Sheepstealer can be tamed, or whether he’ll always have such a wild, uncontrollable streak.

While we don’t know Sheepstealer’s exact age, we can infer that he’s an older dragon based on the fact that he’s roughly as large as Caraxes. He has a mangy aspect, and long spines hanging from his wings which are identifiable compared to the other dragons.

Caraxes

Rider: Daemon Targaryen

Now we get into the truly monstrous dragons on this list, all of whom were born long before the Dance of the Dragons plunged Westeros into civil war. Caraxes was bonded to House Targaryen for more than 30 years before he was claimed by Daemon, and was previously ridden by the rogue prince's uncle, Aemon Targaryen. Vhagar has seen more bloodshed than Caraxes, but no dragon and rider pair has fought as much as Daemon and his dragon, nicknamed the Blood Wyrm. He has devilish horns and a long, think neck and body that are easy to distinguish from any other dragon on the series.

Silverwing

Rider: Ulf

Silverwing is a fully grown dragon who’s lived a long life. She was the cradle dragon to Good Queen Alysanne, the wife of Jaehaerys the Conciliator, the king who preceded Rhaenyra’s father Viserys on the Iron Throne and ruled for half a century. She has a crown of spiked horns on her head, and a long, dark gray body.

Silverwing is generally regarded as a dragon with a gentler disposition — though she’s still perfectly capable of torching armies if the need arises. Her current rider is Ulf, who she bonded with during the Red Sowing.

Vermithor

Rider: Hugh

The second largest living dragon during the Dance, Vermithor is nicknamed the Bronze Fury and was once the mount of King Jaehaerys. Now, he’s ridden by the dragonseed Hugh, who claimed him during the horrific carnage of the Red Sowing.

As his nickname implies, Vermithor is a bronze dragon. Like Vhagar, he has visible signs of age, like broken horns near his head and a heavy wattle hanging from his throat. He is the most formidable dragon on Team Black, even if Hugh is one of the newest dragonriders in Rhaenyra’s service.

Vhagar

Rider: Aemond Targaryen

The oldest and largest living dragon in Westeros, Vhagar has watched numerous generations of Targaryens be born, age, and die. She was once the mount of Visenya, the sister-wife to Aegon the Conqueror, and fought the armies of the Seven Kingdoms during the Conquest. She has known a number of other riders in the more than century since, including Laena Velaryon.

Vhagar was claimed by Aemond Targaryen when he was a child, and he’s spent enough time in the saddle to be skilled at working with her in combat. Of all the dragons in the Dance to date, Vhagar is the only one who has killed other dragons. She is a force to be reckoned with, and more than a match for any other dragon in the war.

Vhagar is basically a kaiju, and you know she’s coming because her massive form blots out the sun. She has the look of a gigantic flying iguana, but don’t let that fool you: she’s easily the most vicious dragon, whose ferocious temperament is matched only by Daemon's mount Caraxes.

Dragons we don't expect to see in House of the Dragon season 3

In addition to all the dragons listed above, there are a few important ones that we don't expect to pop up in season 3. That includes Stormcloud, the hatchling of Rhaenyra and Daemon's eldest son Aegon the Younger who was breifly seen in season 2. Both Aegon and Stormcloud play an important role in the Battle of the Gullet in Fire & Blood; since they didn’t appear there in the show, it’s anyone’s guess as to how or when House of the Dragon will include them again.

Two other dragon hatchlings that are unlikely to appear this season — if at all — are Shrykos and Morghul. These two little dragons were bonded to Aegon II's twin children Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, respectively. They live in the Dragonpit in King's Landing, and have yet to appear in the series at all.

There's also Tyraxes, another dragon who appeared briefly in season 2 who is bonded to Rhaenyra's youngest son by Harwin Strong, Joffrey Velaryon. Tyraxes is still in the Vale with Joffrey. Of all the dragons in this section, he's the most likely to pop up in some form or other, but we're far from certain.

The most important — and largest — of the dragons we don't expect to see is Dreamfyre, a beautiful purple dragon bonded to Helaena Targaryen. In the book, Helaena is an avid dragonrider; in the show, we've literally never seen her on screen at the same time as her dragon. Dreamfyre was only seen briefly in season 1 during a scene in the Dragonpit and the funeral at Driftmark. It's very possible House of the Dragon could bring her back this year, but given its track record for how it handles this she-dragon's screentime, we're far from confident. Dreamfyre is an adult dragon from an earlier generation who bonded with Helaena, on par size-wise with Rhaenys Targaryen's mount, Meleys. As such, she's a formidable beast, though Helaena never rides her into battle.

Lastly, there are two more wild dragons: The Cannibal and Grey Ghost. Both are on the larger end of the spectrum comparable to Sheepstealer, with the Cannibal being considerably larger. House of the Dragon hasn't given us any indications these two will appear in the series yet, so as of right now, we're not expecting them.

Regardless of the dragons left out, there's no doubt we'll be spending more time than ever with the draconic beasts of House Targaryen this season. Which are you most excited to see? Let us know in the comments!

House of the Dragon premieres new episodes Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow