House of the Dragon has already delivered more dragon action in Westeros than fans ever dared to dream of, even if it did cut some dragons from George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood or skip over their appearances on screen. With only 12 episodes left in the series, many fans have assumed that we won't be seeing the two wild dragons Grey Ghost and The Cannibal, as we are now focused on the war. However, in a new interview with IGN this week, showrunner Ryan Condal warned viewers that "assumption and expectation are probably dangerous words to use in this particular world." Without answering definitively, he left room for more dragons to descend on this series.
"Look, there's a lot of runway left and it is called House of the Dragon," Condal said. "It is the Dance of the Dragons. I think there are more dragon cards to be turned over as time rolls on here." Condal is a self professed lover of Martin's writing and his lore, and he has been passionate about adapting this section of Fire & Blood. Even if fans may dislike the way he adapted some plot points up to here, they should not assume he will be changing everything without reason going forward.
House of the Dragon has glossed over wild dragons up until now
House of the Dragon's depiction of the "Sowing of the Seeds" was a bit different from the book's version of events, where more nobles were invited to seek dragons out before smallfolk got a chance. The series also did not mention the three wild dragons, though from the way characters are now talking about Sheepstealer, it seems clear they knew about the wild dragons and had names for them all along.
In the book, the other two wild dragons are also up for grabs. Grey Ghost is considered the more likely of the two to be tamed. The smallfolk gave him his name for his elusive nature — the dragon was rarely seen around the island of Dragonstone, and was even known to intentionally hide from people by ascending into clouds and mist. The dragon's age and size are not mentioned in Fire & Blood. Grey Ghost was not tamed by any would-be dragon-riders simply because he could not be found.
Meanwhile, The Cannibal is the most infamous of the wild dragons, named for his habit of eating other dragons. He would eat the remains of other dragons who died on the island, and even eat newborns and dragon eggs, but he was also aggressive to the other dragons and humans. The Cannibal was regarded as a danger to be avoided, rather than a prospective asset in the war effort.
Fire & Blood has a plan for the wild dragons
Those who have read Fire & Blood may remember that there is a very natural place for these two wild dragons to appear in House of the Dragon, but for everyone else, fair warning: spoilers ahead! A ship approaching Dragonstone witnesses Grey Ghost fighting with another dragon in the air, and believes it to be The Cannibal. Grey Ghost is killed in the fight, and afterward the people of Dragonstone avoid that part of the island. What they don't realize is that Grey Ghost was really fighting Sunfyre as he and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) recovered from their injuries.
The mistake is almost discovered in the book by Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia), who intended to fly over there on Moondancer and see for herself. However, the castellan of Dragonstone forbade Baela from going, and even confined her to chambers to prevent her from flying away. This could be a powerful echo of Rhaenyra's experience at the beginning of season 3, so it would make sense for the TV show to adapt this part of the story.
Although we've seen multiple clashes between dragons at this point, it's clear that their match-ups are not just a matter of size and speed. We should expect dragon warfare to become even more chaotic and unpredictable before House of the Dragon is finished.
For now, House of the Dragon season 3 continues on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. Fire & Blood is available in print, digital, and audiobook formats.
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