Every dragon we saw in House of the Dragon season 2
By Daniel Roman
This weekend, the second season of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon came to its highly-anticipated conclusion. Armies are on the march, dragons are taking wing, and the Targaryen civil war for Westeros is on. It'll likely be a couple of years before we see what happens next, but there's plenty to mull over in the meantime.
House of the Dragon upped the stakes for the series in a number of meaningful ways, from new alliances to tragic battles and more. But of course, in a show called House of the Dragon, it should come as no surprise that the dragons played a pivotal role. This season featured far more of them than season 1. We saw a whopping 13 dragons this season, including a slew of new beasts like Silverwing, Moondancer, and the fledgeling dragon Tessarion. Now that the curtain has fallen for House of the Dragon season 2, let's take stock of all the dragons now on the playing field.
Syrax
Syrax is the dragon of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, and she appears more than almost any other in the series. She's a lithe, yellow adult dragon of medium size who calls to mind a graceful bird of prey. Syrax may not be quite big enough to go toe-to-toe with the really large beasts like Vhagar, but she's still an experienced dragon who's not to be taken lightly.
Caraxes
Caraxes, also known as the Blood Wyrm, is the mount of king consort Daemon Targaryen. Along with Syrax, this red dragon is one of the most commonly sighted dragons in the series. He's an old, battle-tested dragon with a bad attitude, and is easy to identify by his long, noodly neck and unique body shape. We see him in multiple episodes this season as Daemon leaves Dragonstone and makes his way to Harrenhal, where he goes about building an army of Rivermen.
Vhagar
Vhagar got a lot screentime this season. She's the behemoth dragon ridden by Aemond Targaryen, and holds the title as the largest and oldest dragon in the world. Vhagar is named after the Valyrian god of war, and was originally ridden by Aegon the Conqueror's sister-wife Visenya. Vhagar is the single scariest dragon in the series, and has been responsible for the deaths of more dragons than any other. When Vhagar is coming, you know it's time to cut and run!
Meleys
Meleys it the mount of Rhaenys Targaryen, and if you've seen the season, you know she needs no introduction. Nicknamed the Red Queen, Meleys is a formidable, large dragon who's been around for decades; before Rhaenys became her rider, Meleys was the mount of Daemon's mother Alyssa Targaryen. She met her tragic end during the epic fourth episode of the season, after fighting both Sunfyre and Vhagar in the skies over Rook's Rest.
Sunfyre
Sunfyre is the dragon of King Aegon II Targaryen, and he's often called Sunfyre the Golden after his stunning scales. Sunfyre is widely considered the most beautiful dragon in the realm, and from his brief appearance in season 2 it's easy to see why. Sunfyre is a striking beast...but unfortunately, he's also on the younger side compared to most of the other large dragons and has no battle experience at all. He was terribly outmatched at Rook's Rest.
Last we heard, Ser Criston Cole had left the wounded Sunfyre behind in the forest near Rook's Rest, where the dragon was believed to be dying of his wounds. While multiple other characters claim that Sunfyre is dead throughout House of the Dragon season 2, I'm not ready to count him out quite yet. In Fire & Blood, Sunfyre survives his wounds in much the same way Aegon does, horribly scarred from the battle. He eventually has a role to play later in the Dance of the Dragons, so unless the show deviates drastically we'll probably see him again at some point.
Moondancer
Moondancer is the young dragon of Baela Targaryen, a green beast with a rad mohawk of spikes. This young she-dragon is exceptionally agile, which we saw come across onscreen when she swooped out of the sky and pursued Criston Cole and Gwayne Hightower across the Crownlands. Moondancer may not have any battle experience, but the bond between her and Baela cannot be understated. Baela Targaryen is a dragonrider through and through, and that makes her and Moondancer far more formidable than you'd expect considering their lack of experience.
Seasmoke
Seasmoke was once the dragon of Rhaenyra's first husband, Laenor Velaryon. Now, he's claimed the shipwright Addam of Hull, Laenor's bastard half-brother, as his new rider. Seasmoke is a battle-tested dragon who fought in the Stepstones against the Triarchy, and won't hesitate to roast those in his midst he doesn't like (sorry, Ser Steffon Darklyn). He's a medium-sized dragon, comparable to Rhaenyra's beast Syrax or Aegon II's Sunfyre.
Vermax
Vermax is the dragon of Jacaerys Velaryon, a young dragon on the cusp of adulthood who hatched from an egg placed beside Jace's cradle. Vermax doesn't get much time on screen this season, but we do catch a glimpse of him watching over Jace's negotiation at the Twins in Episode 205. He's roughly the same size as Moondancer. While Vermax hasn't seen any actual battle, he's spent quite a lot of time ferrying Jace around the Seven Kingdoms. Whenever season 3 airs, I'd expect to see a lot more of Vermax in the first few episodes.
Tyraxes (sounds only, off screen)
Tyraxes is the one dragon on this list who we don't actually get to see onscreen — at least, not fully. This young dragon belongs to Jace's younger brother Joffrey Velaryon, and he's a large hatchling. We see the dragonkeepers carry a wooden palanquin out of Dragonstone in Episode 203, when Rhaena and the children depart for the Vale. As they walk past, the dragonkeepers soothe Tyraxes, who's making a ruckus. We'll probably get an actual look at this dragon in season 3.
Stormcloud
Stormcloud is the dragon of Aegon the Younger, Rhaenyra and Daemon's first child. He's the cute little hatchling we see skitter around Rhaena's room in the Vale. He's just a baby!
Vermithor
Vermithor is the second oldest and largest dragon in Westeros after Vhagar. He's even more ferocious, which fits with his nickname: the Bronze Fury. Vermithor once belonged to King Jaehaerys the Conciliator. After Jaehaerys died, his dragon went to live on Dragonstone. The Targaryen bastard Hugh claimed Vermithor during "The Red Sowing."
Silverwing
Silverwing is an old and large she-dragon who was once ridden by King Jaehaerys' wife, Good Queen Alysanne. Alysanne was a benevolent and beloved queen, and her dragon was similarly noted to have been one of the friendliest and most docile toward humans. Like Vermithor, Silverwing went to Dragonstone after her rider died of old age, taking up residence in the caverns beneath the Dragonmont. She was claimed by Ulf during "The Red Sowing."
Sheepstealer (Wild Dragon)
Our next dragon is a bit of an odd one. House of the Dragon never outright confirms that the wild dragon Rhaena Targaryen is tracking across the Vale is Sheepstealer, but unless the show is inventing a totally new dragon, that's the only one from Fire & Blood it could reasonably be. Sheepstealer's name is pretty descriptive; he gets it because he likes to go around munching up all the sheep in his vicinity, which fits nicely with the trail of charred sheep skeletons Rhaena uses to find him.
We never actually see whether Rhaena claims Sheepstealer, but it seems pretty likely at this point. In the book, Sheepstealer is claimed by a different person, a lowborn girl named Nettles. House of the Dragon has seemingly taken a different tack by having him cross paths with Rhaena instead. Sheepstealer is described as an "ugly, mud-brown" dragon, who is large, formidable, and foul-tempered. He should be a lot of fun whenever we get to see more of him in season 3!
Tessarion
The last of the new dragons we met this season is Tessarion, the she-dragon of Daeron Targaryen. She's nicknamed the Blue Queen on account of her brilliant blue scales. Tessarion hatched from an egg which was placed in Daeron's cradle as a child, in the fashion of ancient Targaryens, so she's only around 16 years old at most. Tessarion had just reached flying size at the end of the season, and shows up in the final montage flying over the Hightower host. Expect to fall in love with her in season 3!
And that's all the dragons we saw in House of the Dragon season 2! After delivering a whopping 13 of them this season, House of the Dragon has truly outdone itself in the dragon department. And hard though it is to believe, there's most yet to come. Grey Ghost! The Cannibal! Morning! The dragon roster's ever growing, and by the time the war ends, many of these beasts will be much changed or dead. Strap in for an emotional rollercoaster.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. For now, you can rewatch every episode of House of the Dragon season 2 on Max. The dragons will probably return for season 3 sometime in 2026.
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