In House of the Dragon, Arrax attacked Vhagar in their fight when Aemond chased after Lucerys, because the dragon was young, small, and scared and therefore, reacted the way a scared animal would.
The dragons in House of the Dragon play a much more significant role in the narrative than they did in Game of Thrones, and this is part of what viewers love about the show.
This also provides viewers with much more insight into the actions and relationships between the dragons and their riders, which made it easier for viewers to understand when Arrax attacked Vhagar out of fear even though he is a much smaller dragon, and he was begged by Lucerys to stop.
The significance of dragons in the House of the Dragon
When the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon premiered in August of 2022, the show had very high expectations to live up to.
However, by the time that the fifth episode of this first season aired, there were about 29 million viewers, on average, tuning in to watch the show on the various HBO platforms.
Part of what has made House of the Dragon such a success is the fact that this show places a lot more focus on the Targaryen family and their hoard of dragons.
While viewers only really ever saw Daenerys interact with her dragons in the original Game of Thrones series, in House of the Dragon, viewers get a glimpse into the lives, characters, histories, and relationships of the 17 different dragons and their riders in the show.
House of the Dragon: Why did Arrax attack Vhagar
In the final episode of the first season, which aired on 23 October, the dragons become an even more integral part of the story when, (spoiler alert) Vhagar kills Arrax and his rider, Lucerys, and subsequently spills the first blood in the war between the Blacks and the Greens.
However, what is really shocking about the way that this stand-off between Aemond and his dragon, Vhagar, and Lucerys and his dragon, Arrax took place is that Vhagar only killed Arrax after Arrax attacked her first.
Arrax attacking Vhagar with a face full of flames surprised many viewers, not only because Arrax is so much smaller than Vhagar is and was clearly outmatched in their fight, but also because Lucerys repeatedly asked Arrax to stop, but he did not.
The reality is that even though Lucerys knew Arrax since they were little, he is still a very inexperienced dragon rider and Arrax did not think twice about disobeying his orders.
To add to this, it is clear that Arrax was feeling the same emotions as Lucerys in the moment where they were being chased by Aemond and his much bigger dragon, Vhagar.
He retaliated as any wild predator would have by attacking, even though it was clearly doomed from the start. Arrax attacked because he was scared and reacted on instinct.
How did Lucerys become Arrax’s rider?
In the show, Arrax does not get much screen time before he and Lucerys travel to Storm’s End and the subsequent pivotal battle between the pair and Aemond and his dragon ensues, and this has left many viewers wondering how Arrax came to be Lucerys’s dragon in the first place.
Arrax was somewhat destined to be mounted by Lucerys, as in the Targaryen tradition, Arrax was hatched from an egg that was placed in Lucerys’s crib by King Viserys.
Arrax was always one of the smaller dragons compared to the other Targaryen dragons, but it was believed that he and Lucerys shared a strong bond.
Why did Arrax disobey Lucerys?
Although Arrax and Lucerys basically grew up together and they had such a strong bond, the creators of House of the Dragon make it quite clear early on in the show that the so-called control that the Targaryens have over the dragons is just an illusion.
In the fight between Vhagar, Aemond, Lucerys, and Arrax, this is evident, as both Lucerys and Aemond struggle to control the actions of their dragons with their commands.
This illustrates how inexperienced both of these dragonriders are, but it also reinforces the idea that the dragons follow commands for only as long as they want to.
What will happen now that Vhagar has killed Arrax?
Even though Lucerys and Arrax’s deaths were partly accidental, it is clear from Rhaenyra’s reaction when she is informed about this news that in her mind, this has started the civil war between the Greens and the Blacks, and it was a direct attack on her and her supporters.
This means that Arrax’s scared and rash actions inadvertently started a war in which many lives will no-doubt be lost in the future.