Most of the dragons in House of the Dragon, including Vhagar, Balerion, Vermithor, Dreamfyre, and Meleys are very old, and they have had multiple riders.
House of the Dragon is bringing in extremely high viewership numbers, even though the show has only finished its first season and had so much to live up to.
One of the reasons for this is the show’s renewed focus on the Targaryens and their dragons. Throughout the first season, viewers got to see and learn about over 17 dragons, including Vhagar, Balerion, Vermithor, Dreamfyre, and Meleys.
How does House of the Dragon compare to Game of Thrones?
When Game of Thrones ended in 2019, it was well-renowned as the most popular HBO series at the time and this gave House of the Dragon very lofty expectations to live up to.
The final episode of House of the Dragon’s first season did quite well, drawing in 9.3 million viewers. However, this was not enough to beat the all-time high record set by the final episode of Game of Thrones.
Fortunately, House of the Dragon is still in its infancy, and when you compare its viewership numbers to those of the first season of Game of Thrones, it has nearly triple the number of viewers.
Who rides the dragons in House of the Dragon?
The events in House of the Dragon take place nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones happens, and as a result, there are still plenty of dragons in Westeros.
In fact, the civil war that breaks out by the end of the show’s first season will eventually be known as the “Dance of the Dragons”, which illustrates what an important part of the story the dragons are in the show.
Throughout the first season of the show, viewers learned a lot more about how much control the Targaryens truly have over their dragons and how the whole system between the rider and the dragon works.
Therefore, we now know that dragonriders need to have some amount of Targaryen blood in them in order to form their strong connection with the beasts, but that dragonriding is a skill that needs to be learned and sharpened over time.
It also becomes evident in the series that the dragons all have strong personalities of their own and they will not just mindlessly follow the commands of their riders.
By the end of the first season, 17 different dragons have been shown or, at least, were mentioned in House of the Dragon and while some have riders, others are wild and untamed.
Characteristics of the dragons in House of the Dragon
Casual viewers of the show can be forgiven for getting confused about all of these dragons, what they look like, their histories, and who ends up riding them within the show.
Fortunately, most of the confusion surrounding Vhagar, Balerion, Vermithor, Dreamfyre, and Meleys can be cleared up with a quick glance at the following table:
| Dragon | Appearance | Riders |
| Vhagar | Vhagar is the largest living dragon in Westeros and is bronze, with blue-green highlights | Prince Aemond Targaryen, Laenor Velaryon, Visenya Targaryen, and Prince Baelon Targaryen |
| Balerion | Balerion was the largest dragon during Aegon’s Conquest and was almost entirely black, with black fire | Viserys I Targaryen, Maegor the Cruel and Aegon the Conqueror |
| Vermithor | Vermithor is a large bronze dragon with tan wings, only rivalled in size by Vhagar and Balerion | Jaehaerys I Targaryen |
| Dreamfyre | Dreamfyre is a slim, pale blue dragon with silver highlights | Helaena Targaryen and Rhaena Targaryen |
| Meleys | Meleys is red and pink with accents of bright copper on her horns | Rhaenys Targaryen and Alyssa Targaryen |
Whose dragon is Vhagar?
Vhagar is an old she-dragon that has been alive since Aegon’s Conquest and has seen and survived hundreds of battles over the years.
On the show, Vhagar is introduced as Laenor Velaryon’s dragon and is later claimed by Prince Aemond Targaryen after Laenor’s tragic death.
However, Vhagar has a long history and has had riders such as Visenya Targaryen, who she mourned for 29 years before accepting her next rider, Prince Baelon Targaryen.
Whose dragon is Balerion?
Balerion is better known in the House of the Dragon series as “The Black Dread” and he is shown only briefly in the form of the enormous scull in the depths of the Red Keep.
However, Balerion is referenced frequently throughout the series, as the dragon was an integral part of Aegon’s Conquest.
Aegon the Conqueror was Balerion’s first rider, but after Aegon’s death, his son, Maegor the Cruel, rode Balerion. Viserys I Targaryen was Balerion’s last rider.
Whose dragon is Vermithor?
Vermithor was only introduced in the last episode of House of the Dragon and is also known as “The Bronze Fury”. This is the large black dragon that Daemon sings to in High Valyrian in the caverns at Dragonstone.
However, even though it is not yet confirmed who will end up being Vermithor’s rider in the next season of House of the Dragon, based on the lore in Fire and Blood, it is clear that Jaehaerys I Targaryen used to ride Vermithor after the dragon was hatched from the egg placed in his crib.
Whose dragon is Dreamfyre?
The only mention that viewers get of Dreamfyre in House of the Dragon is when Daemon admits to stealing one of her eggs.
However, in the books, Dreamfyre is first introduced into the narrative during King Aegon I Targaryen’s reign and becomes Princess Rhaena Targaryen’s dragon.
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Later on, Helaena Targaryen bonded with the dragon and became her rider, but it is still unclear whether the show will follow this series of events as the “Dance of the Dragons” continues.
Whose dragon is Meleys?
One of the other dragons that caused quite the uproar in the first season of House of the Dragon was Meleys.
The dragon is nicknamed “The Red Queen” and is shown with her rider, Rhaenys Targaryen, who uses the dragon to interrupt Aegon II Targaryen’s crowning and even rode the dragon down the aisle at her own wedding.
Before Rhaenys was Meleys’s rider, Princess Alyssa Targaryen used to ride the dragon and she would strap her children to the beast’s chest.