The best thing about House of the Dragon is not the people, battles, or sets. It is the dragons. In episode 4 of the third season, one of them exhibits behavior that MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß says she only knows from her own dog, and that makes her, in the best sense, exhausted.
So far, four episodes of the new season of House of the Dragon are live, and I feel like the creators have devised something particularly nasty for us this season. After much consideration, they figured out that many viewers have a special attachment to the dragons. And now they are doing everything to give the monsters as much personality as possible before sending them off to a certain death.
I simply cannot explain that the long-necked wyrm Caraxes is now suddenly behaving like a stubborn Border Collie with excess energy: He just kidnaps rider Daemon and flies to a place where the dragon has sensed something exciting. Something my dog has also done several times – most recently, he discovered a badger sett.
And now I see many more parallels to all of our pets than just Caraxes’ stubbornness: All dragons are behaving more and more like cats and dogs. And that is going to drive me absolutely crazy.
Stubborn Border Collies & scruffy street cats
Caraxes is just the first example that comes to mind. He shows that he is not simply Daemon’s follower but also has a mind of his own: Caraxes smells something exciting and simply disregards his rider’s commands.
My dog, by the way, does that sometimes too: He is a Labrador-Border Collie mix, and when he smells certain things, there is no holding him back – even though he usually listens very well and comes when called. But especially the barbecue meadow in the park next door is an olfactory paradise for him. Or, rather, the new badger sett in the woods.
For Caraxes, it was probably the stench of the dragon Sheep Thief, who lives in the area with his new rider Rhaena.
Rhaena talks about her dragon like someone who defends her absolutely terrified, thus aggressive, and perhaps a bit scruffy street cat in front of sensible roommates or parents. Moreover, Sheep Thief brings his rider freshly hunted food, just like cats leave dead mice and birds at their owners’ doors.
Of all people, Rhaenyra’s brother Aegon, the upstart and false king, has one of the most beautiful connections in the entire series with his dragon Sunfire: Aegon speaks hardly any Valyrian, although it is the mother tongue of the Targaryens. Sunfire seems to be unfazed by that. The dragon simply responds to commands in the common language of Westeros.
In season two, Aegon retrieves his fire-spitter from the dragon pit. Sunfire greets him like a horse greets its beloved rider with a nuzzle to the chest, which brings a smile to the green king’s face. Now, a season later, I almost cried when Aegon finally finds his dragon again and sheds tears over the lifeless body.
Aegon must have loved Sunfire very much. Just like I love my dog. The mere thought that one day I might not be woken up by his damp nose in my face makes me sad.
Last but not least, episode four of season three also showed us the bond between Alicent’s youngest son Daeron and his dragon lady Tessarion: Although Daeron is not supposed to show any love towards his dragon, the two cuddle with each other. When Ormund Hightower shows aggression towards the young Targaryen, Tessarion immediately goes into threatening postures – like a good watchdog.
We are meant to learn to love the dragons to suffer even more
When animals die in films and series, I am more affected than when a human character is lost. Animals have no evil intentions and act, in most cases, purely instinctively. My love for my own dog and also for my cat who passed away many years ago does not make it easier.
Dragons are also my favorite mythical creatures, and now they behave in House of the Dragon as I am used to from my pets. This will not end well for me.
When Arax and Lucerys died in season 1, it happened so quickly that I barely registered it. I also had little connection to Vermax from season 3 because he appeared so rarely. When Meleys was killed by Vhagar at Crow’s Rest, it was the first stab to the heart.
The fate of Sunfire makes me incredibly sad in hindsight. How will it be when it comes to the lives of dragons, of which we will now see many more? Syrax, Caraxes, Vermithor, Silverwing, and Sheep Thief already have more screen time than the previous dragon victims of the war.
I will cry my eyes out. My dog will try to comfort me and underscore my tears with the squeaking of his favorite toy. It will be grand.
House of the Dragon has not only improved the personalities of the dragons in season three but has also stepped up in all areas. Especially the second episode showcases the acting talent of Rhaenyra actress Emma D’Arcy, and the level has not dropped since: With the new episode, House of the Dragon reaches 9.4 stars on IMDB – Because it is the absolute highlight of the story
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