The best thing about House of the Dragon isn’t the people, battles, or sets. It’s the dragons. In episode 4 of the third season, one of them displays a behavior that MMO editor Sophia Weiß says she only knows from her own dog, and it drives her to the best extent.
So far, four episodes of the new season of House of the Dragon are live, and I feel that for this season the series makers have come up with something particularly nasty for us. After much consideration, they realized that many viewers are particularly attached to the dragons. And now they are doing everything they can to give the beasts as much personality as possible before they are sent to their safe death.
I can’t explain otherwise why the long-necked wyrm Caraxes is suddenly behaving like a stubborn border collie with a need for movement: He just abducts rider Daemon and flies to a place where the dragon has sensed something exciting. Just like my dog has done multiple times – he recently discovered a badger set.
And now I see many more parallels to our pets than just Caraxes’ stubbornness: All dragons are behaving more and more like cats and dogs. And that is going to really get to me.
Dragons behave like pets so that we love them
Caraxes is just the first example that comes to mind. He shows that he is not merely Daemon’s subordinate but has his own mind: Caraxes senses something exciting and simply disregards the commands of his rider.
By the way, my dog does this sometimes too: He is a Labrador-border collie mix, and when he smells certain things, there’s no stopping him – even though he otherwise listens very well and is reliable. But especially the grill meadow in the park next door is an olfactory paradise for him. Or rather the new badger set in the woods.
For Caraxes, it was probably the stench of the dragon Sheepstealer, who lives in the area with his new rider Rhaena.
Rhaena talks about her dragon like someone who defends their absolutely terrified, therefore aggressive, and perhaps a bit scruffy stray cat from rational roommates or parents. In addition, Sheepstealer brings his rider freshly hunted food. Just like cats bring their masters and mistresses dead mice and birds to the doorstep.
Ironically, Rhaenyra’s brother Aegon, the upstart and false king, has one of the most beautiful connections in the whole series with his dragon Sunfire: Aegon barely speaks Valyrian, even though it is the mother tongue of the Targaryens. Sunfire seems to mind none of this. The dragon simply responds to commands in the common language of Westeros.
In season two, Aegon retrieves his firebreather from the dragon pit. Sunfire greets him like a horse with its beloved rider with a nudge of its snout against the chest, which brings a smile to the green king’s face. Now, one season later, I almost cried when Aegon finally finds his dragon again and weeps over the lifeless body.
Aegon must have loved Sunfire a lot. Just like I love my dog. The very thought that I might one day no longer be woken up by his wet snout in my face makes me sad.
Lastly, 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 his dragon love, the two cuddle with each other. When Ormund Hightower shows aggression toward the young Targaryen, Tessarion immediately switches to threatening gestures – like a good watchdog.
We are supposed to learn to love the dragons to suffer even more
When animals die in films and series, I am more affected than by the loss of a human character. Animals have no bad intentions and usually act purely instinctively. My love for my own dog and also for my cat, who passed away many years ago, does not make this easier.
Dragons are also my favorite mythical creatures, and now they are behaving in House of the Dragon in ways I’m used to from my pets. This will not end well for me.
When Arax and Lucerys died in season 1, it happened so fast that I barely registered it. I also had hardly any connection to Vermax from season 3 because he appeared so rarely. When Meleys was killed by Vhagar in 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 the lives of dragons, of which we will see much more now, are at stake? Syrax, Caraxes, Vermithor, Silverwing, and Sheepstealer 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 overlay the tears with the squeaking of his favorite toy. So, it will be grand.
House of the Dragon has not only improved the personalities of the dragons in season three, but has also really stepped up on all fronts. Especially the second episode showcases the acting talent of Rhaenyra’s actress Emma D’Arcy, and the level has not declined since: With the new episode, House of the Dragon achieves 9.4 stars on IMDB – Because it is the absolute highlight of the story
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