Vhagar is a female dragon currently in the possession of Aemond Targaryen in HBO’s House of the Dragon. She is at this moment in Westeros’ history by far the biggest and most powerful dragon. She is a walking weapon of mass destruction. If a nuclear bomb could fly and a single person could wield it… that’s roughly how dangerous Vhagar is. She is 180 years old and has become almost as large as Balerion the Black Dread, Aegon the Conqueror’s mount and the greatest dragon ever seen in Westeros. Here is everything you should know about Vhagar and why the dragon is so crucial in the conflict between the Greens and the Blacks.
House of the Dragon is a Game of Thrones spinoff series (one of the many spinoffs in development). It is a prequel to the original story, and it begins 172 years before the War of Five Kings and so on. The show depicts the Dance of the Dragons, an internal conflict within the Targaryens that led to much bloodshed. At this time in Westeros, dragons not only exist, but they are fearsome weapons of war that the Targaryens and to some extent Velaryons put to devastating use.
But not one dragon comes close to the size, strength and battle experience of Vhagar. She is so formidable that she will go toe to toe with Smaug the Terrible, a dragon seen in in The Hobbit trilogy, a prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. As mentioned above, she is owned by Prince Aemond Targaryen (played by Ewan Mitchell), who is on the side of the Greens. And until they have Vhagar, the Blacks, led by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Emma D’Arcy), cannot hope to match their power, even if they have more dragons.
So what’s the story of Vhagar the dragon? Let’s get into it in some detail.
A brief history of Vhagar, the legendary dragon in House of the Dragon
First, let’s learn about Vhagar’s history in brief. Targaryens may rule Westeros in House of the Dragon, but they are not native to this land. They were originally of Valyrian Freehold, a huge territory that was ruled by Dragonlords, among whom the House Targaryen was just one noble family. Dragonlords had the same features we associate with the Targaryens (at least in the books): white skin, lilac or purple eyes, and silver hair.
The rise and fall of Valyria
Originally, lowly shepherds, the Dragonlords found dragons at a place called Fourteen Flames, a chain of volcanoes, and learned to control them. And thanks to those fire-breathing beasts, they quickly became the sole superpower of the Known World: the Roman Empire of our world at its very height. However, just like for the Romans, it did not last. Doom came to Valyria, and the place crumbled to dust in a matter of hours due to a catastrophe, though the reason remains unknown.
House Targaryen flees to Westeros
House Targaryen, however, had relocated to Dragonstone before the Doom of Valyria and thus survived. Apparently, the daughter of Targaryen lord, Daenys Targaryen, also called Daenys the Dreamer, used to have visions of the cataclysm. The house then shut shop and moved.
According to The World of Ice & Fire, a companion book for readers of A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novel series by author George R. R. Martin (who envisioned this entire universe), Vhagar was born on Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of the Targaryens in 52 BC (or Before Conquest). She was named after one of the gods of Valyria. This era was called the Century of Blood since pure chaos had ensued in Essos following the power vacuum left by the destruction of the Valyrian Freehold. Her first known rider was Visenya Targaryen, sister-wife of Aegon Targaryen, who also had another sister-wife, Rhaenys Targaryen. While Aegon owned Balerion, the biggest known dragon and the last creature to witness Valyria in its heyday, Rhaenys owned Meraxes.
Aegon’s conquest
Aegon, Visenya and Rhaenys one day decided to conquer Westeros. They had dragons, after all, something no Westerosi lord had the counter to. At the place where they landed with their dragons, they established their capital city: King’s Landing. Aegon’s conquest was swift and most lords chose to kneel, including the last King in the North (before Robb Stark, of course) Torrhen Stark, forever remembered as the King Who Knelt. Those who did not were treated with dragonfire. Only Dorne held out (that’s a story of another day). Vhagar, like the other two dragons, proved to be immensely valuable in the war, destroying entire armies in several important battles like a hot knife cutting through pats of butter.
Vhagar’s life in Westeros
Following the conquest, Vhagar took part in other battles, including First Dornish War and the Dance of the Dragons. After Visenya’s death, Vhagar was bonded to Baelon Targaryen, Laena Velaryon and finally, Aemond Targaryen.
Note: If you read further, there are spoilers for what happens in House of the Dragon later on.
Vhagar’s last dance: Battle above Gods Eye
In the Dance of the Dragons, there is a climactic battle, a duel called Battle Above the Gods Eye. It ended in the death of certainly three important characters and likely one more. Prince Daemon Targaryen (played by Matt Smith), the rider of Caraxes, had challenged Aemond at Harrenhal. He waited for 13 days and on the 14th, Aemond, who had been wreaking havoc all over the riverlands with Vhagar, arrived. They engaged in a fierce battle. It was so intense that it is said the roars of the two dragons could be heard from miles away. At one point, Caraxes, who was no slouch, locked his massive jaws around the even more massive neck of Vhagar, while the latter tore through the former’s belly using her claws. As both dragons fell from the sky, Daemon jumped from his saddle and stabbed Aemond in his empty eye socket, killing him.
All four of them fell into Gods Eye Lake, and apparently, none of them survived. Daemon’s body was never found and some smallfolk whisper that he did survive and fled. Thus ended a major confrontation in the war as well as the world’s greatest dragon. But before she dies, Vhagar will play an important role in the war. Earlier on in the show, she played an important role in kicking off the war by killing Arrax and her rider Lucerys Velaryon (played by Elliot Grihault). Watch the video of the confrontation below.
Vhagar dragon’s appearance
Vhagar’s appearance in The World of Ice & Fire has not been described. However, in the official art, she appears to have a bronze-hued body with greenish-blue details. In the show, she appears to be mostly green and has yellow eyes. Also, since she is very old at this time, her appearance reflects that. She looks grey, appears to have dragon-equivalent of wrinkles, her skin hanging loose, and her overall disposition is that of a grandmother — a particularly bad-tempered one. An irritable Meemaw, if you will.
(Hero and Featured image: Courtesy of HBO)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Vhagar was first bonded to Visenya Targaryen. Her later riders include Baelon Targaryen, Laena Velaryon and Aemond Targaryen.
Vhagar, along with her rider Prince Aemond Targaryen, was killed by the combined efforts of Prince Daemon Targaryen and his dragon Caraxes.
One-on-one, no other power can match Vhagar in ‘House of the Dragon’. However, before the show’s events, dragons like Balerion and Meraxes were both bigger than her and would have beaten her.
No. At the time of her death, she was said to be almost as big as Balerion, who remains the greatest dragon Westeros ever saw.
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Kshitij is a journalism graduate who did not initially intend to become a film critic, but such are the vagaries of destiny. Now, Kshitij is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild, bringing expertise and experience in evaluating entertainment content with him. Additionally, he serves as a jury member on the Critics' Choice Awards in India. When he's not busy wielding words, catch him nose-deep in books or joyfully lost in the realms of gaming and photography.
