Warning: The following article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold.”
House of the Dragon Season 2’s fourth installment, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” just reminded fans that the show’s titular beasties come in a range of sizes. So, who has the biggest dragon in House of the Dragon Season 2?
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The Biggest Dragon in House of the Dragon Season 2, Explained
Prince Aemond Targaryen rides the biggest dragon in House of the Dragon Season 2. What’s more, Aemond is the latest in a short yet distinguished line of dragon riders to saddle up the so-called “Queen of All Dragons.” Vhagar’s previous mounts were Queen Visenya Targaryen, Prince Baelon Targaryen, and Lady Laena Velaryon. This also makes Vhagar the oldest living dragon in Westeros, as well as the most over-sized. Queen Visenya helped her brother, King Aegon I Targaryen, conquer the realm astride Vhagar, so by the time of House of the Dragon‘s story, the she-dragon is nearly 200 years old! Indeed, it’s little wonder that Vhagar has assumed near-mythic status.
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So, just how big is Vhagar, exactly? Neither House of the Dragon nor its source text, Fire & Blood, supply the monstrous creature’s precise dimensions. That said, both the book and show describe Vhagar as big enough to gulp down an entire horse. If that’s a little vague, visual effects supervisor Sven Martin provided a semi-canonical answer to the question of Vhagar’s size in a 2023 interview with Art of VFX. Here, Martin referred to Vhagar as “90 meters long with a wingspan of 150 meters.” This is presumably true of the digital model used in House of the Dragon Season 2, which means that’s how big Vhagar is in the show (if not the book).
Is Vhagar the Biggest Ever Dragon in Game of Thrones Canon?
Nope, Vhagar isn’t the biggest dragon to ever grace the Game of Thrones franchise – although she comes close! Vhagar is the third-largest skyfaring serpent in Westeros’ history, behind her brother, Balerion, and her sister, Meraxes. But if it’s any consolation to Vhagar stans, she currently qualifies as the largest living dragon. Plus, Vhagar’s not that much smaller than her siblings and supposedly came close to Balerion’s size later in life.
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That doesn’t mean Vhagar will go uncontested throughout House of the Dragon‘s run, though. On the contrary, Aemond’s rival, Prince Daemon Targaryen, has already woken another dragon, Vermithor, who is only slightly smaller than Vhagar. And being the biggest isn’t always a guarantee of victory, as Aemond and Vhagar’s shared fate in Fire & Blood amply illustrates!
House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently airing on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.
Published: Jul 8, 2024 10:17 am