One of the biggest storylines in House of the Dragon Episode 7 involved a giant she-dragon called Vhagar.
HBO’s hit show has yet to delve into Vhagar’s story, but she is the oldest character in Westeros at the time of Rhaenyra Targaryen and the others. While most of this explainer deals with all that happened before the events told in House of the Dragon, do not keep reading if you haven’t watched the latest installment in HBO’s hit series. Here is an explanation of Vhagar’s backstory and why everyone seems so interested.
Why Is Vhagar So Important?
Vhagar is one of the strongest dragons in Westeros at the time of the House of the Dragon‘s events. The imposing she-dragon is the only dragon that is still alive from Aegon Targaryen’s Conquest of the Seven Kingdoms. Initially, she was ridden by Queen Visenya Targaryen herself, Aegon’s wife and sister. Together with Balerion and Meraxes — the other two dragons alive at the time of the Conquest — Vhagar forced all the rulers in Westeros to bend the knee to Aegon the Conqueror. All except Dorne, of course, but that’s a story for another day.
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In the latest episode, the she-dragon was claimed by Aemond Targaryen, the son of King Viserys I and Alicent Hightower. Aemond was very eager to have a dragon of his own, like his older brother, Aegon, and their cousins. To become a dragonrider, Aemond had to overcome his fears and approach the she-dragon, commanding her to obey his orders. The kid’s audacity pleased Vhagar, who agreed to take Aemond on a ride over Driftmark.
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The passage wasn’t without drama, though, as Aemond loses an eye at the hands of his cousin Lucerys. Initially, Lucerys and his brother Jacaerys intervened to help Rhaena to reprehend Aemond for taking her mother’s dragon. The show implied that different people could ride the same dragon, but only after its previous owner had passed away. Before accepting Aemond as her dragonrider, Vhagar was Laena Velaryon’s dragon. As shown in House of the Dragon Episode 6, Laena chose to die and asked Vhagar to burn her due to her pain while giving birth to a stillborn child. That’s why the dragon-less Rhaena felt she was the next in line to claim Vhagar. Besides Visenya, Laena, and Aemond, Vhagar accepted Baelon Targaryen as her rider. Baelon was Viserys’ father and died before the events of House of the Dragon.
