Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6, and George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood.House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6 introduces a new dragon, and it supports a big theory about Daenerys Targaryen. There have been several dragons in House of the Dragon so far, beginning with Rhaenyra Targaryen's Syrax and Daemon Targaryen's Caraxes, through to Seasmoke (Laenor Velaryon's) and Meleys (Rhaenys Targaryen's). Episode 6 introduces more and sets up others, with the arrival of Vhagar (Laena Velaryon's), Vermax (Jacaerys Velaryon's), and a mention of Sunfyre (who belongs to Aegon Targaryen). All are noteworthy and will have their part to play, but alongside those (and the pig, of course) it's another who is most intriguing: Dreamfyre, who scares Aemond in the Dragonpit.
Not seen before now, she is another dragon confirmed to be in King’s Landing (it was her egg Daemon stole earlier in the season). Dreamfyre bonded to Helaena Targaryen, giving her a clear connection to the brewing civil war, but most interesting she is the only one of the dragons in House of the Dragon who looks a lot like Daenerys' dragons. One popular theory is that Daenerys’ dragon eggs came from a clutch laid by Dreamfyre, and the show making her look so much like Drogon in particular, when it’s otherwise gone out of its way to make the dragons visually distinct could be a telling nod towards that lineage.
Did Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs Really Come From Dreamfyre?
Aside from the clear similarities, the evidence for Dreamfyre being the real mother of dragons, as it were, is rooted further back in Game of Thrones history: in 54 AC, when Dreamfyre was bonded to Rhaena Targaryen, granddaughter of Aegon the Conqueror. Rhaena’s lover, Elissa Farman, stole three of Dreamfyre’s eggs and fled to Essos, selling them to the Sealord of Braavos for the money to build her own ship. From there, what happens to the eggs is unclear; though circumstantial, the specificity of Elissa stealing three dragon eggs, and that were never again found, has led to the belief they were the same dragon eggs given to Daenerys by Illyrio Mopatis. Those eggs were said to have come from Asshai and, given they were last in possession of a Sealord, it’s not implausible they would end up there (though it would mean quite the journey for them). It's also stated the eggs would turn to stone away from Dragonstone, and that is how they're presented to Dany.
Even if the theory isn’t true in book canon - and there’s little more to support or debunk it either way - it could be in show canon. House of the Dragon presents a different and more definitive version of accounts than what’s found in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood (which draws on various in-universe historical sources), and so could have decided to confirm this theory by making Dreamfyre look like Daenerys’ dragons. In the book, Dreamfyre is described as pale blue with silver markings; that doesn’t appear to be the case here, but it may just be the lighting, where it’s admittedly hard to make out.
Of course, it is also possible the similarity comes from using the same CGI model used for Drogon. The two dragons look incredibly similar in both body and head, suggesting they did purposefully reuse some of the same design. The production clearly hasn't cut any corners, with all the other dragons clearly different, but this could have served a neat dual purpose, helping both the production side and the narrative's worldbuilding. Dreamfyre being the mother of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons doesn’t change a whole amount, but it is a clear connection from House of the Dragon’s dragons to those in Game of Thrones.
What Happens To Dreamfyre In House Of The Dragon
Unfortunately, unlike her possible son Drogon (who lived to be the last dragon), Dreamfyre does not have a happy future in House of the Dragon, and nor does her rider, Helaena. One of the most horrific events in the Dance of the Dragons involves Helaena: as revenge for the death of Lucerys Velaryon (who is killed fighting Aemond at Storm’s End), Daemon hires Blood, a butcher, and Cheese, a ratcatcher, to sneak into the Red Keep and kill one of Aegon and Helaena’s children (yes, Alicent Hightower's kids are married to each other by this point); a son for a son. The two force Helaena to choose between her two sons, Jaehaerys and Maelor, and threaten to rape her daughter, Jaehaera, and kill all three if she doesn’t pick. Eventually, she chooses Maelor, on the basis of him being younger and less likely to understand what was happening; Blood and Cheese kill Jaehaerys instead, running off with his head.
Helaena becomes depressed and eventually falls into madness, ultimately taking her own life. In the time preceding that, she ceased to be a dragonrider: Dreamfyre was instead left chained up in the Dragonpit, without another rider who could take her into battle. During the Storming of the Dragonpit, part of riots in King’s Landing that broke out in revolt against Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s rule once she has claimed the city, Dreamfyre got free of her chains and kills a lot of people, but was ultimately slain after being blinded by a crossbow bolt. This caused her to crash into the Dragonpit, being crushed and buried by the resulting rubble.
Regardless of whether Dreamfyre is the dragon who laid the eggs that hatched Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, she has an important but sad role in House of the Dragon. The show has even better linked her and Helaena, with the latter seemingly prophetic in some way. In House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6, Helaena predicts Aemond losing one eye, which does happen in Fire & Blood (but the foresight aspect does not) and the show, as confirmed by trailers showing him with an eye-patch. Their fates will be devastating, but with this gift it at least makes it even more fitting that Helaena ended up with a dragon called Dreamfyre.
House of the Dragon releases new episodes Sundays at 9pm on HBO and HBO Max.
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