Co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik and his cast explain how dragons work in the world of Westeros.
“We had this whole in-depth thing about living in a world with dragons…
It’s something that, even as an actor, I hadn’t thought about.
‘House of the Dragon’ co-showrunner explains how they conceived of the dragons.HBO(3)
It was such an interesting topic of conversation.
We genuinely spent at least an hour talking as a group.”
Sapochnik and Condal pulled details of this time period in Westeros fromGeorge R.R.
King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) speaks with his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) before the skull of Balerion, the Black Dread.Ollie Upton/HBO
Martin’sFire & Blood, the history of House Targaryen that served as the basis forHouse of the Dragon.
The reason this war is so destructive is because most of the Targaryens in power have dragons.
But dragons can kill dragons, and have."
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) rides Syrax over Kings Landing on ‘House of the Dragon.'.HBO
Each one often crafted concept art illustrations for two of these creatures at the same time.
“I came up with the idea that there were three types of dragons,” he explains.
“There’s the dragons that are dinosaur-like; they have a big bridge on their nose.
Caraxes, the dragon of Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), emerges on ‘House of the Dragon.'.HBO
And then, there’s the dragons that are like horses, which are somewhere in between.
“She’s like a cantankerous old lady,” Sapochnik describes the leviathan.
“Bits of her are falling off, and getting her in the air is a nightmare.
When she’s up and running, she’s like a B52 bomber.
She’s stunning and a force to be reckoned with.
Landing her is a nightmare.”
Vhagar is the prime example of how the showrunners thought about the life cycle of dragons.
“What we came up with is dragons never stop growing.
What kills them is their own weight.”
“We had to sit down and figure out, howdoyou train a dragon?”
But how you train your dragon became all sorts of things.
So, they get little pricks to figure out when they’re first given to their rider.
Their riders are also kids who don’t know how to deal with the dragon.
It’s nerd city.
I had more fun doing that.”
I would have to pat [the dragon].
Then Miguel was like, ‘Can you smell it?’
It’s a very human thing to form a connection."
According to D’Arcy, dragons sparked an “entire leather industry” in Westeros.
A separate warehouse at Leavesden Studios contains these various seats constructed for each of the dragon-riding characters.
Daemon’s saddle for Caraxes is moreConan the Barbarian, with furs draped over the mount.
Rhaenyra’s saddle, by comparison, is more regal.
The power of dragons
The dragon/rider connection means different things to different cast members.
“It’s an emblem of identity for her,” they say.
“Rhaenyra is humming with Targaryen fire, and what does it mean if fire is your ally?
It functions by destruction, so that from the ashes, something new can exist.
That’s where my area of reflection was.
What is it to live with all of that inside you?
When do you have to dampen that?
And when do you learn to trust that?
But it’s hard to bring a fire into a council chamber.
It’s difficult.”
“It’s intuitive and non-political, but is animal and visceral.”
King Viserys is the rare Targaryen who doesn’t ride dragons.
He once rode Balerion, the Black Dread, the dragon that once bonded with Aegon the Conqueror.
But now the beast’s skull sits at an altar in Kings Landing, surrounded by candlelight.
Viserys often visits his old friend when he’s in deep thought.
“I just think Viserys has an understanding of dragons,” Considine says.
“He actually sees them as very, very dangerous and a huge responsibility.
He understands fully that it’s these dragons that make the Targaryens powerful.
He also has an understanding of their potential to destroy the world.
He sees them as nuclear bombs in a way.
House of the Dragonpremieres on HBO and HBO Max Aug. 21.
The podcast will launch Aug. 21.
