HOTD: How The Dragons Keep Us Coming Back 

The shot of Vhagar far in the background at Storms End being lit by lightning, and you see her just towering over everything, making even the buildings look tiny... It was perfect. And the whole time Luke is inside and being threatened by Aemond, a very dangerous warrior, you know there is something infinitely more dangerous waiting for him outside. It's probably my favourite scene with a dragon in any form of media

It's obviously reductive, but I do like the joke about HotD Dragons being nuclear dogs. They are animals that humans can bond with, but they also have such massive magical power that they uncontrollable weapons of mass destruction.

What they did with vhagar in episode 10 is one of the most genius decisions in tv history. I love that the dragons have personalities of their own. Vhagar was literally the most battle hardened Dragon in the world (probably even more than balerion), so I'm so glad they found a way to incorporate that into the story while at the same time showing us very important characteristics of the dragons. A lesser story would have stopped at the whole 'dragons are mindless weapons' thing but HOTD takes it further and even reveals a side of Aemond we haven't seen before.

this show really brought all of us back into the fold huh

I mean, it was obvious, the moment they sent him, that the kid would not survive delivering that message, but the fact he was eaten by a dragon, must admit I didn't saw it coming

I think it’s awesome George is so involved in the show, as long as he is directly a part of the production it will continue to be good.

Describing Vhagar as a god who has hitched a ride with Aemond is so fitting and so utterly terrifying. Great video, thank you.

"He is an angry behemoth filled with keroscene." I adore that line, chef's kiss. Your analysis is always top-tier. Hayley ^_^

In the books (A Feast For Crows) a (sort of) Maester named Marwyn the Mage says that the maesters wish to create a world without magic and especially without dragons. He even says that they worked to facilitate the downfall of dragons and possibly Targaryens.

*casually names hella dragon media in the first minute* dang dawg I didn't know you were cool like that, dap me up

I absolutely love Daemon’s giant Noodle Boy 🐉

I would love to see you revisit this topic after the later seasons, especially if the show visits the Nettles and sheep-stealer storyline. Instead of trying to use the power of her Dragon to control the world around her, she realizes that she actually has very little control and uses the power of her Dragon to enable her to run away from the conflict, there by freeing her self.

"He is an angry behemoth filled with kerosene," is just... MAN what a phrase! Also can I just applaud your smash cut between Vhagar doing her thing and Drogon being snippy? The WEIGHT. Bruh.

Personally I thought the amount of screentime dedicated to the dragons are solid because they were used so sparingly. Its a show about succession conflicts, petty drama, and backstabbing, etc. The dragons and overall magical aspects of the world should only appear as wildcard elements within the story. To accelerate political conflicts that would normally last for generations in our real world history, into a relatively short amount of time. Like how a medieval siege historically could last for months, but in the show a single dragon could just decimate a castle in 5 seconds. It makes the story constantly engaging and intense, because there's probability of conflicts accelerating while still maintaining unpredictability, since they've now established that dragons are inherently wild animals, that won't always obey its master's orders like a pokemon or something...

Dragons fulfill the same role as lightning. You can study it and harness it, but never truly ignore it. Ironic that Thunder/Sky gods clash against Dragons and Serpents so often in Japan, Judaism, Mesopotamia and other cultures.

You really put it perfectly, a dragon is worse than a Nuke. They are nukes that have allowed their handles to use their power, but only because they have allowed it.

Interestingly some in world theories state that the dragons were actually made by the Valyrian Blood Sorcerers/Fire mages from Wyverns. So they are literally forged weapons with supernatural powers and an animal side. Very cool creatures and a shame that GoT misused them so badly. I'm glad HotD is doing a better job.

i really like the idea that the dragons are basically their pyro magic power... instead of his original plan of just having fire magic

Prideful carelessness is one of the better descriptions of a dragon’s personality I’ve heard.

The Hungarian Horntail is my absolute FAVORITE dragon is all of fiction as I've always loved how aggressive fierce and ferocious it looked in design as it was shown in the movie and depicted in boxart images for the film it's in. Absolutely NOTHING about the horntail looked friendly in nature and I loved that about it as that seemed like the most natural state of what a dragon SHOULD be. Ferocious beasts that are too dangerous to comprehend and manage in anyway that people REALLY should not be messing with it as it would only bring inevitable backlash from being too dangerous to control.

Never thought the topic of dragons could be explained from so many viewpoints. I found the categorization you used very valid, and it's interesting how HOTD utilizes dragons both as animals and creatures rising above humanity. They are VIEWED as animals to be controlled and subdued, but in reality are forces of nature that cannot be wielded like a sword.

I see people asking about the cosmic dragon at 5:50 , so: The clip is from a cinematic trailer for the release of a playable character from the game League of Legends. His name is Aurelion Sol and his personality and one-liners/quotes are golden! He's arrogant in that charming, badass way.

That shot of Vhagar at Stormsend was fucking amazing ! They finally showed a proper scale of how big she really is !

Hoooly shit lol when you mentioned Dragon Booster you unlocked a whole cascade of memories. I had completely forgotten that show until now

Shocked to see that dragon booster was a real thing and not an acid trip I had at 10 years old

The dragons remind me very much of monitor lizards. They’re too small for a human to ride(even the big ones), but a lot of the bonding is possible to a smaller extent. The dragons are a little more mammalian in behavior, but monitor lizards will be the closest we can get to having dragons.

Also, have you come across the Temeraire series of novels? They're natural dragons, used as weapons, but are highly intelligent and reasoning, in some cases.

"I love dragons" - A wise man

I was waiting for the Dragonheart reference. One of my favorite movies of all time.

Not a minute in but i already agree wholeheartedly.

MY FAVORITE EP OF YOUR CHANNEL. I LOVED, AS ALWAYS

Small note but you forgot to mention the dragon tapestries in King's Landing. There are several tapestries showing men with dragon heads having sex. You can see these in Viserys's room and Alicent's room in several scenes - they were produced for the show. The tapestries represent the dragon also as a subconscious element on the show - the 'being a dragon' or feeling like one is an essay in tyranny and the power-complex, particularly in relation to masculinity. The tapestries show how the notions of Targaryen exceptionalism, desire for unbridled reckless power, lack of accountability and the notion of virility is a confluence of dragon wielding and masculinity, so the show uses dragons to also - in a way- touch on fragile masculinity and gender (and thus power) as a space of violence without accountability.

LOVE you for showing Aurelion Sol🐲🌠

The claim that the dragons are uncontrollable is an exageration in my eyes, i mean they clearly can do whatever they want whenever they want as no one can stop them, yet 99% of the time they do what their riders command them to do, even if they don't want to, like when Vhagar killed Laena

This video is top tier, truly you explained what makes game of thrones' dragons so special.

This is my favorite video of yours. Thank you

I appreciate the Lair background music used. My childhood right there my guy.

Well done 👍. Season 2 will definitely increase our love for Dragons

I would argue that the dragons from the Inheritance Cycle fit all the same categories as well. They are, at their core, apex predators with instincts to match, have intelligence equal to or more than a human, immense power, and they have bonds with certain humans. Bonds that can allow either to influence the morality and thought patterns of each other, as well allow them to be used as weapons of war.

This is the first time I'm coming across your videos, I'm impressed! Top-Stuff! 👏🏼

Hell yes! I've been hoping for this video since the moment HotD wrapped up.

Awesome vid man!

Your Breakdowns are legendary

I already love your videos, then you mentioned your love of dragons in such a way in this video that I love your content even more.

as always, awesome content!

By the way, if you want fantasy with the blood of war and death, I’d recommend the Witcher book series. The Peter Kenney audiobooks are incredible (quite a disturbing world, to a degree. Very medieval but fantastical. Cynical but humanistic)

Thank you for putting into words what I only experienced in vibes ❤︎ MORE HOTD TALK IN THE FUTURE PLEASE ❤︎

Excellent video. Excellent passion for our beloved Dragons .

0:28 I’ve loved them “…since the days of old Valyria”😂😂😂

0:27 WHOAH, time machine, i had forgot about that. Great show.

It should be noted though that the line about the show dragons "being as smart as humans" (or "smarter") is a line that, afaik, D&D wrote when GRRM wasn't involved in the show anymore; it is a huge contradiction the earlier narrative in the show where it was (to my memory) claimed/established they're more on the level of dogs or something when it comes to intellect. If someone recalls better than me about the dog-intellect comparison, feel free to correct me!

Awesome video!

I love Robin Hobb's depiction of dragons in the realm of the elderlings series. They're right in the middle between what you call supernatural and natural dragons.

Amazing video as always. I play a game called monster hunter and one of the best fights is Lao shan Lung. Lao is trying to escape another dragon but is so large that he really only hits you accidentally as he lumbers through a mountain pass. The goal being to reroute Lao as his path if continued will destroy a town.

Dude thank you so much I've been looking for dragon booster for a long time but could never quite remember the name.

Imagine if the stark dire wolves were as big as elephants. It would be a good comparison. But with them, there's more control because it's less of a partnership and more of a taming.

really enjoying this channel man since the arcane video

As a dragon fan I loved your video! 🐉 👍👍

I feel like this video explains why I keep thinking "These people don't deserve their dragons if they are just gonna kill them all in a stupid war" Idk what else you could do with a dragon, but holy shit not a good idea. A dragon isn't a slave? Ok but it's also not a tool. It's not a warhorse. Like you said its an eldritch fire god.

Like the Canal+ feel

This discussion reminded me of the book series Dragonriders of Pern. Mom likes this book series, I've read it a long time ago. She insists that I need to GM a game in this universe

Can’t wait for you to do a video on Andor!!! The best Star Wars story ever

My bro here talked about Dragon Booster! DRAGON BOOSTER! Someone inserts Stoick's _You're as beautiful as the day I lost you_ meme here pls. I miss that show. It had a fresh concept, the animation was slick, a unique power system (which I picked up once watched a few videos on them) the transformations and powers were Awesomesauce, Artha and Mordred's rivalry, the symbolism, the promised transformation of four more Boosters, the CLIFFHANGER OF DRAGON BOOSTER ACADEMY! I want to see more of it... I want to see it return... Samurai Jack style.

I can't wait to see what you have to say about the canibal

In the how to train your dragon books hiccup could talk to dragons and the large sea dragons had telepathy and the ability to talk norse. But the selfishness of a dragon was well shown in the books that a dragon can't be counted on being there for the trainer when it's needed. But some tamed dragons to the extend they are militaristic and disciplined but like I stated before every dragon has a selfish side but some like toothless decides to put aside their serpentine side to save their masters due to the extend their masters go to befriend them.

Did not expect to see Aurelion Sol here.

Haha 13:00 Grrm has called them that himself

I personally couldnt care less about dragons and honestly prefer my fantasy without them. But you bring up some interesting points about how HOTD combines the archetypes successfully

I feel like Avatar: The Last Avatar have some of the most definitive spiritual dragons, going off your definition

Legit 10/10 video

Well, knew it would happen one day, you've finally convinced me to watch game of thrones

* draconic escalation* see what you did there.

Can you make a video where you cover Star Wars Andor?

More House of the dragon videos please

Hey, in the 12+ minute range is a song with flutes and ethereal vocals - what music is this? :) Also, excellent video. I really appreciated your analysis, I think it was spot on.

Wonderful video as always thank you for your work! Also what is that dragon video game you had so many clips from? It looks so familiar but I can't remember it and it's driving me crazy.

nice

What’s going to get interesting as the show goes along is that the dragons will walk a fine line between weapons of mass destruction and merely a tool in an army’s toolbox akin to an Air Force. Unlike nukes, dragons can be called off or influenced towards a more precise target, and like both nukes and aircraft, you can destroy your enemy with them. However, you cannot conquer an enemy or occupy their territory without armies of men.

Hey, Aurelion Sol, neat.

Also I would some of the bonds are different Rhaenrya and Deamon have a different bonds. Then Aemond and Lucerys what can see when one of ths riders is hurt.

Dragonheart and How to train ur Dragon made me fall inlove with them but best features was the Hobbit and this

"I love dragons" I smash the like button It's simple

An interesting spin off series could be a show about the faith or faiths in the world of game of thrones. The natural first choice would be the fire god, not because he is more real than any other, but because the series could balance it's world building with plenty of time watching Stannis do what he does in the series with greater focus and maybe some edits (I know that Stannis is very different from the books to the show. It would be cool to see "Stannis the Mannis" on TV.) The second season could be on the many faced god/God of death. Following the faceless men should give us plenty of action and maybe even a history of their order. (I do believe it was the faceless men that killed the 14 fire sorcerers at the same time, that caused the 14 volcanos to destroy old valyria.) We could follow jaqen h'ghar as a day in the life as his role as assassin, teacher and monk. When teaching recruits about how death is a gift, we can go to flashbacks to see the most impactful assassinations in history. The last faith I would want to explore is that of the 7, or rather the one, or rather the stranger. This would be the hardest, as a part from the invasion and evangelism of the andals, there isn't a single character we can attach the season to. And I do think the 7 is just a mask for having a death cult surrounded by the stranger, but with the trapping of relatability that makes a death cult palatable. The final season can show the true gods and their strength, that being the old weirwood trees. We could follow the first men, the children of the Forrest and even the first long night.

The only reason I watched game of thrones was cause of the dragons and the way they were portrayed as nukes as you said and I want to do it the same as this but I want it to cost more. What would an intelligent creature so mentally and physically powerful even want, what would such a creature even do. I see why they portray them sleeping all the time. It’s an easy out. Maybe I can raise the environmental states to match. An uncertainty factor. So many small pieces moving the future becomes uncertain, for the readers and the characters. Definitely something to mull over.

Where can I go to download your Rattlesnake Jake video?

I'm interested to see the Targaryen bastards try to ride the unclaimed dragons. The Dragon in the movie Dragonslayer: Vermithrax Pejorative, was one of the best Dragons ever, especially in the pre-CGI era. It was bestial, but talked about like a plague or a natural disaster, approaching the supernatural but amoral aspect you me tion of the show dragons.

What game is that dragon riders one? At the dragons as tools part

I think a fair bit about westeros dragons was lost by the shows' not including the books heavy focus on warging as an essential component of the world. GoT had some warging, but in the books its so heavily ingrained that many characters are implied to have subconscious warg relationships theyre not even aware of. Imho westerosi dragons are such a direct extension of this warging magic system that it feels insufficient to discuss them without touching on it.

10:31 As soon as you mention children controlling gods: "Pokemon!"

DRAGON TALES🔥🔥🔥

There is no control, they choose to obey, and when they choose to disobey, you're screwed

🔥

What show is that clip from with the cosmic dragon making a sun in it’s hand?

0:45 Prequel.

I need you to know that every time you show me a clip from the Eragon movie, a part of me dies.

I crave new content

00:47 as you know, HOTD is a prequel. I guess you just mean releasing at a later date?

arent those wyverns?

Dragons are far more terrifying than nuclear weapons. A hydrogen bomb doesn't get happy, or sad, or angry, or hungry; dragons do, and that's scary AF.

More dragon content pls