HotD S2Ep7 offers a crash course in How to Claim Your Dragon.
Who’s riding which dragon going into the Season 2 finale? And which team is stronger?
Last week’s episode was harrowing and thrilling, as we got to see Rhaenyra brutally test out her new, more inclusive dragonrider theory. It was tough to watch all those poor unsuspecting smallfolk get roasted by Vermithor, but, on the other hand, it was really fun to see Hugh and Ulf come out the other side with dragons. And I couldn’t help but smile at that final shot of a slightly singed yet smug Rhaenyra with her new dragon posse behind her.
Considering that we ended on this look at us now shot, the most logical place for tonight’s season finale to go is in an all-out, knockdown, dragon-out fight between Team Black and Team Green. Why else would the penultimate episode have spent so much time gaining new dragons and altering the balance of power? Aemond panicking and retreating at the end of last week’s episode definitely indicated that the dragon math has radically shifted. Rhaenyra finally has an answer to Vhagar, and, as much as Vhagar would like to disregard Aemond’s instructions to retreat, she can’t just bully everyone else with her enormous size and confounding stealth attacks. At least not without getting burned herself.
In honor of what I consider a huge episode for dragon lovers, as well as looking ahead to the finale, I’m going to tally up all the dragons on each team to assess how fair the fight has in fact gotten.
Team Black
Known Riders and Dragons
Rhaenyra Targaryen on Syrax
Dragon Power Rating: 7/10
Syrax has been a steady, reliable presence throughout this series. From when she helped an impulsive teenaged Rhaenyra fly to Dragonstone to intimidate an impetuous egg thief Daemon in Season 1 to helping her mourn the loss of Luke at the start of this Season, Syrax has always been there and has never let Rhaenyra down. And we’ve heard Rhaenyra say this season that while she isn’t as big as Vhagar, she is quick and could give the old heavyweight the runaround with some fancy flying work. That didn’t exactly work out for Melys, but maybe with more dragons in the mix, Vhagar will be more easily distracted.
Jace Velaryon on Vermax
Dragon Power Rating: 4/10
Sorry, Jace. You may be the MVP of diplomacy of this show, but the only thing anyone has said about your dragon, Vermax, is that he is small. If everyone’s in the air during the finale, it will be interesting to see how distracted Rhaenyra would be worrying about Jace. I probably should deduct points just for that.
Baela Targaryen on Moondancer
Dragon Power Ranking: 7/10
Baela already proved early this season that she’s ready to ready to rumble when she ran Criston Cole off the road and into the forest. Even better, we know she won’t go rogue. She bent the rules Rhaenyra set out for her, but she didn’t actually break them by directly engaging. This makes her a prime candidate for second in command. Hungry yet sensible is a perfect combo!
Daemon Targaryen on Caraxes
Dragon Power Ranking: 6/10
Caraxes may be fierce (I’m still thinking about that shot of him looming behind Daemon, ready to light up some river folk), but he, like Daemon, is a big question mark in the upcoming fight. Will he come around after his witchy walkabout down memory lane? The most recent specters from his past PLUS the way he accepted Oscar Tully’s terms without throwing a violent tantrum implies that what Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin call “ghost therapy” is working. Is Daemon finally ready to stop calling himself King in opposition to Rhaenyra and accept his role as a “piece on the board,” as Alys Waters says. And even if he were on board with Rhaenyra’s leadership, he and Caraxes would still be a loose canon in the air. So it’s really a dice toss with him, in my opinion. (Though I love that Caraxes matches Daemon’s energy 100%!)
Addam of Hull on Seasmoke
Dragon Power Ranking: 6/10
I know what you’re thinking: surely, I must be crazy to rank Seamoke with a brand new never rode a dragon before rider on the same level as Daemon and Caraxes. But hear me out. Seasmoke. Is. A. Baller. Abandoned by his previous rider, Laenor (for good reason, but still) Velaryon, he moped around for a couple episodes and then took matters into his own hands. He’s the only dragon we’ve seen so far that has selected and chased down the rider they wanted. I have to give extra points to that out of respect. I’m very curious to see how green our newly minted riders will be in this next episode, as I’m assuming they’ll have to be thrown into the heat of battle before they’re ready. Will numbers outweigh experience?
Hugh Hammer on Vermithor
Dragon Power Ranking: 5/10
Hugh’s battle cry in Vermithor’s face means only one thing: he’s ready to go to war and release some of that pent-up aggression. And, kind of like Caraxes and Daemon, Vermithor matches Hugh’s fury, boldness, and maybe even bravery (though I haven’t necessarily seen Vermithor be brave yet, only relishing in carnage). Hugh appears to be confident and up to the task of riding Vermithor into battle, but he’s still new. Vermithor, meanwhile, has been without a rider for decades, since King Jaserys (Viserys’ predecessor that we see in the Season 1 prologue). I can’t wait to see how he does in the finale because the show so far has established him as mostly noble but willing to get his hands dirty to survive.
Ulf White on Silverwing
Dragon Power Ranking: 3/10
Oh, Ulf. Jomi on The Ringerverse podcast said that he Mr. Magoo-ed his way to a dragon and I can’t think of a better way to describe it. He seems by far like the least competent and least reliable dragon rider, but he could always weirdly surprise us with clumsy luck.
Wildcard Riders and Dragons
Rhaena Targaryen on Sheepstealer
Dragon Power Ranking: 4/10
Rhaena is a wildcard here because we’ve only seen her interested in and running off to pursue the wild dragon that we have not yet seen. I have no idea if she will claim the mystery dragon in The Vale in the next episode, but the cliffhanger of her running off to go find it certainly implies that the next time we see her she will either be trying to claim it or will have already claimed it. Could they save this for Season 3? Certainly. But wouldn’t it be dramatic if they followed through on all the hints we’ve gotten this season during the finale? If Rhaena were to enter the fray in the 11th hour, to everyone’s surprise, many would point to the fact that Rhaena has tried and failed to ride a dragon multiple times, and, according to Rhaenyra, nearly lost her life the last time she tried. Many would point to the fact that Sheepstealer is a wild dragon who might not even take any commands from his rider. What if Sheepstealer is only interested in…stealing sheep and not fighting human wars? There are a lot of what ifs, but I think Rhaena has lived in the shadow of her sister, Baela, all her life, and has never received the same attention from her father, Daemon, because she is not a dragon rider. She wants this. And she might have just the right kind of grit and determination (and surprise) that Team Black needs.
Team Green
Known Riders and Dragons
Aemond Targaryen on Vhagar
Dragon Power Ranking 10/10
The pair to beat BY FAR. Vhagar has two dragon kills under her belt (three if you count Sunfyre, Aegon the Burnt’s dragon). She is the biggest active dragon, and is possibly the meanest and stealthiest too, as her fatal blows against Arrax and Meylys were both confounding (and terrifying) sneak attacks considering her size. The only weakness here seems to be Aemond’s hairline control over her.
Helaena Targaryen on Dreamfyre
Dragon Power Ranking: 7/10
I really didn’t want to put Helaena and Dreamfyre in harm’s way, but the previews for the finale very clearly show Aemond begrudgingly asking his sister to join the fight. Protect them at all costs! If only to give everyone more time to realize Helaena can see the future. (And, really, hasn’t she been through enough?!?) We haven’t seen these two in action yet, so I’m not quite sure how to rank them. But Helaena is an awesome character that everyone underestimates, so I can see her pulling through to the amazement of all.
Wildcard Riders and Dragons
Daeron Targaryen on Tessarion
Dragon Power Ranking: 4/10
This is a big if — even bigger than Rhaena claiming a wild dragon — that is much more likely to come to fruition in Season 3, but Daeron Targaryen, Alicent’s mystery son who has been a ward with the Hightowers in Old Town this entire time, has just been the topic of conversation too often to not show up soon. This would truly be a shocker to viewers and characters alike since he has been off screen and no one presumably would recognize him. They did say last week that his dragon only just took flight for the first time, but why did we need to know that if it weren’t foreshadowing? He’s reported kind and plays a lute so I don’t have hopes for his military prowess either way. But maybe he can serenade us like Ed Sheeran after the smoke clears.
These rankings should tell you that this match-up is hard to gauge in an exciting way. Team Green has the strength and size but Team Black has the numbers. I’ll be biting my nails until later tonight!