Headscratchers / House of the Dragon

Headscratchers page for House of the Dragon. All spoilers are unmarked

For Game of Thrones, see here.

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Vermax's size

• Jacaerys Velaryon seems somewhere around the 7–8-year-old range when he's presented with his dragon Vermax, which is about the size of Drogon in Season 4. But since the Targaryens present an egg in each child's crib, implying they're the same age as their dragon, how come Vermax is so small, especially since Drogon was absolutely massive in Season 7 when he was only around 7-8 years old as well?
  • While the dragon eggs are placed in the infant Targaryen's cribs, that doesn't mean they hatch when the child is still an infant. As we see with Rhaena, some eggs don't ever hatch.
    • This, plus it's established (at least in the books) that dragonpits stunt the growth of dragons. Drogon is raised in the open air, so he would be noticeably larger than Vermax even if they were the same age.

What's happening with Seasmoke?

• So if Laenor faked his death and ran away, disguising his identity, then what happens to Seasmoke? For plot convenience they could have simply made the excuse that Seasmoke also thought he was dead and chose a new rider...but that would contradict established lore about dragons being bonded to their riders and able to sense them and locate them even from great distances.
  • Well, the dragon did not take a new rider for a long time. Laenor could just have died in Essos in the meantime, though the show will probably just never show us that.
    • This is literally the same story where a dragon tracks their rider across the sea thanks to the arcane bond between them. Seasmoke should have been up and flying off eastwards as soon as Laenor set sail.
    • I don't recall that happening in this show. That said, even if Seasmoke flew away after Laenor fled, could anyone really stop him? Vhagar did her own thing for many, many years before Laena got a hold of her, so it probably stands to reason everyone thought he was off doing his own thing across the narrow sea.
  • If possible, Laenor could have ordered his dragon to leave him, and find a new rider to bond. He's a man starting a new life in Essos, away from the schemes and baggage of being a half-Targaryen. The last thing he needs is to be identified by everyone as such because there's a giant dragon following him everywhere.

Westerosi genetics and white vs. brown hair

• The Doylist explanation is "white hair = legitimate Valyrian". But what's the Watsonian explanation for the Valyrian white hair phenotype being dominant and the Westerosi brown hair one being recessive in the case of Viserys and Alicent's children, but that being flipped in the case of Rhaenyra and Harwin?
  • Genetics usually have a fair bit of randomness in real life so it could just have been chance that Viserys and Alicent's children were born with white hair while Rhaenyra was just unlucky.
  • The series plays fast and loose with genetics like this. Sometimes a matchup is very strong in one direction (such as Lannister/Baratheon marriages always resulting in black-haired children throughout millennia in the original show), other times we get more variance (like the Stark children, in the books, being a mix of black-haired and red-haired, with most of them actually having the "recessive" red hair). Harwyn's "hair genes" just seem to be, no pun intended, quite strong, like Baratheon genes were.
  • It would've made more sense if they had given Princess Rhaenys the dark hair she was supposed to have, as the daughter of a Targaryen father and a Baratheon mother. In the books it's more rumor that they aren't Laenor's kids because it's an open secret that he prefers men, just like with Renly and Loras in Game of Thrones. It becomes more obvious that the boys are bastards when the show decided to both cast the Velaryons as a white-haired black house (where the boys are not just white but PALE) AND decided to give Rhaenys the traditional Targaryen white-blonde hair. One could excuse the boys looking white (Laenor is mixed race, which would make Jace, Luke, and Joff 1/4 black, and there are plenty of examples of mixed-race people passing as white) but with only white-blonde hair in their lineage or generations, their dark hair is even more suspicious than their skin tone.

(Rotting) hand of the king

• Why is Viserys literally rotting away alive at the rate that he is? Does it have something to do with the cut he received from the Iron Throne? Is it some sort of curse?
  • According to the showrunner, he has a form of leprosy, which is known to wreck the body if not treated.

Aegon's dream and his heirs

• How did Jaehaerys know about Aegon's dream in order to tell Viserys about it? Assuming the show follows the book's timeline with regards to historic events, Jaehaerys was a third son of King Aenys, and was never expected to become king. Aenys would certainly have told his eldest son Aegon about the dream before his death, but Aegon was usurped and killed by his uncle King Maegor before he could take the throne, leaving it unclear how Jaehaerys heard about the dream.
  • Aegon could've easily told his wife, Rhaena, who could've told Jaehaerys. Jaehaerys once said that the best of his sister died with Aegon, implying that they had a close enough relationship that he would've confided in his sister-wife on something of this magnitude.
    • He also could have found out from his mother, Alyssa Velaryon who might've been trusted with the secret as Aenys' wife. Then I presume Jaehaerys passed it to Aemon, Baelon, and Viserys as needed. I'd also bet Maegor was aware of it due to Visenya probably having knowledge of it. If so, then Maegor could have told his half-grand-niece Aerea, who he chose as his heir in the absence of a son. Aerea then could have told Jaehaerys, as they were evidently close enough that Jaehaerys chose her as his heir as well until he had his first child.
  • If we take into account Daenerys's vision of Rhaegar mentioning the Song of Ice and Fire way back in the second book, it seems like some Targaryens felt confidence enough to share details of the prophecy with their significant others as well as their heirs. However, that vision appears only in the books, not the TV series, leaving its canonicity to HOTD unclear. And even if it is, "the song of ice and fire" that Rhaegar mentioned in the vision may turn out to mean something completely different in the book continuity.

Vhagar's living arrangements

• Where does Vhagar live when she returns to King's Landing with Aemond? Viserys says she outgrew the Dragonpit decades ago. We know from Dany's story about her dragon killing a little girl that free-range dragons pose a serious risk in urban areas.
  • It's logical to assume that Vhagar is a bit better behaved and has a greater level of control than Drogon did. After all, whereas Vhagar was raised by the dragon lords at the apex of their power in Westeros, including with dragon keepers who knew fully how to teach the dragons things like 'don't snack on the two-legged skinny things', Daenerys was ultimately a teenage girl on her own trying to train three dragons - it's a miracle that Drogon turned out as obedient and capable as he did, considering most of Daenerys' training was her (pardon the pun) winging it and hoping it'd work.
    • Ok but safety questions aside, where does she go if the dragon pit's too small? Where does she sleep?
    • The caves around Dragonstone, Driftmark, in the empty fields outside of King's Landing. To paraphrase Dany, anywhere she wants.

Why don't you just shoot... er, torch them with dragonfire?

• Why why WHY didn't Rhaenys fry Alicent, Otto, and the entire Hightower branch of the Targaryen family when she had the chance? She could've prevented the entire Dance of the Dragons.
  • Because, while this isn't something that Game of Thrones touched on, Westeros has a major taboo against kinslaying. If she killed all of them, she's murdering multiple members of her own family and the smallfolk as well as the nobility would most likely turn on her and, by default, Rhaenyra. If Maegor's reign has taught House Targaryen anything, it's that you sort of need those people to have a peaceful and sustainable reign regardless of whether or not you have a dragon. Rhaenys, probably being familiar with history, figured it was for the best to not sully her own reputation by putting herself in the same category as a Maegor Targaryen.
  • Aside from the above, the acting in the scene itself provided another answer. She was going to, but her seeing Alicent trying to shield Aegon with her own body made her change her mind. She's also a mother, and her earlier talk with Alicent gave her some newfound respect for the woman, even if they're still not on good terms. The scene is still a little weak though, in that she could have seized power right then and there and took some of them hostage without roasting anyone (either as a coup of her own, to give them to Rhaenyra as a display of loyalty, or to defuse the situation until the other lords can get up to speed and organize a new Great Council).
  • Episode 10 addresses this. She said it "wasn't her war to start." It’s shown in that episode that she isn’t completely sold on Rhaenyra at first and she might not have wanted to escalate the conflict if war wasn’t certain.
  • And there may also be a more fundamental reason than all of these: when it comes right down to it, Rhaenys might simply not have had it in her to cold-bloodedly commit a brutal mass murder, especially since (as we later see to devastating effect) dragons cannot be counted on to keep their violence wholly under control. Having already killed scores of Kingslanders by bursting through the Dragonpit's floor, Rhaenys most likely realized that unleashing Meleys' wrath in the confined, crowded space of the Dragonpit would only have raised the death toll of innocent smallfolk by hundreds or even thousands, and decided that she wanted no heavier burden on her conscience than she already carried.
  • Contrary to popular trope belief, just shooting your problem also isn't always the best way of handling it. The next episode establishes that neither the Greens nor the Blacks want to be the ones to fire the first shot and thus take the blame for starting the civil war. Vaporising the Hightowers might seem like it would solve the problem, but making that both Rhaenyra's method of securing power and essentially her first act as queen would make her look like a bloodthirsty tyrant, would give ammunition to her political enemies (not all the sympathisers of the Green faction were on that platform), and would sow the seeds of distrust that would make it difficult for her to govern and perhaps lead to further unrest and civil war down the line. (And as it happened, events later transpired to make Alicent's faction look like the ones who triggered the war.)

Laenor and the substitute guard

• The man who was killed in Laenor's stead. I get that for story purposes he lacks Nominal Importance and is a complete non-entity. But presumably the other guards at Driftmark will notice if he vanished at work one day, right? Would no one think, and perhaps even say, "Hey, that guy with vaguely the same build and coloring as Laenor went missing on the same day Laenor died. Isn't that kinda weird?"
  • Before you even get to that / more importantly: how did the plotters shift something as ludicrously obvious as a body through a busy, inhabited castle without arousing suspicion? (compare it to the scene where multiple witnesses spotted Rhaenyra, in disguise, at night). How did they manage to do the switcheroo in the tiny time window available? What made them confident that they'd get the room to themselves to perform the switcheroo?
  • Yeah, probably, but without proof, all they have is speculation. This is a world without DNA tests or any other means of identifying the body, something that Daemon used to his advantage.
  • He looked like a servant. In a world like Westeros, it's unlikely that the nobles would really pay attention if one of them just stopped showing up for work one day, unless he happened to be a personal servant of someone. As for build and colouring, it's not like Laenor stands out from the crowd in regards to either of those, he seems to have average height, and there are a lot of dark skinned people in Driftmark on this show, not just the Velaryons are like that.
    • I'm not talking about the nobles caring. I'm talking about his fellow guards caring, and then maybe bringing their suspicions to Rhaenys.
    • We're talking about a world in which smallfolk are killed all the time for the tiniest reasons: fighting over food, someone looked at someone else funny, someone fucked the wrong woman, someone got too close to a dragon, etc. And where folks leave to go questing or traveling all the time. If a guard (who would be of non-noble birth) didn't show up for his next shift, it's doubtful anyone would raise an eyebrow. He'd be considered a no-call/no-show and unless there was someone who was very close with him who suspected he wouldn't have run off, nobody would bat an eyelash.
    • Okay, so they take their suspicions to Rhaenys, then what? There have been instances in the past where Targaryens and people connected to them have vanished without a trace. What could she have done if Laenor didn't want to be found?
    • Also, you know what a good way of getting murdered in Westeros is? Poke your nose into business which doesn't concern you. This isn't a mystery story where the detective with integrity keeps plugging away at the mysteriously disappeared poor person and eventually blows the whole conspiracy wide open. You think the people who murdered a more-or-less anonymous guard or servant just to have a convenient body double will bat an eyelid at murdering another anonymous guard or servant who notices and looks like they're going to cause a stink? Anyone who had reason to suspect that Fake Laenor had been murdered in place of the real Laenor would have ample cause to keep their mouth shut and not make waves in case they ended up dead as well.
  • They almost certainly did notice the guy's absence, but the natural conclusion for the others is that the missing man was somehow involved in Laenor's murder and fled once it was committed.
  • The evidence that Laenor was murdered is stronger than that a random guard was murdered. Either way, someone has been murdered, and another disappeared. But a witness saw the beginning of Laenor and Qarl's fight and ran to summon he guard. While no one witnessed Daemon killing a lone guardsman. Carlys and Rhaenys can either accept their son died in the game of thrones, or cling on to the possibility that there's been a body switcheroo and their son has chosen to abandon them for no clear reason. Both parents are more inclined to believe the former.

Episode 10: Lucerys and Arrax

• Episode 10: the confrontation between Arrax and Vhagar ends with the latter chomping the former as well as Lucerys . Not that it may have saved him from certain death, but how did he actually kick the bucket? The shots during and after the attack don't show any human remains falling to the sea. On the other hand, Vhagar doesn't seem to gulp down her prey whole and simply rips her target apart.
  • Also, how did Arrax get bitten IN HALF? In the show, dragons have fairly widely spaced conical teeth. A shearing bite requires completely different dentition - "Carnassial teeth are modified molars (and in the case of carnivorans premolars) which are adapted to allow for the shearing (rather than tearing) of flesh to permit the more efficient consumption of meat"
  • The poor lad is hit by a creature twice the size of a blue whale going around forty to fifty miles an hour. Ludicrous Gibs is the only outcome.
  • Lucerys may also have simply been Swallowed Whole. Certainly Vhagar is big enough to have done that.

Episode 10: Lucerys vs. Aemond

• How would the Blacks have known of Aemond's supposed "murder" of Lucerys? It was high up in the sky and no one was around to witness? The best they'd have was Arrax's severed wings that fell to the sea, which at most would be evidence that something bad happened to Luce and Arrax, but not exactly what.
  • Aemond and Lucerys had a very public confrontation in the Baratheon hall, after which Borros told them to take it outside. Both leave and climb up on their dragons and fly off, one doesn't come down. Even if Lucerys had just gotten lost and flown into the sea, suspicion would still land on Aemond and he's not likely to dispel it.
  • In addition to the above, the nature of Arrax's remains also telling. His body was clearly torn to pieces, something that lightning is unlikely to do. Since there is nothing in the skies that could inflict such wounds the obvious suspect would be a giant dragon last seen chasing Arrax on behalf of it's rider, who just so happens to hate Lucerys with a passion.
  • While probably far less plausible as an excuse, the Cannibal was mentioned to be one of three wild dragons living on Dragonstone. Perhaps some might attempt to shift the blame on him, especially as young dragons like Arrax were one of his favorite prey.
  • We have to remember that pretty much no trust whatsoever between these factions exists anymore. About the only thing keeping them from killing each other is their respect and love for the late king. They are primed to automatically think the worst of each other and ready to view any hostile-seeming act on the part of the other side as a hostile act. There is no benefit of the doubt on offer here, no willingness to take a more favourable interpretation of what went down. And since, as noted, you do not exactly have to be Don Draper to find a way of spinning what happened as a deliberate attack, there is no way that anyone who supports Rhaenyra would be able to spin what happened as anything other than murder even if they wanted to.
  • Also, it may have happened high in the sky on a dark and stormy night, but the idea that no one on the ground managed to notice or witness anything about what was pretty much the first time two dragons had fought each other in the skies over Westeros in centuries is highly unlikely.

Daemon, the Crabfeeder, and Greyscale

• In the third episode, Daemon ends up drenched in the blood of the Crabfeeder after bisecting him - A man with a severe case of Greyscale, a disease so infectious that the possessions of those infected have to be burned to stop its spread. How did he not end up infected?
  • More often than not, dragon-riding Targaryens don't get greyscale or many other ailments that would kill normal people. They've got some seriously interesting immune system.
  • This could be the case in the show, but in the books, it is implied that Targaryens being immune to ailments is mere propaganda. Two of Daemon's aunts themselves died of diseases, one of them being Greyscale.
    • Yes, two of Daemon's aunts died of diseases, but they did not have a dragon at the time of their deaths or in their lifetime at all. I personally theorize that most Targaryens with living dragons have a more powerful immune system due to the 'purifying fire' metaphor they have going on.

Laenor's homosexuality and death

• Why, exactly, is this such a non-issue and why is nobody cutting Rhaenyra any slack for the fact that her husband was literally incapable of fathering a child? Nobody ever noticed that Laenor never had sex with a woman, or presumably never, since he wasn't able to even have sex with Rhaenyra when they say that they did try to conceive, BEFORE they married him to THE HEIR TO THE THRONE? Laenor was somehow the only teenaged boy in Westeros that never went to a brothel? Nobody thought that was weird?? Alicent throws in her face what a good match it was and "how hard" Viserys tried to make it for her. And to that end, was there a good reason they couldn't tell Rhaenys and Corlys that he faked his death because IT'S KIND A BIG DEAL THAT RHAENYRA HAVE SOME TRUEBORN HEIRS??? They both seemed reasonably politically expedient and would have understood.
  • That is a lot of questions that have fairly easy answers.
    • To Laenor's inability to have children, is really his or Rhaenyra's fault if he can't make babies? They did try and it just didn't happen.
    • To Laenor's homosexuality, it was something of an open secret. Most everyone (of importance) in the realm knows or knew, but sexuality seldom plays a hand in dynastic politic (I recommend looking up Philippe I, Duke of Orleans for ready confirmation of that).
    • To Laenor's parents not knowing about his faked death, I highly doubt that Corlys would allow his son to simply run away from their family's shot at the Iron Throne simply because he can't get it up in front of a girl considering that the throne is something that Corlys wanted. Much like Otto, Corlys is ambitious, and his child's happiness does not enter into the equation when that ambition has a chance to be realized.
  • Homophobia is just as much of a thing in Westeros as sexism is. Corlys and Rhaenys probably at least suspect that Laenor is gay. They don't care. Nobody does. Probably they rationalize it as "it's just a phase and Laenor will settle down with the right girl," but ultimately nobody gives two shifts about anybody's mental or physical well-being—just that Rhaenyra and Laenor pump out the correct amount of Targaryen-Velaryon heirs. This isn't a love match, it's a political alliance—one that, yes, Rhaenyra is taking a dump on with the Strong kids. Is it a big deal by our standards? No, of course not. Laenor's gay, he and Rhaenyra have an arrangement (and are at least very fond of each other), Harwin and Rhaenyra are all smitten. Is it a big deal, dangerously so, by Westerosi standards? Yeah, and we see the fallout of that.

Laena's burial at sea

• Vhagar roasts her at point-blank range, which as we see in the Loot Train Attack in GOT 7.04, turns bodies to cremated ash. What the heck was in that sarcophagus?? Ash and sand? Nothing?