House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” debunks a big theory about Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons. For the most part, House of the Dragon‘s timeline means it is very much its own thing and largely separate from Game of Thrones. However, this is dealing with House Targaryen’s history, so there’s inevitably some impact, which has happened in season 2.
Season 2, episode 3 in particular connects to Game of Thrones. In part, that’s because it brings back Aegon the Conqueror’s dream of White Walkers – his song of ice and fire – which continues to use that prophecy to change Targaryen history. But there’s also confirmation of Daenerys’ dragon eggs in House of the Dragon, which appeared in season 2, episode 3 (as confirmed by director Geeta V. Patel). That’s a notable change, and debunks a big theory.
Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs In House Of The Dragon Debunk A Theory About Their Origin
Rhaena Having The Dragon Eggs Isn’t What Had Been Expected
Daenerys’ dragon eggs appearing in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 mean the biggest theory about their origin cannot be true. Previously, it had been speculated that Dany’s dragon eggs were the ones stolen by Elissa Farman, a noblewoman and lover of Queen Rhaena Targaryen (not to be confused with the Rhaena in House of the Dragon), who took three eggs from the hatchery on Dragonstone in 54 AC (around 75 years before House of the Dragon season 2).
Elissa stole the three eggs in order to eventually trade them for a ship, as she wanted to sail around the world on new adventures. The fact she is specifically referenced as having three eggs is a key point of the theory, as obviously that’s how many Daenerys receives, and it is never explained what ultimately happened to the stolen eggs. It is said that Elissa sold them to the sealord of Braavos, but otherwise their fates are unknown. Elissa herself is believed to have reached Asshai, and Game of Thrones revealed Dany’s eggs came from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai.
Building on Daenerys’ dragon eggs being the ones Elissa Farman stole, it has also been theorized they came from Dreamfyre, the dragon who, in House of the Dragon, is bonded with Helaena Targaryen.
It’s not a huge amount of evidence, but it was the closest possible thing all the same. Marketing for Fire & Blood had claimed it would reveal the origin of Daenerys’ dragon eggs, which further led to the theory, though George R.R. Martin [via Not A Blog comments] said this came from the publisher, not him, and that what’s in the book is all “possible answers, not meant to be definitive.”
Building on Daenerys’ dragon eggs being the ones Elissa Farman stole, it has also been theorized they came from Dreamfyre, the dragon who, in House of the Dragon, is bonded with Helaena Targaryen. Tellingly, Dreamfyre was bonded with Elissa’s lover, Rhaena, at the time the eggs were stolen, and had been noted on multiple occasions to have produced clutches of eggs, making her a strong candidate. Dreamfyre’s appearance in House of the Dragon season 1 made it seem more plausible, as she looked a lot like Dany’s dragons.
House of the Dragon shuts all of this down. Since the dragon eggs are ones from Dragonstone at the time of Rhaenyra, then obviously they aren’t the ones stolen by Elissa Farman. Similarly, they come from Rhaenyra’s dragon, Syrax, rather than Dreamfyre.
Does House Of The Dragon’s Reveal About Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs From GOT Make Sense?
How Does This Fit With Daenerys Receiving Them In Game Of Thrones?
In terms of House of the Dragon‘s story in isolation, introducing Daenerys’ dragon eggs does make sense. There’s certainly logic in having eggs generally appear, and technically it doesn’t break canon, although this reveal does not yet apply to the books. It’s also thematically quite fitting: Rhaenyra says that, if everything fails, Rhaena and the eggs “will bear our hope for the future.” Since Daenerys brings dragons back with these very eggs, that is quite fitting.
[Rhaena] has long wanted a dragon – and the fourth egg of the bunch will likely hatch to become hers – but she is also the last known dragonrider in the books as it stands.
It’s even more appropriate that it happened with Rhaena. She has long wanted a dragon – and the fourth egg of the bunch will likely hatch to become hers – but she is also the last known dragonrider before the Targaryen dragons all die out. Her being the last to ride a dragon, and also carrying the eggs that will lead to a) the first dragonrider in almost a century and a half, and b) the real last ever dragonrider (again, as it stands), does have a lot of weight to it.
There are some major gaps in the story, however. This only reveals the very beginning of Daenerys’ dragon eggs. How they get from the Vale to the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai, where Illyrio Mopatis says they are from, is another matter entirely, one that could span over a century in its telling, and probably not something House of the Dragon will be able to confirm.
New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO and Max.
