I think we can all agree that part of the reason Game of Thrones went off the boil was because the showrunners D. B. Weiss and David Benioff ran out of source material and had to fill in the blanks themselves, with mixed results. Thankfully, the book House of the Dragon is based on has already been finished, so there’s no chance of contradictions or plot holes making their way into the new show, is there… is there? Oh dear.
Yes, unfortunately, Game of Thrones fans we’re only one season into House of the Dragon, and it’s already introduced a plot hole that could come back to bite the writers in the ass later in the series run. The plot hole involves dragons and dragon riders, and forgive us because for this to make sense, we’re going to have to explain the deep lore around the Game of Thrones Dragons.
You see, every member of the Targaryen family tree has Valyrian blood, which gives them the potential to become a dragon rider. Once a Targaryen is bonded to a dragon, as Rhaenyra Targaryen is to Syrax and Daemon Targaryen is to Caraxes, that bond is seemingly unbreakable as long as the pair are alive.
This will become hugely important in House of the Dragon season 2 (or possibly in season 3, as we don’t know what the second season will cover) during Rhaenyra’s brief time in charge of King’s Landing. Rhaenyra’s rule isn’t exactly a happy one, and the people of King’s Landing rise up against the Black Queen, storming the Dragonpit and forcing the royal family to flee the Red Keep.
In the confusion, Rhaenyra’s son Joffrey Velaryon tries to escape on the back of his mother’s dragon, but as Martin writes, “Dragons are not horses, however, and they will only accept one rider during that rider’s lifetime.” As a result, Syrax bucks Joffrey off her back once they’re up in the air, sending the young prince hurtling to the ground below, where he breaks like a china cup.
So where’s the plot hole you may be wondering? Well, remember in House of the Dragon episode 7, ‘Driftmark’? In that episode, we saw Laenor Velaryon fake his own death and slip across the Narrow Sea with his lover (maybe?) Qarl Correy. This means that in the canon of the show, Laenor is still alive and well somewhere in Essos.
As a result, his dragon Seasmoke is still, technically, bound to him. Now, that’s not a problem yet, but in the books, Seasmoke was claimed by the Dragonseed Addam of Hull during the Dance of the Dragons, and leaked photos have shown Addam will play a part in the second season. So, how will Addam claim Laenor’s dragon? To quote Annie Wilkes, it doesn’t make any cock-a-doodie sense!
Now, the obvious answer is that ‘it’s not that deep, bro, it’s just a TV show,’ but there’s a more fun way of looking at this that fixes the plot hole. The books Martin writes are done from an in-world perspective, not an omniscient narrator. When the show contradicts the books, then it’s possible we’re seeing what actually happened, and the books are just people’s memories of those events. You know what that means, though. The Game of Thrones season 8 ending will still be canon, even if Martin contradicts it in the books.
Do you love the history of Westeros and think Game of Thrones is one of the best TV series of all time? Well, then check out our Game of Thrones cast and House of the Dragon cast guides. We’ve also broken down who the best Game of Thrones characters are, as well as a list of the best fantasy series of all time.