Warning! This article contains SPOILERS about George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.

House Of The Dragon season 2 will inevitably bring devastation and death, reminding viewers of some of the saddest scenes in Game of Thrones. Both shows are notorious for shocking twists and crushing heartbreak. House of the Dragon season 1 establishes itself as a show riddled with catastrophe as early as episode 1, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” with Aemma Arryn’s gruesome death at the hands of her husband, Viserys Targaryen. The show reaches the level of Game of Thrones in season 1, episode 10, “The Black Queen,” when Aemond Targaryen murders his nephew, Lucerys Velaryon.

The Game of Thrones franchise is all too familiar with horrifying tragedies — from the massacre in season 3, episode 9, “The Rains of Castamere,” to the loss of life in season 6, episode 9, “Battle Of The Bastards,” and episode 10, “The Winds of Winter.” With House Of The Dragon season 2 quickly approaching, the show will reach these epic heights of tragedy and take them even further. Beginning with the infamous Blood and Cheese, the Targaryens will endure catastrophe after catastrophe, propelling the narrative forward.

House Of The Dragon Season 2’s War Will Lead To Dragon Deaths

The Dance Of Dragons Is Notorious For Bringing About The Extinction Of Valyrian Dragons

The impending doom for House Targaryen in House Of The Dragon season 2 will be so calamitous that viewers will likely reminisce on heartbreaking scenes from Game of Thrones. Lucerys Velaryon’s death in season 1, episode 10, “The Black Queen,” officially starts the Targaryen civil war. However, it is also significant because the death of his dragon, Arrax, marks the beginning of a slew of dragon deaths. The untimely demise of Targaryen and Velaryon dragons will lead to their extinction until Daenerys Targaryen revives magic by hatching dragon eggs in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 10, “Fire and Blood.”

Beloved dragons like Syrax, Caraxes, and Sunfyre will all meet brutal ends. Even a dragon as fierce and as powerful as Vhagar will perish. The heart of the civil war in House Of The Dragon is the rightful claim to the iron throne, but its soul includes the dragons who fight and die. Dragons are the epicenter; the war cannot progress without them as the most powerful weapon. While Targaryens have used their dragons for good, such as Daenerys defeating cruel slave masters, they also use dragons for total destruction, and the Dance of the Dragons certainly proves that.

House Of The Dragon Will Make Viewers Relive Game Of Thrones‘ Saddest Moments

Viewers Will Remember Daenerys Targaryen And Her Three Dragons: Drogon, Viserion, And Rhaegal

Game of Thrones has many agonizing moments, but the brutality in House Of The Dragon season 2 will remind viewers specifically of Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons. In Game of Thrones season 7, episode 6, “Beyond The Wall,” Viserion is unexpectedly killed by the Night King. Viewers sympathize with the devastation Daenerys endures. The heartbreak in her eyes makes Viserion’s death one of the saddest moments in the show. When viewers watch Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon, Meleys, fall to their deaths in season 2, they might remember Daenerys’ haunted eyes while looking at Rhaenys’ scorched body.

Rhaegal’s death in Game of Thrones season 7, episode 4, “The Last Of The Starks,” is shocking, but still tragic. His death took viewers by surprise, and Jacaerys Velaryon and his dragon’s deaths during the Battle of the Gullet may do the same. Both events are crucial turning points. Rhaegal’s death, along with Missandei’s, enables Daenerys’ madness. Her grief is too much to endure, so she burns King’s Landing. Jacaerys’s death empowers Rhaenyra to take her throne by force. Together with Daemon and their dragons, they conquer King’s Landing, turning the tide of the war toward Team Black.

Most Of The Dragons Will Die Before The Game Of Thrones Prequel Is Finished

Only Four Dragons Will Live To See The End of The Dance In House Of The Dragon

The Dance of the Dragons brings about the extinction of dragons in Fire and Blood, and will surely do the same in House of the Dragon. Meleys will most likely die in season 2, but there will be more dragon deaths in future seasons. The Storming of the Dragonpit will eliminate five dragons, including Rhaenyra’s Syrax and Helaena’s Dreamfyre. Viewers can also expect to lose Jacaery, his dragon Vermax, and Viserys II during the Battle of the Gullet. The Battle of the Gullet is surprising but devastating for Rhaenyra, who believes two of her sons are lost to her forever.

Only four dragons survive the Dance of the Dragons: Rhaena Targaryen’s dragon, Morning, who is only born during the Dance of the Dragons; Sheepstealer, a wild dragon tamed by a character named Nettles, Cannibal, an unclaimed wild dragon, and Silverwing, whose rider was initially on Team Black before switching to Team Green. The Targaryen civil war is so devastating that every dragon hatched after the war is sickly and does not survive. The Dance of Dragons does not only tear House Targaryen apart. Its most significant impact is the end of dragons. House Targaryen survives, but dragons do not.

House of the Dragon season 2 will have many devastating twists and turns, reminding viewers of Viserion and Rhaegal’s deaths in Game of Thrones. Additional scenes may compel viewers to remember other tragedies, such as Ned Stark’s beheading in season 1, episode 8, “The Pointy End,” and the lives lost during season 8, episode 3, “The Long Night.” However, House of the Dragon already has a strong premise that stands on its own. Game of Thrones is the primary narrative, but its prequel has its own impact that stands alone from the beloved original show.