House of the Dragon: Are the Targaryens Really Fireproof?

• Daenerys Targaryen had a special gift in “Game of Thrones” that made her immune to flames.
• How is the fire resistance of the Targaryens in “House of the Dragon”?
• Netzwelt explains why not all of the blood of Valyria is protected against the flames.

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The Targaryens have always had a special connection to fire through their dragons. However, the spin-off series “House of the Dragon” differs from the parent series “Game of Thrones” in one crucial way. Why did the Targaryens of Viserys I’s time react differently to fire than Daenerys?

Where does the assumption that all Targaryens are fireproof come from?

Watching “House of the Dragon” requires adjusting to a new fact: Targaryens can be killed by flames, both willingly and involuntarily. It’s even their favorite burial method. But why are many viewers surprised that the descendants of Valyria are suddenly no longer immune to fire? The answer is very simple. Daenerys and the parent series “Game of Thrones” are “to blame”.

Alongside the dragons, it is the iconic identifying feature of Daenerys Targaryen in “Game of Thrones”. As “Unburnt”, she seems immune to all forms of heat, flame, and fire from whatever source. Scenes that prove this abound in the books and series. Although in the books, as well confirmed by author George RR Martin, Daenerys’ fire resistance isn’t quite as ultimate. At least their hair burns there or gets charred. Therefore, in the illustrations that follow the books, after the burial of her husband Khal Drogo and the birth of their 3 dragons in the fire, she is unharmed but completely bald.

Countless times, Daenerys withstood the flames unscathed

We get a first small impression and prediction of their abilities in the first few episodes. When Daenerys touches the dragon eggs she was given, which are still stone and which are being heated in a hot pot, her hands remain unharmed and free of any burn marks. This is repeated several seasons later when Dany returns to Vaes Dothrak. She takes over the entire Dothraki khalasar by burning their leaders, knocking over the hot braziers, and emerging from the fire again unharmed.

The most impressive display of their special abilities, as Martin attests unique to the Targaryens, is still the birth of their dragons at the stake. And while they share the same lineage, her brother Viserys is not immune to fire like she is. His execution by Khal Drogo and molten gold shows this clearly, and Dany notes “Fire cannot kill a dragon”.

The Not-So-Fireproof Targaryens from “House of the Dragon”

Unlike their descendant, however, the Targaryens of “House of the Dragon” are not as blessed and suffer the same injuries from fire as any mere mortal. Her skin and body are not immune to the intense heat and will burn like anyone else’s. Be it retrospectively after the death and burial of a Targaryen or while still alive.

In Episode 6 of “House of the Dragon” we see how Laena Velaryon prefers death by the fire of her dragon Vhagar to the painful passing away in childbirth. In pain, she orders him to banish her. The fact that she’s half Targaryen and all Valyrian doesn’t help.

However, how her husband Daemon survives the flames that Vhagar spews into the air while riding the dragon together cannot be said with certainty. Either they had cooled down a lot by the time Daemon flew through them with Caraxes, or Daemon was hiding from them low in the saddle. However, that very rarely certain Targaryens possess “small fire immunity” is still in the realm of possibility, as long as nothing to the contrary is proven.

That’s why only Daenerys Targaryen is fireproof

As we later learn in “Game of Thrones” and the books, Daenerys is part of the Azor Ahai prophecy. Much more her role in this prophecy than the mere fact that she is of Valyrian blood protects her from fire.

The birth of their children was a miracle in the world of “Game of Thrones” and a unique, magical occurrence, as Martin himself explains in an interview. Her significant role in history was highlighted by fate with resistance to the flames. But this is far from true of all Targaryens.

While Rhaenyra, Daemon, Viserys, and all of their children are pure or half Targaryens, they cannot possess Daenerys’ fire immunity. Even if the myth of “fire-loving Targaryens, who cannot be harmed by heat”, is often spun by the family and probably also by the common people.

The Targaryens have a special reputation, and impersonating and portraying themselves as living dragons underpins their reign and dynasty. This sometimes degenerates into a menacing fascination with fire. The Mad King had these and wanted to burn all of King’s Landing to ashes at the end of his reign. Another candidate who believed himself immune to fire was Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen. He drank a pitcher of wildfire, imagining it would harm him and turn him into a dragon. Playing with fire should only be left to Daenerys.

In fact, as we can see from Laena, all Targaryens are just as vulnerable to fire as any human, including that of their own dragons. Only the Mother of Dragons can officially hold the title of the Unburned and possess unique magical fireproof abilities. So “Fantasy” that all Targaryens are immune to fire from birth, “House of the Dragon” and “Game of Thrones” are not either.