How ‘House Of The Dragon’ Took Inspiration From ‘How To Tame Your Dragon’

True to its name, HBO’s House of the Dragon boasted a large lineup of memorable dragon companions for the ruling class of Westeros.

Many of the characters of the series own their own dragon, and the showrunners managed to differentiate the creatures from each other surprisingly well, as the dragons range in size, color and personality. Most importantly, they came across as real animals, that exist in that world, rather than flashy props.

House of the Dragon director Greg Yaitanes recently revealed that he made sure to watch one of the best instances of dragon-flight ever put to screen, Dreamworks How To Train Your Dragon. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Yaitanes explained:

“In preparation, I watched the first How to Train Your Dragon because [Oscar-winning cinematographer] Roger Deakins was the visual consultant on that. So that, cinematically, was going to be really appealing.”

Yaitanes also admitted to editing some of his dragon-flight sequences, to avoid echoing action beats from the animated film: “How to Train Your Dragon definitely covered a lot of action sequences that you didn’t want to be in comparison to.” Although, meme-makers have already had fun splicing the two properties together.

Yaitanes also said that he referenced the original Jurassic Park film, “because there was a sense of scale to the dinosaurs that I don’t think any of the subsequent films ever recaptured. [Director Steven Spielberg] knew he wanted to frame for height, and I took a lot of cues off what made the dinosaurs look so big and so interesting.”

That sense of scale can very much be seen in House of the Dragon, as one of the beasts, Vhagar, is the largest by far, and dwarfs the other dragons in scale; she’s pretty much a kaiju, who barely fits on the screen. While the other dragons have a lithe, almost snakelike appearance, Vhagar is thick and chunky, instantly distinguishable from the others.

Vhagar is also quite old, a relic from the early days of Aegon’s conquest, having belonged to one of his sister-wives, Queen Visenya.

Hence, Vhagar is viewed by the dragon-riding nobility as a considerable prize, and is tamed by young Aemond Targaryen, in a memorable sequence that sees the determined child take a leap of faith, gaining the dragon’s trust, and losing his eye in the process.

In a later scene, the teenage Aemond attempts to intimidate his royal rival, Lucerys Velaryon, who is riding Arrax, a pipsqueak compared to the others. During the scene, both boys lose control of their dragons, prompting Arrax to panic and spew flame, which results in Vhagar taking a bite out of the two, instantly killing both boy and dragon.

The dragons are neatly incorporated into the story, as living status symbols, fussed over in the way that the nobility of old might have fixated over horses, or more recently, corgis. They also match the personalities of their riders, to some degree.

Daemon Targaryen rides Caraxes, who is unusually long, deep red, and covered with sharp spikes.

Rhaenyra Targaryen rides Syrax, who is bright yellow, younger, but ferocious. The dragons are not simple palette swaps, as one might expect, but all have their own distinctive features; even their faces can be differentiated from one another.

The series also manages to depict the creatures as lethally dangerous, barely under their rider’s control, but with a certain flash of intelligence.

Much like How To Tame Your Dragon, the dragons seem almost akin to cats, predators who are choosing to ally themselves with humans, but could easily turn and take a bite out of their riders, if they decided. They seem to be imbued with more life and personality than Daenerys Targaryen’s pets.

The series finale sees Daemon Targaryen attempt to russle up some more dragons for his family, as they will prove crucial in the upcoming war; Aemon taming the gargantuan Vhagar was seen as a considerable win, like acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Daemon enters Dragonstone to search for the riderless dragons who dwell there, and comes across Vermithor, who is distinguished by jumbled rows of jagged teeth. Surely, the formidable creature will play a major part in the upcoming Dance of Dragons.

House of the Dragon’s flying scenes proved deeply compelling; thankfully, there will be plenty more dragon action to come in season 2.