Are the Targaryens fire retardant? It’s a fair question, considering Game of Thrones repeatedly showed Daenerys Targaryen escaping the flames unscathed. They don’t call her “The Unburnt” for nothing. But House of the Dragon seems to point the other way, with more than one Targaryen revealed to be susceptible to heat. So what is the truth?
We explain it all right here, with a little help from both shows and words from George RR Martin. But, be warned, the following delves into house of the dragon episode 6 and Game of Thrones spoilers, so come back now if you’re not up to date!
Are the Targaryens fire retardant?
In Game of Thrones, Daenerys was absolutely, without a doubt, fireproof. She walked unscathed from a funeral pyre, burned the khal’s temple to the ground without so much as a blister, and is even shown grabbing hot metal and sinking into a scalding bath without flinching. “Fire cannot kill a dragon,” she says, after her brother Viserys (not the same as Viserys, the king of House of the Dragon) is killed with a pot of molten gold poured over the head of her
Naturally, that might lead you to believe that the Targaryens are fireproof, although in Game of Thrones season 1, Jon Snow, who is really Aegon Targaryen, howls in pain when he holds up a lit lantern. But, according to George RR Martin, the Targaryens definitely they are not fireproof.
“TARGARYENS ARE NOT IMMUNE TO FIRE!” Martin highlighted in a question and answer session (opens in a new tab) way back in 1999 (via Time (opens in a new tab)). “The birth of Dany’s dragons was unique, magical, wonderful, a miracle. She is called The Unburnt because she walked into the flames and survived. But her brother assured her that she was not immune to that molten gold.” “. In the books, Daenerys gets her hair singed more than once, though oddly enough, she never seems to burn her skin. Perhaps she is the only exception?
House of the Dragon makes sure we know that the Targaryens aren’t fireproof either. For one thing, Viserys’s cauterized wounds are referenced in episode 1: if she were immune to fire, that would never work. Daemon then appears to be burned by a flaming arrow during the War for the Stepping Stones in episode 2, and the scar is present throughout the rest of the series.
call_me_dumb_but_i_just_realized_its_a_burn_scar from r/HouseOfTheDragon
Then there is Laena Velaryon. She may not be a Targaryen, but it is a dragon rider with Valyrian blood. But, in episode 6, Laena orders Vhagar “dracarys” when I deliver her from him goes terribly wrong. Vhagar is reluctant, but eventually does as he is told, and Laena burns to ashes.
So the answer to “are the Targaryens fire retardant?” It’s not, unless you’re the Mother of Dragons herself.
Check out our House of the Dragon release schedule to find out when the next episode is coming in your time zone, and top off your watch list with our guide to the best Netflix shows streaming right now.
