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what happened to the dragons in game of thrones

In the Game of Thrones TV series, almost all dragons are dead by the end, and only Drogon survives, flying off with Daenerys’ body to an unknown future.

Quick Scoop

Brief history of dragons (before the show)

  • Dragons were once common in Valyria, where the Targaryens and other Dragonlords used them to build their empire.
  • The Doom of Valyria wiped out most dragons in Essos, leaving the Targaryens as the main dragon-riding house.
  • In Westeros, the Targaryens kept dragons in the Dragonpit at King’s Landing, and over generations they grew smaller, weaker, and eventually died out.
  • There are in-universe theories that keeping them caged and possibly subtle interference from the Maesters helped drive them to extinction.

Daenerys’ three dragons in the show

From the TV audience’s point of view, dragons “come back” with Daenerys:

  • Daenerys hatches three petrified eggs in Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre: Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.
  • They grow from small shoulder-sized creatures into full war dragons capable of burning armies and fleets.

Here’s what happens to each of them:

Viserion

  • In Season 7, beyond the Wall, the Night King throws an ice spear that pierces Viserion’s neck while he’s flying.
  • Viserion crashes through the frozen lake, dies, and sinks under the ice.
  • The Night King later resurrects him as an undead ice dragon, using him to destroy a section of the Wall at Eastwatch.
  • When Arya kills the Night King at Winterfell, Viserion’s undead form collapses along with the rest of the White Walker army.

Rhaegal

  • Rhaegal fights in the Battle of Winterfell and is badly injured but survives.
  • While flying back toward Dragonstone, Euron Greyjoy’s fleet ambushes Daenerys with scorpion-mounted ballistae.
  • Rhaegal is hit by multiple giant bolts (chest, wing, neck), crashes into the sea, and dies.

Drogon

  • Drogon is the largest and most aggressive of the three, and he becomes Daenerys’ main mount in battle.
  • He survives the fighting in Meereen, beyond the Wall, and at Winterfell.
  • In the final season, he helps Daenerys burn Euron’s fleet and then devastates King’s Landing when she chooses to continue burning the city even after its surrender.
  • After Jon Snow kills Daenerys in the throne room, Drogon melts the Iron Throne with dragonfire, picks up her body, and flies east, last seen heading toward Essos.
  • By the end of the series, Drogon is the only known living dragon in the world.

So “what happened to the dragons” overall?

If you zoom out beyond just Daenerys:

  • Long ago: dragons were widespread, then dwindled after the Doom of Valyria and Targaryen civil wars like the Dance of the Dragons.
  • By the time of the main show: dragons are considered extinct, their bones and skulls are trophies under the Red Keep.
  • With Daenerys: three dragons are reborn and briefly change the balance of power in Westeros.
  • By the finale: two die violently in war, and one (Drogon) disappears into the unknown with no on-screen explanation of his eventual fate.

Forum-style speculation and fan discussion

Fans still debate a few big points:

  • Where Drogon went: Many speculate he flew to Old Valyria or Volantis, partly because Bran in the finale says he will “try and find him,” and because Essos is tied to old dragon magic.
  • Whether dragons could return again: In the lore, dragons are strongly tied to magic; some theories say magic rises and falls with them, so Drogon surviving might mean the age of dragons is not totally over.
  • House of the Dragon context: The prequel shows just how many dragons once existed and how quickly they can be wiped out by war, hinting that the species is always one brutal conflict away from near-extinction.

In simple terms: by the end of Game of Thrones, the age of dragons is basically over again, with only one dragon, Drogon, flying off the map and leaving the rest of the story to fan theories.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.