Why Doesn’t Aemond Targaryen Have a Dragon?

The time skip between episodes 5 and 6 of House of the Dragon allowed us to meet the children of both Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen as young kids that are still growing and learning. Of course, we saw a scene wherein Jacaerys Velaryon was learning how to control his dragon, Vermax, as the other kids made fun of Aemond for not having his own dragon. So, why doesn’t Aemon Targaryen have a dragon?

Aemon Targaryen doesn’t have a dragon because he was never bonded with an egg during his time as an infant. There also weren’t any other dragons that he could claim during the time of his childhood. Nevertheless, he will eventually claim Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world at that time.

The fact that Aemond didn’t have a dragon was one of the focus points of episode 6 of House of the Dragon, as the other children made fun of him for that and even gave him a pig as his dragon. It was also the fact that he was not a dragonrider that made him quite curious about these creatures in the hopes that he could one day have his own dragon.

Why Doesn’t Aemond Have A Dragon?

During the events of the first five episodes of House of the Dragon, we saw that Alicent Hightower had given birth to her children. Of course, the first one was Aegon II, who was already around three or four years old by the time episode 5 ended. However, she also ended up producing more children. The second was a girl named Helaena, and the third one was a son named Aemond.

Meanwhile, because there are ten years between episodes 5 and 6, Alicent’s children were given time to grow into their pre-teen years. In fact, we also saw Rhaenyra’s children as well, as both Jacaerys and Lucerys were training alongside their uncles Aegon II and Aemond. Of course, the children were first seen together in the dragonpit, where they had dragon training.

While in the dragonpit, the children were observing Jace, who was training how to control his dragon, Vermax, who was still quite young. During that time, Aemond was obviously jealous because it was said that he was the only one of the children present there that didn’t have a dragon. And the boys even played a prank on him by presenting him with a pig they called the Pink Dread as his “dragon.”

Of course, because he wanted a dragon, Aemond snuck into the dragonpit, where he was able to meet a large dragon that nearly killed him. When he was taken to his mother after the Kingsguard found him, he told Queen Alicent that he only entered the dragonpit because he was made fun of for not having a dragon. So, doesn’t Aemond have his own dragon?

The reason why Aemond didn’t have his own dragon was the fact that he wasn’t able to claim one due to the fact that there were no dragons that he could have claimed at that time. Most of the dragons already had their own riders, and probably the only ones that didn’t have riders were the wild ones or the ones that were in Dragonstone.

On the other hand, Aegon II has his own dragon because he was able to claim Sunfyre quite early in his life. Meanwhile, by royal decree, due to the fact that Princess Rhaenyra was the heir to the Iron Throne, all of her children were given dragon eggs when they were still in their cradle so that they would bond with these dragons. That’s why both Jace and Luke, while still very young, already had their own dragons.

Meanwhile, because Aemond didn’t belong to the line of heirs to the Iron Throne, he didn’t have a dragon egg that was given to him while he was still in his cradle. The only way for him to have a dragon was for him to claim one that didn’t have its own rider. At that time, almost all of the dragons already had their own riders.

Will Aemond Have His Own Dragon?

While Aemond Targaryen didn’t have his own dragon during the character’s debut as a young boy during the events of episode 6 of House of the Dragon, he is going to eventually claim his own dragon later in his life. And the best part was that he was going to claim the largest dragon in the world at that time—Vhagar.

The first time we saw Vhagar in House of the Dragon was when Laena Velaryon was seen riding the massive dragon that looked like a jumbo jet due to its sheer size. She was riding Vhagar while flying together with Daemon Targaryen, who was on Caraxes. It seemed that they were on a visit to the Free Cities while showcasing the awesome might of their dragons.

However, we also saw in episode 6 that Laena committed suicide when she struggled to give birth to her third child. She ordered Vhagar to burn her alive, and that meant that the massive dragon no longer had a rider bonded with it.

This could be the opening that Aemond needs to claim his own dragon, as Vhagar is one of the few dragons in the world that no longer had a rider bonded to it. Nevertheless, we are not sure when Aemond will claim Vhagar as his own, but we are quite sure of the fact that he and the massive dragon will be forces of nature in the Dance of the Dragons, especially with Aemond being a much more capable fighter than his older brother Aegon II.

Those who also know their history would know that Aemond is Vhagar’s last rider as the large yet old dragon had a duel with Daemon and Caraxes during the Dance of the Dragons. This duel ended up in a four-way death that saw both riders and their dragons perishing in what was quite possibly the best fight of the Targaryen civil war.