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What Happens to Drogon On 'Game of Thrones'?

by Rosie Narasaki

Last we heard, Daenerys Targaryen had no idea of the where Drogon, her favorite dragon, is. In fact, things were not looking good on the dragon front in general: Dany didn't exactly get a warm welcome when she went in to check in on them in their prison in the catacombs of the pyramid. Interestingly enough, the Season 5 premiere actually laid a lot of groundwork for plotlines to come — in fact, all that subtle dragon exposition (along with her post-coital conversation with Daario Naharis re: the fighting pits) is actually setting up what might become one of Daenerys' biggest storylines of the season. So, what will happen to Drogon? Let's delve into A Dance with Dragons to find out.

As things stand now, Drogon is still missing — after first killing a herd of goats, then an actual goatherd's daughter, he's kind of been on the lam. He'll likely stay on the lam for a good portion of the season — until the fighting pits come back into play, that is. Because what's more attractive to a dragon than a whole bunch of screaming, fire, and fresh blood? The furor of the fighting pits draws Drogon out into the open again — and even more furor ensues.

In the books, after Drogon kills a boar and destroys much of the fighting pits, a (very) brave animal handler named Harghaz does his best to kill him. Dany, of course, takes a lot of umbrage at seeing her "child" in peril, and the two of them manage to flee the scene — but not before Drogon does a pretty good number on poor Harghaz (RIP).

After their escape, Drogon takes her to his cave-lair (I guess it would only make sense that, as a dragon, he would have a cave-lair), which is actually way out in the Dothraki sea. Daenerys quickly proceeds to name the cave after her birthplace, Dragonstone, and that's pretty much where we leave things — until Jhaqo turns up, of course. Remember Jhaqo? He was one of the early defectors after Drogo's eventually-fatal wound went septic — so, in other words, there's not exactly any love lost between the two of them. And that's where we leave things at the end of A Dance with Dragons — on a cliffhanger, of course (though I'm guessing no matter how strong Jhaqo is, Drogo's namesake is capable of teaching him a pretty crispy lesson).

Now, whether or not Season 5 stays true to A Dance with Dragons' Daenerys storyline is still up to debate. After all, there's the fast-approaching issue of the TV show plot chronologically passing up the books plots, and there's also the fact that D.B. Weiss and David Benioff have been known to play fast and loose with certain storylines in the past. But hey — as expensive as the CGI may be, the image of Daenerys Targaryen riding off into the distance on her favorite dragon might just be too good to pass up.

Images: Courtesy of HBO; giphy