Regarding their capacity to mount dragons, the Targaryens in “House of the Dragon” will differ significantly from those in “Game of Thrones”.
Regarding their reputations as dragonriders, the Targaryens in “House of the Dragon” will differ significantly from those in “Game of Thrones”. The history of House Targaryen in Westeros is closely entwined with their relationship with dragons, as the animals served as the main impetus for their initial conquest of the realm. Even though the Targaryens brought the dragons to Westeros after the Doom of Valyria, there are other great houses that have a track record of successfully bonding with them.
In the timeline of Game of Thrones, dragons were a significant wonder, but this won’t be the case in “House of the Dragon“. At least 17 dragons of various shapes and sizes will appear in the HBO prequel series during the Targaryen civil war, though by the end of the fighting, nearly all will have died. The Targaryens’ strong bond with dragons will be on full display during “House of the Dragon“, despite the creatures’ strength being used against one another in the “Dance of the Dragons”, unlike “Game of Thrones”, which only featured three dragons as the miraculous “children” of Daenerys.
Despite the fact that House Targaryen was still almost exclusively associated with dragons, one significant distinction between the family in “House of the Dragon” and the one in “Game of Thrones” is that there are other dragonriders in the prequel. Being able to ride a dragon was viewed as a huge indicator of being a true Targaryen in Game of Thrones, but this wasn’t exactly accurate in the events of “House of the Dragon“. The House Velaryon will produce some notable dragonriders in addition to the Targaryens. The Velaryon bastard Addam of Hull from ‘Dance of the Dragons’ will demonstrate that Targaryen blood is not necessary to tame dragons, despite the fact that many of the Velaryon dragonriders did have one Targaryen parent, such as Rhaenyra’s husband Laenor.
Reasons House Velaryon is able to ride dragons
However, Addam Velaryon was likely able to ride a dragon because of the family’s ties to Old Valyria. Most members of House Velaryon who rode dragons could do so due to their significant Targaryen blood. Due to their shared Valyrian blood, the Velaryons and Targaryens have silver hair, which explains why they have remained close allies throughout Westerosi history. The Targaryens were the dragonlords in Valyria, but the Velaryons were not because their specialty had always been ships and water control. There were no expectations that House Velaryon would produce any dragonriders who were not also half-Targaryen.
After many Targaryens and Velaryons die in the “Dance of the Dragons”, it will be crucial for House Velaryon members to be able to ride dragons. The “black” party, who support Rhaenyra, looks for “dragonseed,” a term that was primarily used to describe Targaryen bastards but also briefly Velaryon bastards, when they need more riders for their dragons. This is where Alyn and the dragonrider Addam of Hull were discovered, the two of them “officially” descended from Laenor, though Corlys Velaryon is strongly hinted to be their real father.
Nettles, Hugh Hammer, and Ulf the White, who are not thought to be of Valyrian ancestry, are also skilled dragonriders, proving that not only those with Velaryon or Targaryen blood will be able to fly the creatures in “House of the Dragon“. Regardless of whether they are descendants of House Velaryon or not, the Targaryens in “House of the Dragon” differ significantly from those in Game of Thrones in that they are not the only family to own dragonriders. Unlike “Game of Thrones”, where only the undead Night King rode a dragon, “House of the Dragon” will feature a number of characters who do not bear the Targaryen surname.