Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4.
It’s no secret that Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon draw inspiration from real-life history, particularly the Middle Ages. Yet one of the shows’ biggest nods to true events – dragons as a metaphor for Weapons of Mass Destruction – is decidedly more contemporary.
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George R.R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series on which Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based, highlighted the dragons/WMD subtext in a 2011 Vulture interview. “Dragons are the nuclear deterrent… But is that sufficient?” he said. “These are the kind of issues I’m trying to explore. The United States right now has the ability to destroy the world with our nuclear arsenal, but that doesn’t mean we can achieve specific geopolitical goals. Power is more subtle than that. You can have the power to destroy, but it doesn’t give you the power to reform, or improve, or build.”
It’s fascinating stuff, however, we’ve never seen it fully realized on the small screen – until now. Indeed, with its last four episodes, House of the Dragon has finally delivered on Martin’s WMD metaphor in ways that Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 didn’t.
How Game of Thrones’ Approached the Dragons/WMD Metaphor
In fairness to Game of Thrones, its ability to engage with Martin’s WMD metaphor was limited by its scarcity of dragons. In keeping with the A Song of Ice and Fire canon, the show’s eight-season run featured just three of the winged beasties, all (almost) exclusively under Daenerys Targaryen’s command. As such, there’s not much scope to get into the “nuclear arms” race of it all. Even so, there’s at least some commentary in Game of Thrones about the power imbalance created when only one side in a conflict has warhead-level weapons. Daenerys using her dragons to flatten King’s Landing in Season 8 touches on Martin’s “creation versus destruction” point, too.
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So, if nothing else, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss leave us in no doubt that, whether it’s firebreathers or nukes, might doesn’t make right. But the deterrent aspect of Martin’s metaphor is almost completely absent. We never truly get the sense that Daenerys will rule unopposed thanks to her dragons, because we barely see her ruling. Sure, she’s technically the boss of Slaver’s Bay in Seasons 4 to 6. Yet she’s constantly challenged by the uncowed locals. As Martin rightly observed, so much of nuclear weapons’ effectiveness comes from the fear they evoke; Daenerys’ dragons don’t quite have the same effect.
House of the Dragon Season 1 Built on Game of Thrones’ Dragon/WMD Metaphor
Fortunately, House of the Dragon Season 1 edges the franchise closer to what Martin had in mind. From the jump, we appreciate that dragons have devastating, history-altering potential, even though we never see it firsthand. In Episode 1, King Viserys I Targaryen provides a handy recap of Westeros’ backstory: the dragons are what allowed his house to conquer Westeros and maintain its hold over the realm. After all, nobody wants to go toe-to-toe with a dragon and its rider.
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Throughout the rest of Season 1, this “dragons as a nuclear deterrent” is baked into the subtext. Viserys even has an Oppenheimer-esque moment of reflection, questioning the Targaryen dynasty’s decision to unleash dragons on the world. At the same time, he can’t exactly give them up. Otherwise, what’s to stop the other Great Houses from mounting a rebellion? So, the WMD metaphor is definitely there – but even so, you could conceivably miss it.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Runs Back the Cold War
That’s not the case in House of the Dragon Season 2, though. Unless you know nothing about world history post-1945, you’re not missing the dragon/WMD overlap here. Indeed, Episodes 1-3 play out as Westeros’ answer to the Cold War. There’s a tangible sense that the likes of Rhaenyra and Rhaenys Targaryen and Otto and Alicent Hightower know all too well that letting their dragons loose (like launching warheads) is a point of no return. Heck, Rhaenyra says as much in Episode 3.
It’s why House of the Dragon Season 2 starts slowly with saber rattling and proxy conflicts, not full-scale war. The realm’s cooler heads appreciate that dragon-on-dragon combat could result in the same mutually assured destruction that kept the US and Soviets in check back in the day. If the nukes-on-wings run riot, chances are there’ll be hardly anything left (and nobody left to rule it).
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That’s also why, when the Green and Black Targaryen camps at long last “fire” their living arsenals in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4, it’s suitably apocalyptic. Daenerys torching King’s Landing was one thing, a multi-dragon aerial slugfest is another entirely. Soldiers crumble to ash. The earth is scorched black. True, there’s no radiation, but the visuals are clearly meant to evoke what happens when you split the atom. What’s more, it’s evident there’s no going back. The fiery holocaust we’ve dodged in our world (for now) is coming to Westeros.
And that’s arguably showrunner Ryan Condal and his team’s biggest achievement with House of the Dragon Season 2’s first four episodes: dragon fighting is now more than just about spectacle. they’re a fully realized WMD metaphor. Yes, seeing these overgrown lizards mix it up is awesome. However, it’s forever tainted by our knowledge that each fight will bring the Targaryens (and Westeros itself) closer to annihilation. In effect, it blows up House of the Dragon‘s blockbuster appeal – but then, what do you expect from a WMD metaphor?
House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently airing on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.
