House of the Dragon: Which Dragon Could Defeat Vaghar? According to Books

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 gave Vagar his most epic and brutal moment yet. The episode marks the halfway point of the season and finally throws the dragons into a bloody battle where thousands end up dead, including a dragon and a warrior princess. The death of Rhaenys Targaryen is a moment full of pain, fire, and blood, but it is also a reminder that wars are cruel and that no one is going to come out of this unscathed. After that, things are only going to get more violent in the series, and a plan will have to be carried out to stop the threat posed by Aemond Targaryen and his enormous dragon, Vaghar.

House of the Dragon: Which Dragon Could Defeat Vaghar?

Meleys and Rhaenys Targaryen (played by Eve Best) were experienced in battle, they were warriors and the princess was much wiser than Aemond, the problem is that Vaghar is the largest dragon in the entire kingdom, and his holes-ridden wings are a souvenir of the battles he has seen, and that gives him a huge advantage over the others, plus Aemond is vengeful and maybe a bit psychopathic (whose feud with his own brother could pose a big problem for the Greens). For now, Rhaenyra has more dragons than the Greens, who have Aemond’s Vaghar, Aegon II’s Sunfyre, Daeron’s Tessarion, and Helaena’s Dreamfyre, but this is a situation where numbers won’t necessarily guarantee victory.

Vaghar is not only big, but he is also an old dragon who has participated in epic battles, and that is what makes him so powerful. Vaghar has already killed two dragons so far in the series, Rhaenys’ Meleys and Lucerys’ Arrax, but there are still some who could take him on. In terms of size and experience, the dragon that could defeat Vaghar is Caraxes, which belongs to Daemon Targaryen (who in chapter 4 is still in Harrenhal and keeps having terrifying visions. Vermithor, which belonged to King Jaehaerys, is the second largest dragon, but it currently has no rider and is also not very experienced in battle.

Caraxes is also known as the Blood Wyrm and was formerly owned by Aemon, the eldest son of Jaehaerys Targaryen and father of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. Like Vaghar, Caraxes is also experienced in battle and is not one of the youngest dragons, making him one of the Blacks’ greatest weapons in the series. Rhaenyra’s Syrax, Baela’s Moondancer, the currently riderless Seasomke, Jacaerys’ Vermax, and Rhaenyra’s younger sons Tyraxes and Stormcloud are all part of the Blacks’ “army” but none of them compare in size or experience to Vaghar.

What Happens to Vaghar in George RR Martin’s Books?

There are spoilers for future House of the Dragon events here. In the book, Daemon Targaryen is the one who finally confronts his nephew, Aemond. Their two dragons fight in the air, and at one point, Daemon leaps off his dragon, climbs onto Vaghar, and attacks his nephew, using his Valyrian sword Dark Sister to stab him in the eye. Aemond is killed there, and the dragons fall into a lake, where Carxes manages to survive, but Vaghar drowns. Daemon falls as well, but his body is never found, giving rise to rumors that he managed to survive.