If you were shocked to learn that Santa isn’t real, you might want to sit down for this one. It turns out, the dragons on Game Of Thrones aren’t really dragons. At least according to Reddit, which is having a great and surprisingly cordial debate on whether the Mother of Dragons is actually the Mother of Wyverns. Yes, wyverns.
A Christmas day post from Redditor 4h0y1m4p1r4t3 revealed that a lot of dragons we see in pop culture are actually not dragons at all. The meme reads: “Has 4 legs plus wings. Is a dragon. Has 2 legs plus wings. Is a wyvern.” It’s this little factoid that the Redditor said “nearly ruined” the video game Skyrim in which you have to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon, for them. “Nearly.” It’s also a distinction that can help when watching Game Of Thrones since Daenerys’s dragons are also two-legged.
This isn’t a new debate over whether Game Of Thrones’ dragons actually are, in fact, dragons. Back in 2016, Nerdist wrote a PSA for fans letting them know that GoT wasn’t actually correct when it referred to Dany’s three dragons — Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion — as well, dragons. They were instead wyverns, which are described as “serpent-like creatures with wings, often having spiked tails.” As you can see in the image below, that’s certainly how GoT‘s “dragons” are drawn.
While it might be sad to hear that the Mother of Dragons is actually the mother of something else — “though, Wyvernborn has a nice ring to it,” as Redditor Floyd_Isolidis pointed out — know that wyverns are still pretty cool. According to Nerdist, the wyvern, which comes from the French word “wyvere” meaning both “viper” and “life,” represents wars. It’s also a symbol of strength, something that might come in handy in taking on the Night King.
What also will come in handy is a very informative dragon graphic that another Redditor named Monsieur_Onion posted, which shows exactly how to know the different classifications of dragons. Like say, The Hobbit‘s Smaug, which is referred to as a dragon, but is also really a wyvern. Luckily, How To Train Your Dragon‘s Toothless is actually a dragon.
Complicating this discussion over Game Of Thrones’ dragons is the fact that Dany’s babies breathe fire, something wyverns don’t usually do, according to Nerdist’s reading of medieval lore. It’s also true that wyverns are a type of dragon so for now calling Dany the Mother of Dragons isn’t incorrect, maybe just a little vague for those who think mythological classification is serious business.
So perhaps, the question of what Khaleesi’s children are needs to be answered by Game Of Thrones’ TV creators D.B. Weiss and David Benioff. Especially since it’s likely fans will see way more of those dragons – or wyverns – in the final season. Though, unfortunately, they won’t be back for the upcoming Game Of Thrones prequel so this might be the last time anyone will get to see them.
Whether they’re wyverns or dragons, though, it’s the least of the worries Daenerys fans have before Season 8. Especially with everything Emilia Clarke has been saying about the finale.
