Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission at no expense to you. Affiliate links are marked with the asterisks (*)
After escaping King’s Landing, Aegon and Larys have been on quite the journey on House of the Dragon Season 3. They finally got to Rook’s Rest in Episode 4, and it’s Aegon has had the chance to see the body of his dragon, Sunfyre.
As Aegon lay with Sunfyre in mourning, he suddenly sat up and told Larys that Sunfyre is still alive. This is a dragon who has been dead for weeks, so nobody believes him. It’s not even like anyone realized that Aegon is King Aegon II.
I half expected Sunfyre to make some sort of move to show if he is still alive or not, but there was nothing. It’s just Aegon’s word that we have, but is it possible that Sunfyre survived the fall?
Sunfyre Survives in the Books
In the novel, Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin*, Sunfyre does survive. He’s badly injured, and he can’t fly, but he survives.
At first, the dragon survives on the bodies of the soldiers left behind. Then others are tasked with bringing him sheep until he’s able to recover.
In fact, Aegon’s dragon is involved in an important storyline that involves Rhaenyra. He is also involved in a storyline that involves Baela’s dragon, Moondancer. I don’t want to get into too many details to avoid any spoilers for those who haven’t read the book and want to, but Sunfyre makes it close to the end of the Dance. He does eventually die of wounds sustained in a later fight.
Could Sunfyre Survive on House of the Dragon?
What about on House of the Dragon*, though? Everyone believes that Sunfyre is dead and decaying. He certainly looks dead at first glance.
He’s no longer the beautiful gold that shines in the sun as he was when we saw him at Rook’s Rest. Yet, Aegon is sure that Sunfyre is still alive.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out that these dragons can hibernate in a way. Maybe Sunfyre is conserving all of his energy as he heals. Maybe he was waiting for Aegon to return to him, possibly hoping to find out that his rider is still alive.
We know that dragons and their rider have a special bond. It’s why I thought the whole thing of leaving Tessarion with the Greens during House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3 was a dumb way to show they didn’t have the real Daeron. Aegon may feel something from Sunfyre while others can’t.
Time will tell. With the current situation that Aegon is in, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sunfyre turns out to still be alive and find a way to save his rider, so they can take back King’s Landing together.
House of the Dragon* airs on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
