Among the many iconic moments in HBO’s Game of Thrones, few were as emotionally jarring as the scene where Daenerys Targaryen chains up two of her beloved dragons—Rhaegal and Viserion—in the dark catacombs beneath Meereen.
To many viewers, it felt like a betrayal of her identity. Daenerys, the Mother of Dragons, choosing to imprison her own children? The decision was bold, unexpected, and symbolically rich. But this moment wasn’t simply for dramatic effect. It marked a turning point in Daenerys’s arc, a moment driven by fear, responsibility, and the burden of power.
The Dragons as Symbols of Power—and Danger
From the moment Daenerys emerged from the flames with her newly hatched dragons, she became more than a mere political figure—she became a living myth. Her dragons were the ultimate source of power, awe, and fear. They granted her legitimacy as a Targaryen and commanded respect from allies and enemies alike.
Yet that power was inherently unstable. Dragons are not controllable pets; they are apex predators, born of fire and magic, answering only to their instincts and, on occasion, their mother’s command. As they grew, so did their independence and destructiveness. The same beasts that won her loyalty and devotion could just as easily become her downfall.
The tension between awe and fear is crucial. In Game of Thrones, power always comes with a cost—and Daenerys’s dragons embodied that cost vividly.
The Catalyst: A Child’s Death
The immediate trigger for Daenerys’s decision was a horrifying event: Drogon, the largest and most unruly of the three dragons, killed a young girl outside the city of Meereen. Although Daenerys had been aware of her dragons’ growing aggression, this incident made the danger real and personal. For a ruler who had positioned herself as a liberator and protector of the innocent, this tragedy was deeply unsettling.
Her advisors warned her that the dragons were becoming a liability. Citizens began to question whether they were safe under her rule. Her political legitimacy—already shaky in the unstable city of Meereen—depended on her ability to ensure order. When her dragons became a threat to that order, she faced an impossible choice: assert control over them or risk losing everything.
Leadership vs. Identity
One of the most fascinating tensions in Daenerys’s arc is the conflict between her identity and her responsibilities. She believes she was “born to rule,” that she is destined to reclaim the Iron Throne. But she also wants to rule justly—to “break the wheel” of oppression and usher in a new era.
Locking up her dragons was a sacrifice of personal connection for the sake of public stability. As their mother, the decision pained her. But as a ruler, she believed it was necessary. This internal conflict is a hallmark of her journey: she constantly balances the fire of her heritage with the ethics of her chosen path.
Her decision wasn’t just practical; it was symbolic. It showed she was willing to restrain her own power to protect her people—a trait that few rulers in Westeros ever displayed.
The Isolation of Power
Another important aspect to consider is how lonely leadership can be. Daenerys often struggled with trust, betrayal, and cultural alienation throughout her reign in Essos. Her dragons were more than just weapons; they were her only true connection to her past, her family, and her destiny. Locking them away didn’t just signify control—it deepened her sense of isolation.
The dragons were also a physical manifestation of her Targaryen bloodline. By chaining them, she was in some ways denying a part of herself. This sacrifice foreshadows many of the difficult decisions she makes later in the series, particularly as her path grows darker and more morally ambiguous.
A Moment of Maturity—or a Misstep?
Some interpret Daenerys’s decision as a sign of maturity—a willingness to accept the burdens of leadership and prioritize others’ safety over her personal desires. From this perspective, it’s one of her most responsible acts.
Others see it as the beginning of a downward spiral. In relinquishing part of her identity, some argue she lost an essential emotional anchor. Without the dragons, she felt weaker, more unsure of herself. This insecurity may have contributed to the increasing paranoia and absolutism we see in the final seasons.
In truth, the decision is complex and layered. It reflects both strength and vulnerability, growth and loss. That ambiguity is part of what makes it such a powerful moment in the series.
The Return of Fire
Eventually, Drogon leaves and roams free, while Rhaegal and Viserion remain chained. When Daenerys finally releases them later in the series, it marks a significant shift in her arc. The dragons once again become central to her campaign, now fully grown and more lethal than ever.
Their release symbolizes a turn away from compromise. From that point forward, Daenerys embraces the full weight of her Targaryen identity—and with it, the fiery, destructive power that comes with being a dragonlord. The act of chaining them becomes, in hindsight, a rare moment of restraint in a narrative that increasingly favors dominance.
Dragons and the Burden of Legacy
Throughout the history of Westeros, dragons have been associated with conquest and destruction. The Targaryens ruled through fear as much as through blood. By locking up her dragons, Daenerys temporarily distanced herself from that legacy.
But as time passed, the allure of absolute power returned. In the later seasons, she leans into her Targaryen lineage more fully, adopting the mindset that only fire and blood can fix a broken world. The earlier moment in Meereen, then, serves as a contrast—a time when she still believed that power should be restrained.
The question of whether she was right to lock them up is less important than what it reveals about her. It shows that she understood the danger she posed—not just as a mother of dragons, but as a ruler wielding immense influence. And for a time, she tried to protect others from that power, even at great personal cost.
Final Thoughts: A Defining Decision
Daenerys’s choice to lock up her dragons was more than a reaction to a tragedy. It was a moment of reckoning—a recognition that leadership requires sacrifice, control, and sometimes, the suppression of one’s very nature. It foreshadowed the conflicts that would define her final chapters and demonstrated the complexity of her character: a woman torn between compassion and conquest.
In a show filled with betrayal, war, and power struggles, this quiet moment of internal conflict spoke volumes. It reminded us that in Game of Thrones, the hardest battles aren’t always fought on the battlefield—they’re fought within.