The thrilling dragon chase scene between Lucerys Velaryon and Aemond Targaryen in the finale of House of the Dragon Season 1 was partially inspired by the animated film How to Train Your Dragon. The show’s director, Greg Yaitanes, cited the movie as a significant influence, particularly for its aerial action sequences and the cinematic expertise of its visual consultant, Roger Deakins.
The final episode culminates with Lucerys mounted on his dragon, Arrax, as he is being chased through a stormy sky by Aemond on the much bigger Vhagar. This chase gives viewers a view of riding dragons in a stimulating and perilous manner, just like the engaging action-packed visuals found in How to Train Your Dragon. Yaitanes also said that he watched Jurassic Park to give the scale of scale on the dragons, so the team really did work hard on that dramatic impact in the scene.
the Lucerys and Aemond chase in #HouseOfTheDragon was inspired by ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ 🐉 pic.twitter.com/FlAeysSH64
— Thrones Facts | HOTD 🐉 (@Thrones_Facts) August 15, 2024
This scene tragically culminates with Vhagar killing Lucerys and Arrax due to her instincts, and not by Aemond’s command, which further proves the dragons are uncontrolled entities in the House of the Dragon. In deviating from the book—where Aemond kills Lucerys on purpose—it further complicated the narrative by showing Aemond horrified by such an outcome, definite subtlety one would not find in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
