Why Doesn’t Drogon Kill Jon Snow in Game of Thrones

Last night’s series finale of Game of Thrones saw some surprising moments as the story arcs of various beloved characters came to an end and a path forward for all of Westeros was laid out. Each of these surprising moments were the result of choices the characters made throughout the episode, and that includes more than just the human characters. Daenerys’ dragon, Drogon, also had a choice to make in “The Iron Throne”, and the choice he made has left many fans wondering why.

Spoilers for the series finale of Game of Thrones below.

After unleashing Drogon on King’s Landing in the previous episode, Dany made her way to the Iron Throne as Queen. For Dany it was a huge moment, taking back the throne that her family had been murdered over, a throne that had loomed large in her imagination. Jon finds her there, and, after Dany tried to explain to him her plans — with Jon generally giving her a false sense of understanding — he stabbed her in the chest with his dagger, murdering her. Not too many moments later, though, Drogon arrived and found his mother lying dead on the ground.

Now, most people would have guessed that a distraught Drogon would take out his rage on Jon and roast the man who betrayed and murdered Dany to a crisp. Yet, that’s not what Drogon does. Instead, the fearsome dragon unleashes his fire on the Iron Throne itself and doesn’t stop until it’s melted completely away. Now, we can’t say for any certainty why. Drogon didn’t explain himself, after all, but we have a few theories. First, blasting fire at Jon may have been pointless. Remember, Jon is a Targaryen by birth, and one of the things we’ve seen in Game of Thrones is that Targaryens can’t be burned (well, at least Dany couldn’t be) by fire. It’s possible Drogon didn’t want to waste his energy on what would have been a pointless act.

It’s also Jon’s Targaryen heritage that lends to another theory: that Drogon would not want to kill Jon because as a Targaryen, Jon can ride dragons. With Dany gone, Jon is presumably the last dragon rider alive, so there could be some sort of recognition of that. It’s very clear Drogon is upset with Jon, though, and does appear to want to blast him. He just appears to think better of it.

It’s that thinking better of it — be it because Jon can’t be burned, or he didn’t want to kill the last Targaryen — that explains why Drogon turned his rage to the throne. Drogon can’t light Jon up, but he can destroy the object that represents the events that led to Dany’s death as well as the death of Targaryens before her — and by extension that of his brother dragons, Rhaegal and Viserion. The Iron Throne has brought Drogon nothing but pain. Now, with his mother gone, Drogon has nothing left, and it’s all the fault of the throne.

What do you think Drogon’s motivation was for blasting the Iron Throne? Let us know in the comments below.