Yeah, Dany’s Dragons Are Terrifying, But They’re Not Done Growing

Drogon laid waste to the Lannister army in the latest Game of Thrones episode. Daenerys rode into battle atop what is undoubtedly her favorite child, the largest of the three and named after her dead husband, Khal Drogo. But while Drogon struck fear into the hearts of men throughout the whole battle, he’s not nearly as terrifying right now as he could be in the future.

Daenery’s dragons — especially Drogon — aren’t finished growing yet. And there’s really no telling how big they’ll get.

It’s arguable that Dany always elects to ride Drogon because he’s the largest of the dragon siblings. Rhaegal and Viserion’s growth was stunted because they were locked up under Meereen’s pyramid for a long, long time; meanwhile, Drogon was out and about in the world, wreaking havoc and stretching his wings. So, there’s a good chance Rhaegal and Viserion are done growing at this point because they were held in captivity for so long.

But Drogon’s not finished. Technically, dragons in Game of Thrones aren’t supposed to stop growing until the moment they die.

Take Balerion the Black Dread into account. Balerion was Aegon the Conqueror’s largest dragon, the longest-lived of three. He lived to be about 200 years old, was used to conquer six of the seven Westerosi kingdoms, and spanned three generations of Targaryen kings before dying of old age.

Balerion was described as breathing black fire and having a wingspan so large that “whole towns were swallowed up in their shadow when he passed overhead,” in George R.R. Martin’s series. He never stopped growing until the day he died — and, now, his skull is being used for target practice in the basement of King’s Landing to test out ways to kill Dany’s dragons.

So, while Drogon isn’t finished growing, he’s going to have to live to get anywhere near as big as he can be.

Game of Thrones is currently airing Sunday nights on HBO at 9 p.m. Eastern.