Why A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Left Dragons Out of the Story

If you just fired up HBO looking for dragon action in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, you probably noticed something’s a little... off. Where are the flying lizards? The big steamy beasts that seem to show up everywhere in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon? Well, this new series takes a hard left on the timeline, and there’s a pretty solid in-universe reason why there’s not a single fire-breathing wrecking ball in sight.

The Timeline: Way More Complicated Than It Looks

Here’s the easiest way to untangle this: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms jumps about a hundred years back from the start of Game of Thrones. But it’s not that simple. The story is actually set a century after the mess that goes down in House of the Dragon—meaning both shows are prequels, just separated by several generations.

The Real Reason: The "Dance of Dragons" Basically Nuked the Dragon Population

House of the Dragon culminates in what’s called the "Dance of Dragons"—a bloody Targaryen civil war that saw dragons used as personal weapons and, big shocker, killed off most of them in the process. Not just the babies, but the full-blown, city-scorching terrors. By the time the dust settled, only a handful of sickly or stunted dragons remained. They didn’t last long, and none could keep the line going. Fast-forward fifty years and poof—no more living dragons in Westeros.

So, No Dragons—But the Targaryens Still Have the Throne

Even with the dragons extinct, House Targaryen is still sitting pretty on the Iron Throne by the time A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms kicks off. There’s even a nice little detail in the show: Dunk’s mentor, Ser Arlan of Pennytree, mentions that as a boy, he actually saw one of the last dragons before they went extinct in Westeros. It’s a tiny nod to the show’s odd historical placement—living memory, but out of reach.

Did Dragons Really Take All the Magic With Them?

Apparently, yes. In this universe, dragons weren’t just cool pets for the Targaryens—they were kind of the magic batteries for all of Westeros. After the last one died, all the weird magical stuff started to fade out as well. Could be coincidence, could be prophecy, but winters got nastier too.

'Summers have been shorter since the last dragon died, and the winters longer and crueler,' Ser Arlan explains.

That little line lays the groundwork for the whole eternal-winter-dread we see later in Game of Thrones. So, if you were expecting epic dragon duels in this new series, you’ll have to settle for old stories, family politics, and maybe a suspicious chicken or two. The history matters, and, honestly, the way they use the absence of dragons to make the world feel worn-down is kind of fascinating, even if it might bum some fantasy fans out.

Oh, and if you do want to see dragons meet their tragic end, hang tight for more House of the Dragon. That show is set to follow the extinction process in painful, probably gory detail. Meanwhile, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is streaming now on HBO Max.

• This series takes place 100 years before Game of Thrones, but a century after House of the Dragon
• ‘Dance of Dragons’ wiped out most dragons, and the last one died about 50 years before Knight of the Seven Kingdoms starts
• Targaryens are still ruling, but have zero dragons left
• Magic and good weather went downhill when the dragons vanished
• If you’re here for dragons, time to shift to House of the Dragon instead