One would think that someone, at some point, might have suggested that Daenerys outfit her dragons with a few pieces of armor in order to protect them from sharp projectiles (especially after what happened to Viserion), but apparently that never happened. Game of Thrones has never really gotten into the intricacies of dragon physiology but last season it became clear that Daenerys’ children aren’t indestructible, and could, in the right circumstances, be killed with relative ease.
“The Last of the Starks” showed us just how vulnerable the dragons are, which, while unfortunate for Daenerys, introduces an even more interesting dynamic to the show as a whole. While the Targaryen family might have been able to solidify their grip on power with the help of dragons back in the day, the key differences to bear in mind here are that at their height, Dany’s ancestors were in control of far more of the creatures and were much more familiar with dragon-based war strategies.
Daenerys’ dragons were strong, yes, but it’s difficult to argue that Dany’s ever been particularly good at deploying them in effective ways. The easiest explanation as to why would be that nobody’s seen dragons in decades, much less crafted war tactics involving them, and Dany’s really just been winging it. As many mistakes as Cersei’s made during her time as queen, one lesson she’s obviously learned and taken to heart is that dragons can die and that without an entire fleet of them at her disposal, Daenerys’ might is only a shadow of what the Targaryen name implies. All it took was a few well-aimed bolts from Cersei’s scorpions to completely obliterate Rhaegal, and even then, Daenerys didn’t seem to have much of a counter strategy aside from straight-up turning around and running away, letting Cersei know that she had her opponent on the ropes.
