Is Daenerys really immune to fire in Game of Thrones? Everything to know about the unscorched Targaryen

One of the most memorable aspects of the smash-hit HBO series Game of Thrones' eight-season long run is likely one of its most well-known characters, Daenerys Targaryen. Played by Emilia Clarke, the character Daenerys is a favorite of many in the series overall and remains one of the most compelling and complex throughout the entire series.

While Clarke enchanted Game of Thrones viewers as Daenerys from the start, fans' true infatuation with her came during the unforgettable birth of her three dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. In this pivotal moment from the first season's finale, she walks into and through Khal Drogo's funeral pyre, hoping that doing so would finally hatch her dragon eggs.

Although one of the most riveting and memorable scenes from the entirety of Game of Thrones, it's also of the most confusing due to how subtly and implicitly it's set up throughout the first season. Thankfully, there is an answer as to whether or not Daenerys is really immune to fire in the series, as well as a clear roadmap of how this reveal was set up throughout season 1.

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Game of Thrones' unscorched Targaryen scene remains one of the most hotly debated topics in series

Is Daenerys really immune to fire? Explained

While the aforementioned scene is jarring and sudden, an explanation and setup can be traced throughout season 1 of Game of Thrones. First and foremost, however, Daenerys is indeed immune to fire in the series. While this was overtly shown in the season 1 finale, it's set up and referenced several times during the first season.

It's worth first establishing that Daenerys is a true Targaryen by blood, birthright, and demeanor rather than having adopted the name for herself. The Targaryens metaphorically referred to themselves as Dragons, likely first doing so based on their natural bond and mutual allegiance with the creatures. However, this reference is practically validated by the scene mentioned above.

Throughout the first season of Game of Thrones, Daenerys slowly comes to comprehend and fully believe that fire cannot kill a "dragon," or in this case, a true Targaryen.

This is first set up shortly after fans are introduced to her when she's told by her brother, Viserys, to take a bath before meeting potential suitors. Despite the water being scalding hot when she does so, she is unbothered by the temperature and uninjured from it.

This setup is continued in the sixth episode of season 1 when Daenerys places a dragon egg in a brazier before lifting it out with her hands later on. When her handmaid Irri grabs the egg from her hands shortly after, it's revealed that Daenerys' hands are uninjured, while Irri suffers serious burns.

Her brother Viserys' death in episode 8 marks the first time this setup is overtly acknowledged. After her brother dies from burns due to molten gold pouring on his head, Daenerys says he "was no dragon" and that "fire cannot kill a dragon." In other words, because Viserys was not a "true" Targaryen in his behavior, he was not a true "dragon," and thus died by fire.

Two episodes later, in the finale for Game of Thrones season 1, fans see Daenerys enter Khal Drogo's funeral pyre, knowing that she is a true Targaryen, a true dragon, and thus cannot die by fire.

She proves this to be true in the morning after when her ally Jorah Mormont finds her dirtied but alive and unscathed with three newborn dragons in her arms. Daenerys repeats the feat (save for the newborn dragons) in season 6, episode 4, where she survives a fire that kills several other Khals who are also trapped in its flames.