There was no shortage of controversial moments in HBO's final seasons of Game of Thrones, but arguably the most devastating and divisive of them all was the tragic slaying of Rhaegal, the second of Daenerys's dragons to suffer a horrible end. His death at the hands of Euron Greyjoy's Iron Fleet was particularly upsetting after fans were left traumatized by the Night King taking down Viserion in the previous season and returning as an undead Wight dragon in the prior episode.
Rhaegal's death left a rotten taste in many viewers' mouths given the somewhat absurd way he was taken down, with the Iron Fleet's scorpions suddenly firing off with pinpoint accuracy and Daenerys somehow not seeing Greyjoy's ships behind a few rocks. To make matters worse, showrunner David Benioff's infamous explanation for Rhaegal's death was that Dany "kind of forgot about the Iron Fleet," a statement that continues to infuriate the fanbase still to this day.
Because Game of Thrones' final seasons are not based on any established narrative from George R. R. Martin's original work, many fans have been holding on to hope that Rhaegal will have a much different fate in the eventual novels. But fortunately, they don't...
