'House of the Dragon' Season 3, episode 7 brings a dragon back from the dead

Many dragons have died so far in House of the Dragon, but now we have one who's come back.

Season 3, episode 7 ended with the shock revelation that Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) may have switched to Team Green, but one scene before that, we had an even bigger surprise: Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) dragon Sunfyre, who comes rumbling out of the woods to save him and Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) from imminent death.

So, what happened, and how did Sunfyre manage to revive himself?

What happens with Aegon and Sunfyre?

After Larys (Matthew Needham) finally convinces him to flee to Braavos, Aegon and co. encounter an army coming in the opposite direction. They're apparently looking for Tyland, but rather than taking Larys' advice and making themselves scarce, Aegon decides to make a last stand. Larys flees, Tyland stays — and for a moment, it looks as though they may be at the end of the road. Then Aegon reveals who he really is, and the men start to fall back, looking afraid. But it's not the former king they're scared of, it's what's standing behind him: his dragon Sunfyre, badly scarred but still very much alive, and more than happy to scorch anyone foolish enough to stand in his path.

How is Sunfyre still alive?

Remember back in episode 4, when Aegon and Larys find the (apparent) corpse of Sunfyre in the forest? At the time, the dragon looked very much dead, so much so that some locals had even turned his ostensible corpse into something of a pay-to-see zoo attraction.

The only person who thought he may still be alive was Aegon, who seemed pretty convinced. And while Aegon may have been wrong about most things up until now, he clearly wasn't wrong about that. In hindsight, it makes sense. There's a strong connection between a Targaryen and their dragon, so Aegon may have been the only person able to sense that Sunfyre hadn't yet departed the realm of the living.

Like his master after the battle at Rook's Rest, the dragon just needed a long time to recover. Maybe Sunfyre was in the equivalent of a coma, and hearing Aegon's voice a few episodes back started the process of bringing the dragon back to consciousness — just in time to save Aegon from almost certain death.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max, with new episodes premiering Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.