Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 7 "The Dragon in Winter".House of the Dragon Season 3 has been a doozy, with every episode making the Dance of Dragons more chaotic (and deadly). Fans have been watching major character deaths happen weekly on HBO (and streaming with a HBO Max subscription), and we got an epic dragon brawl in the most recent episode. But as cool as it was, my heart broke for poor Sheepstealer. And there are fans who definitely agree with me.While Game of Thrones' finale remains controversial, folks are invested in its spinoffs. Fans have been keeping track of which dragon belongs to who on HOTD, including Rhaena's Sheepstealer. The truth about her becoming a dragon rider (and accidentally contributing to Jace's death) finally came to a head in the book to screen adaptation, and the wild dragon was unfortunately jumped by three of Rhaenyra's winged beasts.I Felt Bad For SheepstealerSheepstealer was a wild dragon, and wasn't trained the way that the others were. He's a big liability for this reason, which was clear in both The Battle of the Gullet and the most recent episode. In the latter he was (understandably) protective of Rhaena, and ended up getting into a fight with Caraxes, Syrax, and Seasmoke. This sequence was thrilling to watch, but I felt bad for poor Sheepstealer. 3 on 1 is just not an even fight, and since he's a wild dragon I couldn't help but think about how confused he must have been. We watched him get messed up by the other three dragons, with Daemon eventually telling Caraxes to kill him. We'll just have to wait and see if Rhaena's dragon ends up actually surviving that violent encounter. If he's alive, he'll find that his first and only dragon rider has abandoned him.(Image credit: HBO)Rhaena's quest for a dragon became her biggest priority throughout House of the Dragon. And even when Sheepstealer accidentally ruined her life by helping get Jace killed, she stayed with him in isolation outside of The Eyrie. They're a pair of characters you can't help but pity, which is what made the recent dragon fight so emotional to watch... even if it was kinda awesome to see the winged creatures beating each other up. And now they're separated, which should presumably have a big impact on both Rhaena and Sheepstealer (if he's still alive). Some Fans Agree With MeHouse of the Dragon fans are known for being vocal in their opinions, and there are plenty of folks over on Twitter who are defending Sheepstealer after he got jumped by three other dragons. One such tweet that's already gone viral reads: Sheepstealer did absolutely nothing wrong He was an innocent dragon that Rhaena went out of her way to claim Yet the moment things got out of control she chased after Vhagar instead of thinking about the dragon that was risking his life for her. Sheepstealer was only trying to protect her If Rhaena died he would've almost certainly died too That's why it's so frustrating to watch her act like she cared while leaving him to fight alone.Some more comments that are making the rounds on the social media outlet include: I don't like what they did to sheepsteeler :(Oh, Sheepstealer, I think I'm depressed... poor little babySheepsteeler was giving syrax the business even tho it was getting jumped lol caraxes a problem thoughi feel so bad for sheepsteelerWe'll just have to wait and see if Caraxes actually killed Sheepstealer offscreen, or if the wild dragon survived that fight. Dragons are clearly very durable; just look at how Sunfyre miraculously recovered in Episode 7's final moments. Fingers crossed for Rhaena's dragon.House of the Dragon airs new episodes Sundays on HBO as part of the 2026 TV schedule. There's only one more episode left this season, and the finale looks like it'll include an epic battle.