The “Game of Thrones” universe is filled with bizarre and shocking ways to meet one’s end. From the petulant boy-king ordering a public beheading, as seen with Ned Stark (played by Sean Bean) in the series’ debut season, to torturous deaths at the hands of foes or being devoured by one’s own pack of hungry dogs, like Iwan Rheon’s wicked character Ramsay Bolton in the sixth season. Another unforgettable demise features having one’s eyes gouged out and head crushed by an immensely strong soldier, vividly portrayed during Pedro Pascal’s Oberyn Martell’s demise in the fourth season. One peculiar yet recurring method of death involves being burnt alive by a dragon, a fate reserved exclusively for those who cross paths with the ancient, and often mad, Targaryen family.

Daenerys, portrayed by Emilia Clarke, represents the last of the Targaryen lineage seeking to ascend to the Iron Throne in “Game of Thrones.” While additional Targaryens and their dragons are introduced in the spin-off prequel “House of the Dragon,” Daenerys holds the spotlight in the original series. Her relationship with Jon Snow (played by Kit Harington), revealed to be her nephew and a true Targaryen heir, adds another twist to the already intricate storyline. Daenerys and her kin are infamously passionate about wielding fire through their dragons, with Daenerys boasting three such creatures (Rhaegal, Viserion, and the most formidable, Drogon) to aid her ambitions.

To prompt a dragon’s fiery breath, Targaryens must issue a single command in High Valyrian: “Dracarys.” This triggers the dragons to unleash their fiery wrath upon a chosen target. On screen, Targaryens frequently employ “Dracarys,” at least in one of the series installments.

To be honest, “Dracarys” isn’t uttered as frequently throughout “House of the Dragon,” even though the Targaryens seen on that show certainly do their fair share of setting people on fire. We mostly see and hear “Dracarys” on “Game of Thrones,” and it’s always said by Daenerys.

In Season 1 of “Game of Thrones,” Daenerys is sold to Dothraki horse lord Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) as his bride by her awful brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd), who hopes to use Drogo’s massive Dothraki forces to take the Iron Throne for himself. Viserys runs afoul of Drogo before long — who kills him — leaving Daenerys left as the only Targaryen on the scene, and one with three supposedly dormant dragon eggs to boot. When Drogo dies at the end of that first season, Daenerys enters his funeral pyre with the eggs, and when the dawn breaks, she’s naked with three baby dragons adorning her body.

The first big moment where Daenerys can even use “Dracarys” happens at the end of Season 2 after Daenerys enters the House of the Undying in Qarth to rescue her dragons from a magical captor. Because they’re so tiny, they’re not able to produce much fire, but it’s enough to kill the warlock who captured them, Pyat Pree (Ian Hanmore). The moment everyone remembers best, though, comes in the season 3 episode “And Now His Watch is Ended,” which finds Daenerys in Astapor making a deal with the evil slave master Kraznys mo Nakloz (Dan Hildebrand). Daenerys tricks Kraznys by promising to give him Drogon, her largest dragon, in exchange for his army of loyal Unsullied soldiers. Kraznys, who’s been talking smack in High Valyrian about Daenerys under the assumption that she can’t understand him, is shocked when she tells him the dragon won’t obey him in what she reveals is her mother tongue; after ordering her new Unsullied army to kill any slave masters they see, she wields “Dracarys” against Kraznys, and Drogon burns him to a crisp.

You’re probably seeing a theme here, which is that Daenerys honestly uses “Dracarys” whenever she needs to get out of a bind of some kind. As the show progresses, though, Daenerys’ willingness to flambé her opponents starts to get her into trouble with her allies … and it leads to her downfall.

As “Game of Thrones” draws to a close, Daenerys starts wielding “Dracarys” a little too loosely, to be totally frank. In the fifth episode of Season 7, Daenerys confronts Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner) and his son Dickon Tarly (Tom Hopper) after she defeats traveling forces siding with House Lannister in battle. When both Randyll and Dickon refuse to bend the knee and accept her as their new queen, staying loyal to the Crown and the Lannisters, Daenerys uses Drogon to torch them both; this makes things pretty awkward later on when she meets Jon’s closest friend and confidante Samwell Tarly, who happens to be Randyll’s son and Dickon’s brother.

In the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones,” Daenerys executes her ally Varys (Conleth Hill), using Drogon’s firepower yet again, after she discovers that he’s been plotting against her; this decision deeply alarms Varys’ longtime friend and other ally Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage). Things really come to a head, though, in the series’ penultimate episode “The Bells.” Facing King’s Landing and its massive forces alone in the skies after both Rhaegal and Viserion were killed by enemies, Daenerys, riding Drogon, hears the bells of surrender ring out and succumbs to her family’s madness, burning large swaths of Westeros’ capital and killing countless innocent civilians in the process. Though she takes down her enemies — including the queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) — Daenerys’ remaining allies Tyrion and Jon are incredibly disturbed by her willingness to commit such a massacre, and eventually, Jon kills Daenerys for the good of the realm after realizing she won’t chill out just because she now ostensibly rules the Seven Kingdoms.

So there you have it, kids; “Dracarys” isn’t a tool to be wielded lightly, so don’t use it to get out of simple jams like Daenerys did towards the end of her run on “Game of Thrones.” You can watch the entire series — and “House of the Dragon” — on HBO Max now.