I always hate it when certain characters and quests in games don't have as many options as other ones. It feels bad when you can't save or help a character you really like, especially if there's 100% a way it would work in the story, if it had been written in.
It seems to happen more often with animals and beasts. I really like dragons too, so it sucks that the only dragon isn't able to be saved. I haven't played BG3 yet. I remember being able to help a dragon in Divinity II, and not too far into the game either. If you haven't played that, you could give it a try.
People have been calling them digital gardens lately.