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This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3 and details from Fire & Blood that will spoil future moments of the show.
Midway through House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3, the usual plot of the Greens and Blacks scheming against each other comes to a grinding halt for a trip to a King’s Landing pub.
A man with scraggly gray hair enters the dimly-lit room and gets the excited “they’ll let anyone in here!” treatment from his friends at a nearby table. The man, who is greeted as”Ulf,” pulls up a chair and gets to work doing what everyone should be doing in a bar: bullshitting.
“Dornish are ya?” Ulf (who is played by Tom Bennett), says to a new companion at the table. “That part of Westeros my House never settled. Though it’s said even Dorne mourned the passing of my grandsire.”
“Who was your grandsire?” the Dornishman asks.
“They call him the Conciliator,” Ulf says, referring to none other than Jaehaerys I, the fourth king in the Targaryen dynasty, grandfather to Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and great-grandfather to both Queen Rhaenyra I (Emma D’Arcy) and King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney).
Ulf goes on to claim that he’s the son of Jaehaerys’ son Baelon, and therefore the bastard brother of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), and uncle to the one true queen, Rhaenyra. He also says that if anyone finds this out, he could be beheaded because “a dragonseed must watch his own neck when he has no white cloak guardsman to do it for him.”
Before Ulf can expound upon his supposed heritage or offer any proof, he is interrupted by unexpected the arrival of King Aegon II to the pub (he kneels in fealty, of course, lest he lose that aforementioned neck). But it’s not like Ulf could provide any proof for his claims anyway, right? Surely, he is just one of many drunks in Flea Bottom claiming that he is secret royalty.
Well maybe…or maybe not. Perhaps you’ve noticed that Ulf isn’t the only “nobody” that House of the Dragon has brought in this season. His arrival was preceded by enigmatic introductions to Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), and Alyn’s brother Addam (Clinton Liberty). There is indeed a reason that all these seemingly pointless characters have popped up in season 2. They’re all dragonseeds and they will play an important role in the coming war. Allow us to explain.
What Is a Dragonseed?
Ulf didn’t make up the concept of a “dragonseed” – it is a known term in Westeros that refers to bastards of Valyrian descent. A dragonseed is someone who was fathered or mothered by a member of a Valyrian family like House Targaryen or House Velaryon, and therefore has the “blood of the dragon” within them.
Being a dragonseed is politically dangerous for the reason that Ulf described. As we’ve seen time and time again in Game of Thrones, the nobility of the Seven Kingdoms doesn’t have much patience for royal bastards born outside the bonds of wedlock. At best, bastards are an annoying reminder of infidelity and at worst, they are a threat to a House’s stability.
Being a dragonseed, however, does come with a major benefit: the potential ability to ride a dragon. The truth of the matter is that no one really knows what makes a dragonrider, but they do know that having a Valyrian bloodline can help. While not all Targaryens are automatically compatible with a dragon (Rhaena, for instance, has not yet claimed a dragon of her own), someone who has Valyrian ancestry will have a better chance of bonding with a dragon than someone who does not.
The Blacks face a complicated situation at the moment. As the stewards of Dragonstone, they have access to many dragons but not enough dragonriders to claim them. This episode reminds us of that fact as we see Laenor Velaryon’s old dragon Seasmoke fly above the castle, riderless and lonely. When Rhaenyra eventually realizes that her side requires more firepower, it will make sense to seek out some of the many dragonseeds scattered throughout The Crownlands.
Who Is Ulf White?
Yes, the man known as “Ulf the White” and then “Ulf White” is indeed a dragonseed. While it’s impossible to say whether he is actually the son of Baelon Targaryen, he does eventually prove himself capable of riding a dragon, strongly suggesting that he has a Valyrian ancestry.
As described in George R.R. Martin’s prequel text Fire & Blood, Ulf was an illiterate drunk who was able to claim the dragon Silverwing (originally ridden by Queen Alysanne Targaryen) when Jacaerys Velaryon put out the call for dragonseeds. While it certainly must have seemed like a great idea at the time, giving a ne’er-do-well access to this world’s equivalent of a nuclear bomb doesn’t pan out too well in the long-run.
What Will Happen to Ulf, Hugh, Alyn, and Addam?
As you’ve probably guessed by now, Hugh, Alyn, and Addam are all dragonseed candidates as well. Alyn and Addam are believed to be the bastard sons of none other than Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). Their situation provides an interesting example of how fickle Valyrian blood can be in deciding who is and is not compatible with a dragon.
Like his father Corlys, Alyn is unable to claim a dragon, though he tries his best with both Grey Ghost and Sheepstealer. Addam, however, bonds with Laenor’s discarded Seasmoke. Both Alyn and Addam are legitimized as Velaryons and play big roles in the Dance of the Dragons.
Hugh, meanwhile, bonds with Vermithor (the former mount of King Jaehaerys) and proves to be a fearsome aerial fighter. Unfortunately though, Hugh and Ulf also prove to be a big problem for Team Black. It turns out that you can put a dragon in a man’s hand, but you can’t compel him to use it responsibly.
New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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