Warning this piece contains spoilers for House of the Dragon and the Game of Thrones books.
After the shocking events of House of the Dragon Episode 4 “The Red Dragon and the Gold” — which our critic gave a 10/10 — war was inevitable. While Alicent (Oliva Cooke) and her Green faction seemingly won the battle thanks to the death of Rhaenys and Meleys, the truth is far less clear. But one thing that is certain is that the deaths have driven Rhaenyra (Emma D’arcy) and her son and heir Jace (Harry Collett) into action. Episode 5 sees them finally putting together a plan, and its outcome could change the face of not just the war, but the Seven Kingdoms and the Targaryen claim to pure dragon-blood forever.
By the end of the episode, Jace comes to a realization: they could locate some of the Targaryen bastards born out of wedlock, or find Targaryen descendants who may have changed names and houses thanks to arranged marriages, affairs, and the passage of time. Which sets up three minor characters we’ve already met in Season 2 as major players going forward and leads us to a big question…
What is a Dragonseed?
Jace’s smart gambit sets up the importance of three so-called dragonseeds. You may have heard the word earlier this season when a drunk in the local tavern claimed he was one — more on him later — but we’re here to explain just what a dragonseed is and why they matter.
The easiest answer is that they’re riders who have Valyrian blood but aren’t officially recognized as a part of the true Targaryen or Velaryon (like Corlys and his family) line. The name comes from the fact that they’re “born of dragonseed” a gross way of putting across that, while they may not be pureblood dragonriders, they were still sired by those who do have dragon blood in their veins. Just like in the series, in the books the dragonseeds are called upon to try and bond with the Targaryen dragons in order to help Rhaenyra and her cause against the High Towers.
A/N: This is where we go heavy into book spoilers that may have not yet been revealed in House of the Dragon. If you do not want book spoilers, this is your final chance to click away!
Addam of Hull
The brother of Corlys’ bastard son Alyn (Abubakar Salim) —which while it hasn’t been confirmed means that he is likely Corlys’ son too, — Addam (Clinton Liberty) has already been heavily foreshadowed to have a connection to a certain dragon in the Salt & Sea camp. Remember him looking up longingly at Seasmoke the trusty dragon once ridden by Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan) before he faked his own death? That was no coincidence, as in the books Addam goes on to bond with and ride Seasmoke after answering Jace’s call for those with Valyrian blood.
Thanks to the books which House of the Dragon is based on, there’s plenty of information about the role that Addam has to play in the war to come. His connection to Corlys means that he’s one of the most loyal of the dragonseeds and has a reason to fight for Rhaenyra beyond glory or gold. His brother Alyn also has an important part to play. We can expect him to grow closer to his father after the passing of Rhaenys (Eve Best) and most importantly Baela (Bethany Antonia) rejecting Corlys’ offer to be heir in this episode.
Hugh the Hammer
If you’ve been wondering why we’ve been spending so much time following the adventures of the blacksmith known as Hugh the Hammer and his family, here’s your answer: Hugh is one of the dragonseeds. His white hair may have been a clue to fans, as was his prominence in the series so far, seeing as he’s seen as one of the so-called “Small Folk”. But when Jace and Rhaenyra make their call to action, Hugh will take on a much larger role as well as a dragon in the form of the massive creature known as Vermithor. Unfortunately for Rhaenyra, he’s definitely no Addam of Hull and will become a major problem for the Queen if the show sticks anywhere close to his storyline in the books. Speaking of which…
Ulf the White
The only one of our trio who actually publicly calls themself a dragonseed is Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) who we first met in Episode 2 before he told his drinking pals about his alleged heritage and family ties in Episode 3. According to Ulf, he’s the bastard son of Balerion the Brave. This would make him the half-brother of both Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Daemon (Matt Smith) as well as the uncle of dear old Queen Rhaenyra. He’s not afraid to boast about this connection, so it feels like he’ll probably jump at the chance to actually prove his mettle as a Targaryen. If you’re wondering what dragon he’ll end up bonding with, it’s Silverwing. The dragon was mentioned in this week’s episode as one of the dragons slumbering below the halls of Dragonstone. Ulf is another questionable hire by Rhaenyra and Jace so keep your eyes on him going forward.
The Missing Dragonseed
It’s hard to talk about dragonseeds without bringing up possibly the most popular unexpected dragon rider of them all. First introduced in Fire & Blood, Nettles is a young homeless girl who fought her way into being a dragon rider out of what seems to be nothing more than sheer will. She’s also the only Black character who features in Fire & Blood. Her kindness and generosity towards the dragon known as Sheepstealer allowed her to become his rider, making her one of the famed dragonseeds from the Targaryen war. But, while she seemed to have no connection to Valeryian blood, rumors swirled of a deeper connection between the young woman and Daemon. There’s two readings of their relationships: one that is romantic and one where she could in fact be his bastard daughter, though nothing is confirmed.
The fact that Nettles hasn’t yet shown up is definitely worth noting, as we’ve already met the other dragonseeds. With that said, she’s such a fan fave that it’s hard to imagine that we won’t see her at some point in the upcoming season, especially as we embark on this storyline. Her absence hasn’t gone unnoticed, with both fans and writers mentioning it, as well as theorizing that her plotline may be combined with that of Daemon’s daughter Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), who is currently with the younger Targaryen children at the Eyrie.
We’ll have to wait until next week to see just how quickly the royals get the gang together…
Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
