Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 7.
The idea of there being Targaryens among the smallfolk in Westeros may sound absurd, and yet it is still true. WhenHouse of the Dragonfirst introduced Ulf the White (Tom Bennett), it felt like he knew everyone in Flea Bottom. He told stories about being a long-lost Targaryen bastard, directly connected to royalty, but left out of the main bloodline solely due to a twist of fate. All that seemed a little inflated for someone like him, but the latest episode, “The Red Sowing,” shows that there really is some truth to what he claims. Now,that same fate has put the dragon Silverwing on his path, changing his life foreverand directly influencing the events of the war.
House of the Dragon
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO seriesGame of Thrones.Based on George R.R. Martin’sFire & Blood,House of the Dragonis set nearly 200 years beforeGame of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
Ulf the White Claims the Dragon Silverwing in a Rather Strange Way
The Red Sowing is an event from the bookFire & Bloodthat fans have long wanted to see in live-action. It happens when Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) calls on people who claim to beTargaryen bastards to try and claim one of the many riderless dragons living in Dragonstoneas a way of evening the odds for the Blacks against the Greens in the war known as Dance of Dragons. By then, Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) had already claimed Seasmoke after he waschased by the dragonin Driftmark, and Rhaenyra is somewhat desperate, so she decides to try it.
Despite having loudly talked about his Targaryen heritage in the taverns of King’s Landing, when Rhaenyra’s call reaches Ulf the White, he initially declines it. He says he has a bad leg and that he doesn’t know if he should, even saying that he can’t know for sure whether the whole thing is real or not. When he says that, it even gives the impression that he is doubting his own parentage, in a way. Still, he eventually goes and watches in terroras Vermithor rampagesover the dozens of other dragonseeds when Rhaenyra presents them with the huge dragon. In the chaos that ensues,Ulf flees deeper into the Dragonmontuntil he stumbles upon a sleeping dragon, Silverwing.
While Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) claims Vermithor by loudly standing up to the dragon, Ulf’s own story is almost the opposite. He was looking for a way out of the Dragonmont until he stumbled upon Silverwing. He even inadvertently steps on a clutch of dragon eggs, which is what calls Silverwing’s attention. When the dragon stands up and roars, Ulf falls back and cowers in fear, butsomehow, that seems to have won the dragon overbecause the next time we see them, Ulf is on Silverwing’s back flying over King’s Landing. Few people have ever seemed so happy as Ulf at that moment, as he rides the dragon with one hand in the sky. It felt like he could even let out a “yeehaw!” in his excitement, but, thankfully, it didn’t come to that.
Ulf Claims To Be a Long-Lost Targaryen Bastard
Before “The Red Sowing,” Ulf the White showed up three times inHouse of the Dragon. In Episode 2, “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” he is the man with long gray hair who stumbles upon the ratcatchers hung in front of the Red Keep. Then, in Episode 6, “Smallfolk,” Ulf is drinking at a tavern when he overhears Dyana (Maddie Evans) and Sylvi (Michelle Bonnard) talking about food scarcity. When Ulf is properly introduced in Episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” he is at the same tavern,depicted as a popular man in the lower streets of King’s Landing, although it doesn’t seem like he is taken seriously by many.
Ulf explains to a few friends thathe is the bastard son of Prince Baelon the Brave, who was the son of King Jaehaerys (Michael Carter), and, that therefore, he is a half-brother to King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Prince Daemon (Matt Smith). He also proudly talks about how his supposed niece, Rhaenyra Targaryen, is the true queen, and when people mock him for not looking like his supposed half-brothers, he also proudly mentions that Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) doesn’t have Targaryen silver hair. As soon as Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) enters the tavern, though, Ulf goes back to being a peasant, blending it with the smallfolk background to royalty. Aegon clearly doesn’t know him, showing his actual relevance.
Ulf is also the person who first uses the word “dragonseed” in the series, a term used in the books to describe potential dragonriders who may haveTargaryen blood. That was a hint thathe was definitely on to something even before he claimed Silverwing, a historical dragon of House Targaryen who once belonged to “the Good Queen” Alysanne Targaryen. So, even though it’s hard to believe what proud loudmouths such as him usually say, there was definitely some truth to what Ulf says after all.
Ulf’s Background Is a Little Different in ‘Fire & Blood’
InFire & Blood, Ulf the White is said to be a man-at-arms for House Targaryen who lives in Dragonstone, not a drifter in King’s Landing.He isn’t the only dragonseed whose origins have been changed inHouse of the Dragon, seeing as Hugh Hammer was also moved from Dragonstone to the capital, and Addam of Hull has even had his parentage altered to the point of having no Targaryen blood at all, being one of Lord Corlys Velaryon’s (Steve Toussaint) bastard sons in Driftmark. In the book, Hugh and Ulf become good friends and share many traits, especially ambition.
There is also no mention of who Ulf’s father is inFire & Blood. In the series, he claims to be the bastard son of Baelon the Brave, fourth son of King Jaehaerys the Conciliator. Baelon has three sons in the books: Viserys, Daemon, and Aegon, the last onenever being mentionedinHouse of the Dragon, likely due to the fact that he was stillborn. In the book, however, Baelon is never mentioned to have fathered bastards, but Targaryen royals were known to venture into the nights of King’s Landing, and record keeping also isn’t something the smallfolk are good at.Being a bastard, Ulf is technically outside the inheritance line, but one of the recurring subjects of the series is how the realm often prefers men to women in places of power, and there are currently many men claiming to have the blood of the dragon in their veins, even if outside the legitimate bloodline.
House of the Dragonhas been doing an overall good job of setting up key events fromFire & Blood, though.The fact that Ulf’s story isn’t told in detail in the original material provides many gapsto be filled by the series, making the matter of allegiance and loyalty more fluid. He and Hugh have become a sort ofavatar of the smallfolkof King’s Landing, illustrating the Dance of Dragons from a lower perspective while, at the same time, paving the way for their epic deeds in this week’s episode. Being male dragonseeds who are well aware of their Targaryen ancestry, they may even become a problem for Rhaenyra in the future. The kind of sudden climb on the social ladder of Westeros can’t be easy for anyone to assimilate, much less someone who has grown up in Flea Bottom and is suddenly thrust upon a dragonback and given living quarters in Dragonstone.
Now,Seasmokeand Silverwing have already been claimed, but there is still thewild dragon in the Vale, as well as other dragons thatFire & Bloodsays inhabit Dragonstone, and that House of the Dragon may or may not bring to screens. Ulf claiming Silverwing representsthe beginning of the turning of the tide in the war. Regardless of what happens from now on, he played a pivotal role in changing the order of things.
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonair weekly on Sundays on Max.
