It was the moment in House of the Dragon that we’ve waited all of Season 2 for. Rhaenyra has found her dragonriders.
Ulf White is one of the dragonriders, and we knew that was going to happen. He kept pointing out that he was an illegitimate child of the Targaryen line. He believes Baelon Targaryen, the father of Viserys and Daemon, is his father. Well, whether he is or isn’t, Ulf is definitely a dragonseed and ended up with Silverwing.
The other man to claim a dragon in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 7 is Hugh Hammer. We knew he was a dragonseed based on the color of his hair, and now we learn more about who his Targaryen parent is. It’s something even book readers didn’t know, but it all came out as Hugh told his wife about his mother.
Hugh Hammer is related to Viserys and Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon
It turns out that Hugh has always been ashamed of his mother. She worked as a pleasure house, and people would pay a lot for her because of who she was. Not only was she a Targaryen, but she was Targaryen royalty.
Hugh shares that his mother was the sister of Viserys and Daemon’s father. This is the most any fans of the Game of Thrones universe have ever known. This isn’t even told in Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin, because arguably, his lineage isn’t all that important except to know that he is a dragonseed.
Who is Hugh Hammer’s Targaryen mother?
So, now fans want to figure out who his mother is. There’s enough detail in there for those who know the Targaryen line.
It’s likely that Hugh’s mother is Saera Targaryen, King Jaehaerys I’s daughter. Of course, Hugh’s mother could have been an illegitimate daughter of Jaehaerys, but that’s unlikely. Instead, we’re sure that it is Saera, the ninth child of Jaehaeyrs and Alysanne.
Saera was defiant and promiscuous. She was known for sleeping with many men at court, including her own kingsguard, and her father even imprisoned her. He later disowned her and sent her to the Silent Sisters to live out a life of celibacy. Well, that didn’t happen. Saera escaped and started working in a brothel before opening her own pleasure house.
The story works out for this to be Hugh’s mother. Hugh says that his mother told him that he was very much like his royal cousins, but Hugh didn’t take much notice of that. He was ashamed of his mother, and he decided to never talk about her.
It adds to another beautiful twist in why Vermithor allows Hugh to claim him. Vermithor attacked and killed everyone else, but he stopped at Hugh. Is it possible that he a) smelled the strong Targaryen blood and b) realized that this was his former rider’s grandson? After all, Seasmoke claimed Addam, the half-brother of his former rider. It looks like dragons are loyal to family members.