Understanding the term Dragonseeds and what Rhaenyra is looking for in House of the Dragon

Rhaenyra needs dragonriders. She and Jace worked together at the end of House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 5 to discuss the idea of Dragonseeds. This is a specific term used in the series (and the book, Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin) and it’s already been mentioned once before.

You’ll need to understand more about Dragonseeds to see what Rhaenyra and Jace want to do. They explained it well in the show, but there is far more to this for the future of the Blacks and the Greens.

What are Dragonseeds in House of the Dragon?

Dragonseeds is a term given to those who have Targaryen or Velaryon blood. There are a lot of people who have this due to the illegitimate children, and the term has already been uttered by someone who believes he is the son of a Targaryen kin.

Back in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 3, Ulf shared that “a Dragonseed must watch his own neck when he has no white-cloaked guardsmen to do it for him.” For those who aren’t caught up with the Targaryen family history, Ulf is possibly an illegitimate half-brother of Viserys and Daemon.

Dragonseeds are illegitimate children of the Targaryens. They were often born from the practice of Targaryen men sleeping with smallfolk women on their wedding night. The Targaryen lords and kings for “first dibs” of the women, regardless of what the women or their husbands would want. These children would be viewed as “being born of dragonseed,” and so the term was coined.

We know there are other illegitimate children out there, as well. Rhaenys made it clear that she knows Alyn of Hull is the son of Corlys. His brother Addam is also the son of Corlys.

Legend is that dragons will only accept those of Targaryen or Velaryon blood. That means they need to find Dragonseeds. As Jace pointed out, they need dragonriders for the many dragons that there are. It’s time to find those who are “Dragonseeds.” We likely won’t see everyone come together in the next episode, but there’s promise for Episode 7.