House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7: How are Ulf the White and Hugh Hammer related to the Targaryens? 

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 premiered on Sunday, July 28, 2024, bringing back another exciting arc from the famed George R.R. Martin novel, Fire and Blood, which this series is based on. Among other developments, this episode primarily focused on The Red Sowing, an infamous arc from the book, where potential Dragonseeds came forward to claim the big dragons on Rhaenyra's side, resulting in tragic consequences.

However, House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 also gave Rhaenyra's side three new dragon riders. Of course, one of them is Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), whose initiation we saw in last week's episode. He bends the knee to Rhaenyra at the start of the episode, giving Rhaenyra the idea of bringing more Dragonseeds.

This brings us to the two new riders, who also seem to share the blood of Targaryens. They are Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), whose mother seems to be related to the late king Viserys and Daemon (Matt Smith), and Ulf the White, who has been claiming to be a Targaryen bastard for quite some time now.

As House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 has already made them an important part of the season's and Rhaneyra's story, let us delve into how these two men are connected to the Targaryen, and what exactly allowed them to bond with the dragons.

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How is Hugh Hammer related to the Targaryens in House of the Dragon?

Hugh Hammer has been depicted as one of the more interesting characters over the past few episodes. The Targaryen descendant, unlike Ulf, isn't quite proud of his heritage, and before the poverty and lack of resources hit Westeros, spent a quiet life where he honed his craft as a blacksmith.

Despite not initially wanting fame for his Targaryen heritage, after suffering from intense poverty and the death of a child, Hammer decides in this episode to go to Dragonstone and try to claim a dragon.

He also reveals about his heritage to his wife. He reveals that his mother was a prostitute and was likely Targaryen-born (indicated by the mention of the silver hair). It is likely that Hugh Hammer is a cousin to Viserys and Daemon as his mother was likely the bastard child of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, Viserys and Daemon's grandfather.

Anyhow, the exact relation of Hugh and the Targaryens was not disclosed but it is clear that Hugh Hammer's mother was a Targaryen bastard.

With his Targaryen relation, Hugh was able to claim the most dangerous dragon on Rhaenyra's side.

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House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7: How is Ulf the White related to the Targaryens?

Ulf the White has not been as subtle as Hugh Hammer about his Targaryen heritage. Instead, since his introduction in the third episode of House of the Dragon season 2, Ulf the White has had only a single identity- a Targaryen bastard.

According to his claims, he was the bastard son of Baelon Targaryen and the half-brother of Viserys and Daemon. His claims seemed quite hollow as was also depicted in House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7, where he was reluctant to go to Dragonstone to claim a dragon.

It seemed in this episode that Ulf had heard the claims of being a Dragonseed but was unsure of his heritage, which put him in a tough position during Vermithor's attack. However, when he stumbled into Silverwing's lair and the dragon took him as a rider, it was clarified that whatever Ulf knew about his heritage was possibly right, and he is the son of Baelon Targaryen.

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Both these characters are going to have influential roles in the future of House of the Dragon. As of now, House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 is streaming on Max. Read our full review here.