Queen Rhaenyra’s army of bastards has given her a dragon force as Silverwing, Vermithor and Seasmoke claim new riders in House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7.
Akhil Arora, a member of the Film Critics Guild and a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic, who has been reporting on Game of Thrones since 2016. He has written for NDTV and SlashFilm.
In a bid to mount a significant challenge against Vhagar, the mightiest of the dragons in the era House of the Dragon takes place, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) has been searching for potential new dragonriders for the last few episodes. There’s no use having the likes of Vermithor, Silverwing and Seasmoke if there’s no one to ride them into battle. Rhaenyra’s plan didn’t go well in episode 6 after her Lord Commander of the Queensguard was burnt alive by Seasmoke. She adopts a new strategy in episode 7 after Seasmoke claims a surprising new rider. By the end of the episode, Rhaenyra has her own little private army.
Let’s look at all the new dragons and dragonriders we saw in House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7, in the order they were claimed.
Seasmoke and Addam of Hull
The penultimate episode of the second season of House of the Dragon opened on a beach, with Rhaenyra and her dragon Syrax squaring off with Seasmoke and the rider he claimed at the end of episode 6, Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty).
Except Rhaenyra doesn’t know who he is and is naturally suspicious of his loyalties. Thankfully for her, Addam works as a shipwright for House Velaryon, whose allegiance lies with Team Black, so he’s happy to serve his Queen.
Back at Dragonstone, Addam becomes a guest of Rhaenyra. He gets his own room and is paid a visit by Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), his father, who tells him, “Well played.”
Vermithor and Hugh
Following Addam’s surprise adoption of Seasmoke, a stunned Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone and wonders what she’s missing. Her advisor Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) tells her that she’ll find more Targaryen blood under the sheets and mattresses than in the scrolls she’s looking through. Mysaria is referring to the lowborn.
Rhaenyra is initially hesitant but eventually agrees to raise an “army of bastards”. Over two dozen silver-haired King’s Landing folk heed the call and make the trip to Dragonstone. Among them is Hugh (Kieran Bew), the blacksmith who failed to provide for and save his sick daughter. Despite her wife’s protests, Hugh travels to Dragonstone.
His wife’s worst fears almost came to pass after Rhaenyra left all the lowborn contenders alone with Vermithor—also known as the Bronze Fury. The dragon predictably burns most of them alive. Hugh survives long enough before displaying a bit of courage and putting himself in the (literal) line of fire. Vermithor takes a liking to him and calms down.
Silverwing and Ulf
Ulf (Tom Bennett), the guy who has loudly worn his Targaryen bastard badge around Flea Bottom, is at first afraid to make the trip to Dragonstone. But his friends more or less goad him into it, reminding him that he’s had many a free drink on his boasts. Now is the time to prove his worth.
At Dragonstone, as Vermithor burns and causes havoc, Ulf nearly falls to his death. With Vermithor distracted elsewhere, Ulf grabs a torch and heads deeper into the caves. Does he not know what lies within? As Ulf makes his way, he steps into what seems like a dragon’s egg.
Silverwing gets up from her sleep and makes a beeline for Ulf who stumbles and falls on his back. To his surprise, he isn’t burnt alive. Silverwing has clearly sensed the Targaryen blood in Ulf and decided to spare him. Guess all his boasts were justified then? The next time we see him, Ulf is on a joyride with Silverwing over King’s Landing.
Upon learning of the intrusion, Prince Regent Aemond decides to follow Silverwing on his own fearsome dragon, Vhagar. But as they approach Dragonstone, Aemond instructs Vhagar to turn around. Not a good idea to take on everyone by yourself, naturally.
? and Rhaena
While House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 treated us to three new dragonriders, it also hinted at a potential fourth, thousands of miles away. Over in the Vale, Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell)—Daemon’s daughter from an earlier marriage—has been kicked out by Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin).
But as the gates close behind her, Rhaena runs off the designated path and into the meadows. There, she looks for the signs of the wild dragon who’s been spotted in the Vale, as Jeyne told us and Rhaena in episode 6.
As we are reminded on multiple occasions, Rhaena has always wanted a dragon of her own but failed to tame one. She tried at age four and age 10, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) notes in episode 7, and Seasmoke “very nearly devoured her” once.
Could this be Rhaena’s moment? Her character has been significantly expanded and merged with another from the book, Fire & Blood, the series is based on. I’m not going to spoil anything for you. With just one episode left in season 2, we’ll learn soon enough.
House of the Dragon season 2 episode 8—the finale—is out Sunday, August 4 in the Americas and Monday, August 5 elsewhere around the world.
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