This Dragonseed Hints at a Weighty Backstory and a Mother With Deep ‘Fire & Blood’ Roots

The dragonseed finally got their chance to shine in House of the Dragon after Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) rounded them up in season 2, episode 7, in another attempt to find new dragon riders. Here, we also learn a little something about the unassuming dragonseed Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew).

Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 7, “The Red Sowing,” and Fire & Blood.

Hugh has been weaving in and out of the plot. From watching him struggle to obtain food for his family to losing his sick daughter, it hasn’t been an easy road for the blacksmith bastard. When news of Rhaenyra’s plans reaches him, he jumps on the opportunity, explaining to his wife that he is a Targaryen bastard of a pretty important woman:

I never knew my father. That much is true. But I did know my mother… She used to tell me I was no different to her brother’s boys, Viserys and Daemon.”

While Hugh doesn’t speak his mother’s name out loud, the whole sex worker with long silver hair thing boldly points to Saera Targaryen.

Who is Saera Targaryen in HotD?

As Hugh’s words detail, Saera was Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Daemon’s (Matt Smith) aunt. However, as with all things Targaryen, her story is a bit messy and tragic. As told in George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, Saera was the ninth (and most rebellious) child of King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne. What started as harmless pranks eventually escalated to more serious scandals as she got older.

An incident involving the royal jester and a brothel resulted in Saera’s friends ratting her out when questioned by King Jaehaerys. Not only was Saera to blame for the jester ordeal, but the princess had also been sleeping with her Kingsguard and other men in court. Saera didn’t deny the allegations. In fact, she embraced them, demanding that she be allowed to marry all three of her favorite male companions.

Her father didn’t take kindly to his daughter’s insubordination, and after catching her trying to run away on dragonback, he imprisoned her, killed one of her lovers in trial by combat, and later disowned her. After a short stint at the Silent Sisters, Saera fled to Lys, where she took up sex work. Eventually, she opened her own pleasure house and became wealthy, which offered a small bit of redemption after having her reputation destroyed and her family bond fractured.

What does the Saera Targaryen connection mean for Hugh Hammer?

Unless House of the Dragon goes way off script, it’s doubtful Saera will appear in the show. According to Fire & Blood, she died a year before her father. However, Hugh’s Targaryen blood connection is a strong one, and his new bond with Vermithor is poetic in a certain sense.

Jaeherys wasn’t just Seara’s father and Hugh’s grandfather; he was also Vermithor’s last rider. As such, the dragon allowing Hugh to tame him is pretty poetic. Jaeherys and his court might’ve turned against Saera and her bastard children by association, but dragons don’t care about things like reputation, and Vermithor’s actions prove that wonderfully.