One of the Coolest Dragons Is About To Show Up on ‘House of the Dragon’

If you haven’t watched House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5, “Regent,” you probably don’t care about this dragon yet, and should tread carefully because there are spoilers ahead!

But if you have watched the episode, then you get the excitement over Jacaerys Velaryon name-dropping Silverwing at the end of it!

The Blacks are currently sitting on a horde of dragons at Dragonstone. The current seat of the heir incumbent to the Iron Throne used to be the westernmost post of the Valyrian Freehold, where the Targaryens first landed after their escape from Valyria, before they went on to conquer the rest of Westeros. It houses many secrets (such as a treasure trove of dragonglass), and is the best place for dragons to get some R&R, mate, lay eggs, recuperate, etc. 

By the time the Dance of the Dragons begins, there are several wild and unclaimed dragons just chilling around the Dragonmount. This includes dragons like The Cannibal and Grey Ghost—wild dragons that have never been claimed—and dragons like Seasmoke, the dragon of Ser Laenor Velaryon, riderless after his death.

At the end of episode 5, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon comes up with an interesting idea—tracking the branches of the Targaryen lineage for people who were married off into other houses or even bastards, who might be able to bond with the dragons on the Dragonmount, thus adding to the strength of Team Black. Book readers know this as the Sowing of the Seeds, an event that will raise the dragonseed, a.k.a. bastards of Targaryen lineage, to dragon riders.

The two dragons that Jace mentions to Rhaenyra are Silverwing and Vermithor. We’ve seen the scary Vermithor earlier in season 1 when Daemon sings to him. But who is Silverwing?

So who is Silverwing and why is she such a big deal?

Silverwing is a she-dragon that belonged to Queen Alysanne Targaryen, wife of King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, and grandmother to King Viserys I and Prince Daemon Targaryen. As is her name, Silverwing is a silvery dragon, known to be docile, and has never killed anyone unless at battle.

According to lore, she was hatched in the cradle of young Princess Alysanne from an egg placed by her sister Rhaena. And she has racked up quite a few miles, having traveled all the way up to The Wall in the north, which of course she refused to cross. She may not be a slayer like grandma Vhagar, but Silverwing is probably one of the most chill dragons who manages to outlast most of her pals!

Who rode Silverwing before the Dance of the Dragons?

According to history books, Alysanne and and her brother Jaehaerys were deeply in love and actually eloped to get married because, for a point there, incestuous Targaryen unions were getting a lot of flak from the Faith of the Seven. But the two rode their dragons, Silverwing and Vermithor, to elope and got married in secret! Since then, they would always ride them together, and Silverwing and Vermithor were just as coiled together as their riders, the queen and the king, were.

Silverwing is also a well-traveled dragon. The usual rides from Dragonstone to King’s Landing aside, Silverwing has also flown as far as the The Wall in the North, when Queen Alysanne went to see the Night’s Watch as part of a royal visit for King Jaehaerys.

Queen Alysanne was quite the woman, a feminist queen beloved by the smallfolk for all the policies and laws she advocated her husband, King Jaehaerys, to enact. She held women’s courts, fought with her husband the king for Princess Rhaenys’ right to ascend to the Iron Throne irrespective of gender, abolished laws like the right of the first night (where Lords had the right to bed the bride before their husbands), and even gifted additional land to the Night’s Watch because she was impressed by their work. And in all this, her constant companion and girl BFF was her dragon, Silverwing!

When Queen Alysanne died in her old age, Silverwing became riderless, and was probably schmoozing with Vermithor on Dragonstone, until a new rider claimed her.

Who Rides Silvering in House of the Dragon?

Oh you’ve met this guy. In a HOTD season 2 episode 3, you see him in a tavern scene, boasting of being the bastard son of King Baelon ‘the Brave’ Targaryen, and half-brother to Prince Daemon. He is cut short when King Aegon II enters, but he’s about to get his moment in the sun soon.

Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) may be a brag and an alcoholic but he is indeed one of the dragonseed (though we do not know if he is the bastard son of Baelon or someone else), and he will soon be claiming Silverwing as his mount.

Without spoiling for you what happens with Ulf (nothing good), Silverwing does enjoy a much longer lifespan than all his riders, fights some cool battles while she’s at it, and outlasts the Dance of the Dragons. Attagirl!