First look at Nettles and the dragonseeds in House of the Dragon season 2?

HBO is currently shooting the second season of House of the Dragon. When last we left our motley band of schemers and incest enthusiasts, Rhaenyra Targaryen son Lucerys had been killed by her half-brother Aemond. This means war.

As for what that war will look like, answers can be found in the pages of the book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin. We’ve already seen some cast members shooting scenes in King’s Landing on the streets of Cáceres‎, Spain. Now the production has moved on to Wales, where we recently spotted stars Harry Collett (Jaecerys Velaryon) and Bethany Antonia (Baela Targaryen).

And now we have shots of what could be some important new characters joining the party in season 2. Let’s get into it, but beware: there are SPOILERS below.

Meet the dragonseeds in House of the Dragon season 2

In the first season of House of the Dragon, Daemon Targaryen mentioned that there are several riderless dragons on Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra and her blacks have made their home base. Without spoiling what happens between now and then, at some point in the future — probably in the back half of season 2 — Rhaenyra and company will put out a call: anybody who can tame and ride these dragons will be given land and titles, assuming they fight on behalf of the rightful queen.

Many people answer this call, figuring they’re up to the challenge of taming a dragon. Many fail, but a few succeed and do go on to fight on dragonback for Rhaenyra: these are the dragonseeds.

In Fire & Blood, the four people who end successfully mounting wild dragons are Addam of Hull, Ulf the White, Hugh Hammer, and a girl simply known as Nettles. Addam of Hull’s inclusion in the season remains a bit of a mystery; he may be part of it, he may not, we’re still working it out. But new behind-the-scenes photos from the set may show us the other dragonseeds:

Who are the dragonseeds on House of the Dragon?

The main thing that clues us in that these may be (some of) the dragonseeds is the second figure from the right. In Fire & Blood, Nettles is described as a young dark-skinned woman who manages to tame the dragon Sheepstealer by feeding him a sheep every day until he trusts her enough to let him mount her. She has a terrific arc so I’m really looking forward to seeing her on the show.

The figure to the left of maybe-Nettles may be Hugh Hammer, who rides the dragon Vermithor (remember that Daemon visited Vermithor in the season 1 finale). Fire & Blood describes Hugh as big, burly and a bit of a bully. We don’t know who that actor is yet, but it looks like he could play the part.

We’ve heard that actor Clinton Liberty may play Addam of Hull, but we don’t see Liberty in this picture. That leaves Ulf the White, also known as Ulf the Sot or just Ulf White, an experienced drunk who mounts the dragon Silverwing. Ulf may be the guy on the far right, although he looks a little fancy to be Ulf to me. He may also be the figure on the far left, who looks like she’s played by actor Parker Lapaine. Perhaps House of the Dragon is gender-swapping the character of Ulf the White.

Or maybe Ulf isn’t in the picture at all. Just because four people stand significantly on a bluff doesn’t mean they’re the dragonseeds, particularly because Addam of Hull clearly isn’t among them, but the presence of the actor who appears to be Nettles — Nettles is the only brown-skinned peasant girl who features prominently in the story — clues us in that something important is happening in this photo.

The dragonseeds are a lot of fun because they inject an element of unpredictability into the story. We’re used to Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon dealing with the elites, people with the birthrights to make a plausible claim on the Iron Throne. But the dragonseeds are just ordinary folk thrust into this high-stakes game.*

What do they do? What don’t they do? It’s gonna get wild. House of the Dragon is due to premiere on HBO and Max in the summer of 2024.

*Some of the dragonseeds may have Targaryen or Velaryon blood, but they still grew up as peasants. Corlys Velaryon got around in his day, if you know what I mean.

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