House of the Dragon season 3 continues to charge ahead into the bloody thick of the Targaryen civil war, and the bodies are beginning to pile up. Already we've seen the devastating loss of crown prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) at the Battle of the Gullet, the execution of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), and a shocking abuse of power at Tumbleton that will affect Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew). But there are yet more deaths ahead before this dance is finished.
Given that House of the Dragon has complete source material to work from in the form of George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, it's able to foreshadow some of these major deaths pretty far ahead of time. One such bit of foreshadowing dropped during season 3 episode 4, "Tumbleton," but it was so subtle that even diehard fans might have missed it.
FULL SPOILERS ahead for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon.
Rhaenyra Targaryen's order will prove prophetic for Ulf the White
One moment of "Tumbleton" that mixed humor with tension was when the peasant dragonrider Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) came to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) in search of favors. But these favors weren't for him — they were for his drinking buddies in Flea Bottom. By making these ridiculous requests, Ulf inadvertently revealed to Rhaenyra that he'd been spending his downtime getting drunk in a tavern in the worst part of town, which just so happens to be what he's done most all of his life.
However, things have changed now for Ulf. He's a crucial member of Rhaenyra's army as the rider of one of her larger dragons, Silverwing. Ulf's drunken escapades in Flea Bottom present the perfect opportunity for assassins to strike at him and deprive Rhaenyra of one of her all-important dragonriders, weakening her position in the war.
So she does what any reasonable monarch might: she bans Ulf from going to taverns, insisting he confine his drinking to the Red Keep from that point on. Obviously, this doesn't sit well with Ulf, who isn't used to having these sorts of restrictions placed on him.
While we can debate whether this is yet another example of Rhaenyra slighting one of her dragonseeds or if it was a prudent decision, one thing is clear from the source text: Ulf's penchant for drinking will, in fact, get him killed one day.
How does Ulf the White die in Fire & Blood?
Ulf has a winding journey in Fire & Blood, and it all leads to Tumbleton, the city currently occupied by Ormund Hightower (James Norton) in House of the Dragon. In the book, Ulf and his fellow dragonseed Hugh the Hammer are dispatched to the city to help defend it from Ormund's advancing host during the First Battle of Tumbleton, but they defect and help burn its defenses to the ground instead. After joining the Greens, they become known to the annals of history as the Two Betrayers.
The reason for Ulf and Hugh's defection is never made clear, and it's very likely the show will handle it differently. But the book plays up the idea that Hugh and Ulf have designs on their own high seats: Hugh wants to become King of the Seven Kingdoms, while Ulf has his eye set on becoming Lord of Highgarden. Their misdeeds earn them a terrible reputation during the following sack of Tumbleton, where Ulf sets up shop in his new favorite tavern, the Bawdy Badger.
While Ulf and Hugh terrorize the local populace and Green nobility alike, 13 highborn conspirators gather to put an end to the two dragonriders. Known as the Caltrops, these 13 Green men make a plan to kill Hugh and Ulf, and claim their dragons before the situation can grow any worse.
Fate intervenes, however, when the Second Battle of Tumbleton happens the night before the planned assassinations are to take place. Hugh is killed during this battle, along with a number of other major characters. One who isn't, though, is Ulf the White, who sleeps through the whole thing because he was so drunk.
Suffice to say, when Ulf awakens the next day, he decides that with Hugh out of the way, maybe he should be King of the Seven Kingdoms. He does have a very large dragon, after all. But before that can come to pass, Ser Hobert Hightower brings him two casks of wine to celebrate their coming assault on King's Landing. Ulf is suspicious, but is ultimately poisoned when Hobert drinks some of the wine first himself, proving that it's safe, after which Ulf guzzles three cups full.
Ulf the White dies in his sleep a short while later, his ambition to take the Iron Throne for himself unfulfilled. Silverwing is never claimed by another rider, and becomes a wild dragon living on an island in the Reach.
While Ulf's story may play out very differently in the show, especially since Hobert Hightower has already died and passed on his lordship to his son Ormund, it seems reasonable to expect that the vulgar dragonseed will end up assassinated in some manner just like he does in the book, possibly with one of his favorite drinks as a part of the equation. With that in mind, Rhaenyra's insistence in House of the Dragon that Ulf's drunkenness makes him vulnerable to Green assassins takes on a whole new light.
We'll see what lies ahead for Ulf the White in the rest of House of the Dragon season 3. New episodes premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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