Tonight HBO unleashes the House of the Dragon season 3 finale, and after the battle has been waged at Tumbleton, Westeros will never be the same. The Greens and the Blacks have been circling the market town in the Reach all season long, and now at last, the dragons and armies are unleashed.
While towering figures like Daemon Targaryen and Ormund Hightower paint obvious targets for their respective factions, a much less assuming character is poised to have the greatest impact of all on the Battle of Tumbleton: Ulf the White (Tom Bennett). The dragonseed pledged his fealty to Rhaenyra Targaryen after claiming the dragon Silverwing, but after suffering one slight after another, he seemingly decided to defect and join the Greens.
That plot twist happened at the end of episode 307, which means it's still hanging as we enter the season finale. What will happen? And does Ulf die in House of the Dragon's Battle of Tumbleton?
Obviously we're not going to spoil the battle itself; watch and find out! But we can talk about what happens to Ulf in the book. FULL SPOILERS for George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood beyond this point.
What happens to Ulf in the First Battle of Tumbleton?
In Fire & Blood, there are two battles that happen at Tumbleton. We're about to witness the first of them in House of the Dragon, which features Ulf's betrayal. To get it out of the way at the top: no, Ulf does not die in the First Battle of Tumbleton.
Instead, his betrayal totally blindsides the Blacks. The set up for the battle is slightly different in the book in that the Blacks control Tumbleton, while the Greens are marching on it. Because of that, when Ulf flips, he burns the city as well as the Black army. He's not alone in this betrayal either: Hugh the Hammer also turns cloak and burns Tumbleton. From that point on, they're known to history as the Two Betrayers.
Since the Greens control Tumbleton in House of the Dragon, it's all but assured that Ulf's betrayal will go down slightly differently. But we can say with relative certainty that Ulf the Sot is likely to survive, unless the show makes some major deviations from the source material.
When does Ulf die in House of the Dragon?
Following the First Battle of Tumbleton, Ulf takes up residence in the city, letting his status as a dragonlord go to his head as he contends with the fractured Green nobility that remains. Resentment builds, until the Green nobles form a secret cabal known as the Caltrops, who plan to assassinate both Ulf and Hugh.
They don't get the chance, because on the very day they mean to launch their plan, the Second Battle of Tumbleton happens. That clash is a total bloodbath that results in the deaths of a number of main characters and dragons — read about it here. We won't spoil the details for Second Tumbleton in this article though, because you know who doesn't die there? Ulf the White.
Instead of taking part in the battle, Ulf drunkenly sleeps through it, inadvertently saving his own skin. That means that when the dust settles, there are even less people to oppose his reign as a dragonlord. This pushes Ulf ever closer to becoming a tyrant to those around him.
It's at this point, when Ulf is entertaining the idea of ruling the Seven Kingdoms himself, that a Green noble named Hobert Hightower makes his move. He brings two casks of wine to Ulf, intending to celebrate. The cask of Ulf's favorite is poisoned.
However, the dragonseed has grown cautious, and he tries to set it aside. So Hobert drinks first, which convinces Ulf it's safe for him too. They both die peaceful deaths from the poison, which lulls them to a sleep they never wake from.
This will vary somewhat in the show, because Hobert Hightower is already dead. He was Ormund's father, who was Lord of House Hightower in the show's first season. As such, if House of the Dragon keeps Ulf's poisoning plotline, it'll have to be someone else who makes that final toast with him.
But these are questions for House of the Dragon season 4. For now, catch Ulf the White causing utter chaos in the House of the Dragon season finale, streaming now on HBO Max.
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