Wait a second, how does Ulf White have Targaryen blood in House of the Dragon?

If you've been waiting for new dragons to be introduced in House of the Dragon season 2, tonight's new episode is the one you want to watch. With the help of Mysaria, Rhaenyra Targaryen puts out a call to potential Targaryen bastards who want to try and claim a dragon. It sounds a little crazy, yes, but at this point, she's desperate. She needs more dragonriders behind her if she wants a shot at winning the war. The highly-anticipated event is one later known as the "Sowing of the Seeds" or the "Red Sowing," a pivotal moment in George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood. As expected, some of these "dragonseeds" die, but others come out victorious.

WARNING: Major spoilers from House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 are below.

If you've read Fire & Blood, then you'll know who's able to claim dragons in the Sowing of the Seeds. But besides Addam of Hull, how exactly these individuals are able to do so is unclear. Meaning, we don't know their true parentage. They must have Valyrian blood — you need to in order to claim a dragon — but we don't know where in their lineage it's from. That all changes with House of the Dragon, however, which has been great at closing gaps like these.

In episode 7, Hugh Hammer reveals to his wife Kat that his mother was actually a Targaryen (most likely Saera Targaryen, though he doesn't confirm it) which is why he feels the need to travel to Dragonstone when Rhaenyra sends out her call. Ulf White, another commoner living at King's Landing, proudly announced his parentage when he was introduced earlier this season. Need a refresher? We got you.

Ulf White is supposedly the son of Baelon Targaryen

We get to meet Ulf White in the third episode of House of the Dragon season 2, where he's enjoying a night out with friends at the local tavern. He is very open about the supposed fact that he's a Targaryen bastard, declaring that his father is Baelon Targaryen. That would mean he's the bastard half-brother of Viserys and Daemon Targaryen (hey, we know them!), and his grandparents were Jaehaerys and Alysanne Targaryen. If he and Hugh are telling the truth about their parentage, that would mean they are cousins.

So should we believe Ulf when he says he's the bastard of Baelon? Yeah, we should. As tonight's episode shows us, he's able to claim a dragon when accidentally stumbling upon Silverwing in a massive cave on Dragonstone. He has absolutely no confidence he can claim her and seems genuinely surprised when he's not killed. Ulf actually has a deeper connection to this dragon than he might realize; before him, Silverwing was ridden by Queen Alysanne, Ulf's supposed grandmother. Silverwing has been riderless since Alysanne's death.

Please, don't put too much stock in the leaks

Because Ulf is able to claim Silverwing, that should be evidence enough to believe he's telling the truth about his parentage. Although he seems to doubt it earlier in tonight's episode, he's likely only hesitant because he's scared, understandably. There are alleged leaks going around social media, however, that are leaving a sour taste in fans' mouths.

One supposed leak claims that Ulf is lying about his parentage, which would prove you don't need Valyrian blood to claim a dragon. Sure, I wouldn't like that either, but we have literally no reason to believe this is true. We don't know where this "leak" came from, and while we can't straight-out say it's false, there's no point in getting worked up over something we haven't seen. All over social media, House of the Dragon fans are becoming outraged over various alleged leaks that may or may not ever happen. There's only one episode left of the season; let's enjoy it!

There's a lot riding on the House of the Dragon season 2 finale, and I bet we'll get to see more of the dragonseeds — or, at least, I hope so. The conclusion of the second season premieres next Sunday, August 4, on HBO and Max.

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