The third episode of House of the Dragon's second season is out now, and at long last the Dance of the Dragons is spreading beyond the confines of the Red Keep and Dragonstone. Quite a few new characters rose to the fore this week. In the Riverlands, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) captured the crumbling castle of Harrenhal, where he encountered a mysterious wet nurse named Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). Meanwhile, in King's Landing, Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) spent a night out in the seedier parts of the city, where he very nearly came face-to-face with a long lost relative he has no idea even exists: Ulf the White, played by Tom Bennett.
Ulf is an interesting and important figure in the Dance of the Dragons civil war who has some deep connections to House Targaryen. (Or at least, he'll tell you he does.) Now that he's been properly introduced, let's go over the basics of who this character is.
But first a warning: in order to talk about Ulf, we have to talk about a MAJOR SPOILER from Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin. You have been warned.
Ulf White, who we'll be getting to know better as House of the Dragon continues, pops up in the new episode pic.twitter.com/IJIKFzRAdS
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) June 25, 2024
Who is Ulf the White in Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon?
Ulf made his debut appearance in the second episode of House of the Dragon season 2, "Rhaenyra the Cruel," where he was part of the crowd gathered in King's Landing to see the hanged ratcatchers from the Red Keep. In Episode 3, we learn a lot more about him.
In the book, Ulf is known by a few different names: Ulf the White (for his hair), Ulf the Sot (for his drinking), and later, he proclaims himself Ulf White. He comes onto the scene during an event called the sowing of the seeds. We're expecting that to play out in the back half of season 2.
Essentially, after a catastrophic battle, Rhaenyra finds herself with more dragons than she has riders. So her son Jacaerys puts out a call: anyone who can mount one of the many dragons loafing around Dragonstone or Driftmark will be granted lands and titles, along with a place of honor in Queen Rhaenyra's dragon air force. Many of the people who come forward to try their luck claim they have Targaryen blood somewhere in their lineage, and are known as "dragonseeds." Ulf the White is one such dragonseed.
We don't learn very much about Ulf until much later in the Dance of the Dragons, when he assumes an even more prominent role after another tragedy rocks both the Greens and the Blacks. But House of the Dragon has frontloaded some of Ulf's backstory so that we understand his connection to the Targaryens much earlier.
We saw this in Episode 3, where he explains to other patrons at a tavern that he is in fact a Targaryen bastard. Or at least, so he says — whether anyone actually believe him, or if it's even true, is left fairly ambiguous. But to hear Ulf tell it, he's the bastard son of Baelon Targaryen, the father of Viserys and Daemon, whose death was one of the instigating factors for the Great Council of 101 AC.
Yes, you read that right: according to Ulf, he's the half-brother of King Viserys and Daemon Targaryen.
How is Ulf related to Rhaenyra and Aegon II Targaryen?
Baelon, also known as Baelon the Brave, was the heir to King Jaehaerys the Conciliator, but he died of a burst belly. It was this sudden death of King Viserys' last living son that led to the old king deciding to let the lords of Westeros elect whoever their next ruler should be. Before his death, Baelon was the rider of Vhagar and wielded the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister. The sword passed on to Daemon; as for the dragon, Vhagar would go riderless after Baelon's death until she was eventually mounted by Laena Velaryon, and then by Aemond Targaryen after Laena's death.
If Ulf's tale is true, that would make him the uncle to both Rhaenyra and Aegon II, as well as an uncle once-removed to their various children. If House of the Dragon leans on that connection, it could provide a lot of interesting fodder as the series goes on.
Following the sowing of the seeds, Ulf the White's importance only grows. We won't go into all the details of that — best to leave a few surprises in store. But suffice it to say, we'll be seeing a lot more of this guy before all's said and done.
House of the Dragon airs new episodes Sunday nights on HBO and Max.
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