HBO's TV adaptations of George R. R. Martin's Westeros, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, are filled to the brim with characters that viewers love to hate.
Some of the fans' least favorites, including Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd), Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel), and Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett), among many others, date back to the earliest days of the franchise, enraging audience members since 2011. When each of those characters meets their eventual comeuppance, fans around the world rejoice at some of the most satisfying moments in the entire franchise.
House of the Dragon's season 3 finale, "The Treasons at Tumbleton," adds another name to that list: Ser Ulf the White (Tom Bennett).
Initially, Ulf, a Targaryen bastard, earned his knighthood by taming the dragon Silverwing and joining Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) side as a dragonseed. However, season 3 ends with Ulf striking a deal with Ormund Hightower (James Norton), switching over to the Greens. Ulf acts detestably during the climactic Battle of Tumbleton, razing the town on Silverwing's back and killing innocent civilians by the score, making it hard to forgive him regardless of whether you support Team Black or Team Green.
The House of the Dragon creative team may find themselves at a crossroads regarding Ulf's season 4 story. While a path for redemption could be possible, he could become even more hateable if they stick to the source material, Martin's Fire & Blood.
Trigger warning for discussion of sexual assault as we get into the details of what lies ahead in the book for Ulf the White.
Ulf during the Sack of Tumbleton
The First Battle of Tumbleton, the ending point for House of the Dragon season 3 and the site of Ulf's big betrayal, is immediately followed by the Sack of Tumbleton, which has yet to appear on screen. The Green soldiers continue to decimate the city after the battle, and not even Prince Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) can rein them back in.
During this sack, Ulf commits another unforgivable sin. Martin writes that he "raped three maidens each night." In addition to his wanton murder and destruction, these acts of sexual violence make Ulf completely irredeemable. Throughout its run, Game of Thrones would often, and sometimes insensitively, use sexual assault to showcase how truly evil a character could be, such as the gratuitous scene in which Ramsay Bolton rapes his newlywed wife, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), on their wedding night. If Ulf stays true to his book counterpart, he could reach similar levels of loathsomeness as Ramsay himself.
A different ending for Ulf?
Up until Ulf's meeting with Ormund at the very end of episode 7, "The Dragon in Winter," he didn't feel like he was heading towards a point of no return. In fact, most of House of the Dragon season 3 paints Ulf in a sympathetic light. Audiences are meant to feel for him and understand why he defected to the Greens.
His initial request to be dubbed "Ser Ulf Targaryen" is immediately shot down by Rhaenyra with a comedic "Absolutely not," leading to him adopting his second choice moniker, "the White." Additionally, Rhaenyra forbids him from visiting pubs after his knighthood, claiming that it makes him vulnerable to assassins who want to eliminate one of her valuable dragonriders. This not only cuts Ulf off from his favorite pastime but also isolates him. As a lowborn bastard, he cannot connect with many people in the Red Keep as easily, while the common folk he sees at the pub are much closer to his people. When Ulf briefly leaves the Red Keep, he bumps into Rhaenyra's husband Daemon (Matt Smith), who brutally beats him up for defying the Queen's commands.
With all this in mind, it's easy to understand where Ulf was coming from when he first met with Ormund. Rhaenyra and Team Black took him for granted, treating him only as a dragon rider and weapon of war and not a human being. Ulf is not afforded this generous depiction in the book, which glosses over his personal wants and needs and skips to his betrayal, labeling him and fellow dragonseed Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), who hasn't turned against Rhaenyra in the show, as one of the "Two Betrayers."
As such, the show's version of Ulf is more of a fully fleshed-out character. Maybe the House of the Dragon creative team wouldn't want to fully demonize a character they've spent much of the previous season making audiences somewhat pity. Perhaps House of the Dragon season 4 will steer Ulf back towards some type of redemption or, at the very least, not make him even worse by including the hard-to-stomach detail of his sexual violence.
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