Hugh’s Saera Targaryen Reveal Is a Major House of the Dragon Easter Egg

This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 7 and details for Fire & Blood.

There’s just one episode left in House of the Dragon season 2, and while the Greens have the might of Vhagar and the unhinged Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), the Blacks have just added some (literal) firepower to their team in the form of some new dragonseeds. Those who’ve read George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood Targaryen history will know the Red Sowing is an important part of the war, with Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) recruiting Targaryen bastards to her cause.

There have been some notable gaps in the dragonrider count recently, with the absence of Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan) leaving Seasmoke riderless while Vermithor and Silverwing lurked in Dragonstone’s Dragonmount. Episode 7 “The Red Sowing” saw Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) claim Verminthor as his own during one of the show’s bloodiest scenes. The moment finds Hugh proving himself as a Targaryen descendant, and that begs the question: just who are Hugh Hammer’s parents?

During a scene between Hammer and his wife, the former makes a throwaway mention of his parents, saying that while he never knew his father, his mother was a prostitute with silver hair. The implication is that Hugh’s mother was Saera Targaryen, with him telling his wife, “She used to tell me I was no different to her brother’s boys, Viserys and Daemon, but I was ashamed of her.” Bew confirmed Saera is Hugh’s mother to Decider, and if you know your Targaryen family tree, you’ll know Saera Targaryen was the daughter of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne.

Unfortunately for Saera, she’s a shamed Targaryen who was pushed into a life of prostitution – although she made a fortune doing so. Born as the ninth child of Jaehaerys and Alysanne, Saera was the sister of Viserys and Daemon’s mother, as well as Rhaenys’ father. This makes her their aunt and Rhaenyra’s great aunt. She’s thought to have died before Jaehaerys around the year 101 AC (After Aegon’s Conquest), so unless we deliver a flashback of the early days of Jaehaerys’ court, it’s unlikely Saera will physically appear in the series. 

Saera stood out from the rest of her siblings as a rebel, with the text saying that her first word was “no.” Although her mother compared her to the tempestuous Aerea Targaryen, Archmaester Gyldayn reported that Saera was much more of a handful. After drinking before the age of 11 and dying all of the Kingsguard’s cloaks pink, things came to a head when Saera was involved in a scandal in 84 AC. Admitting to kissing and frolicking naked with her girlfriends, Saera then confessed to having slept with three of her close male friends. An enraged Jaehaerys locked the men up and confined Saera to her chambers. Instead, she escaped and snuck into the Dragonpit to try and steal a dragon.

With Saera later confined to a tower cell, she was forced to watch as one of her lovers (Ser Braxton Beesbury) was killed in a trial by combat against her father. Although Saera was sent to Oldtown to serve with the Silent Sisters, she escaped again and made her way to Lys on a boat. Saera made her living at a pleasure garden in Lys, while Jaehaerys is said to have disowned her and never been the same again. Hugh mentions part of this to his wife, explaining, “She was granted more freedom than most because of who she was. And because rich men paid more to fuck a woman with silver hair.” Given Hugh’s age, it’s likely that she gave birth to him at some point during her time in Lys. 

Fans might be wondering who Hugh Hammer’s father was, but with Hugh himself saying he didn’t know him, it’s likely he was nobody of importance when compared to Saera Targaryen. Saera’s later life is less clear, but after moving to Volantis and taking on a famous pleasure house, her reputation preceded her. When Jaehaerys tried to settle his succession, three bastards came forward and claimed to be Saera’s sons, although it was never proved. Saera decided not to pursue her claim to the Iron Throne, saying she had “her own kingdom in Volantis. Her infamy continued, and on his deathbed, a dying Jaehaerys reportedly mistook a young Alicent Hightower for Saera. 

As Vermithor was Jaehaerys’ dragon, it brings things full circle that his grandson is the latest to claim him. The other big dragonseed is Tom Bennett’s Ulf the White, who claims he’s the bastard of the late Baelon the Brave. That remains unproved, and although Ulf gets to ride Silverwing in the episode’s closing moments, it’s unclear whether he managed to tame her because he inadvertently stood on one of her eggs, and she might’ve mistaken him for her offspring. Either way, Silverwing and Vermithor are now taking flight as two key reinforcements to Rhaenyra’s army.

New episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.