The Sowing of the Seeds finds some success

House of the Dragon (Credit: HBO)

“House of the Dragon” Season 2, Episode 7 saw Jace’s plan for the Dragonseeds find some success.

After a botched attempt to bond Steffon Darklyn with Seasmoke, the penultimate episode saw as Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) flew off after news arrived that the dragon was seen with a new rider. Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) sat atop Laenor’s old dragon and quickly bent the knee for Team Black.

Upon learning that the dragonseeds need not necessarily be highborn, Rhaenyra put out the call in King’s Landing for all bastards with Valyrian blood to come to Dragonstone and attempt to bond with one of the remaining dragons. The ones who come find the Sowing to be a bloody affair — until finally, the queen has some luck.

Vermithor and Silverwing have sat in the Dragonmont unridden for years at this point, but both finally find a rider worthy of their backs. The episode ended with Rhaenyra feeling a bit more in her power now that she has three more dragons ready to enter the Dance.

Here’s what we know so far about each of the new dragonriders and the dragons they claimed.

The Sowing of the Seeds

The Sowing of the Seeds is what Jace’s plan to find more riders becomes known as in the histories.

In the books, Jace puts out a call and promises a knighthood, lands and riches to any dragonseed who successfully claims one of the dragons. Despite so many dragonseeds, it’s a particularly bloody affair with many losing their lives in the attempt to bond with a dragon.

Successful Dragonseeds

The Sowing had a higher body count than Rhaenyra and Jace expected, but at least they came out with a few new riders. Here’s what we know about each and where they stand now.

Addam (Clinton Liberty) is Alyn’s older brother. He’s also a bastard of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) but is chosen by Seasmoke. We’d seen Addam earlier in the season watching the dragon roam around Driftmark, but apparently the dragon had also been watching him. He was quick to bend the knee to Rhaenyra when confronted and looks to have found himself some purpose fighting for Team Black, despite clearly still having a chip on his shoulder for dear old dad.

Ulf the White

Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) is one of the only dragonseeds who seems to proudly boast his lineage. He claimed early in Season 2 that his grandfather was Jaehaerys the Conciliator — the king before Viserys (Paddy Considine) in Season 1.

When it came down to going to Dragonstone on Rhaenyra’s call, Ulf seemed a bit hesitant and worried that his boasts were for not. He ended up going and fleeing from Vermithor only to find and bond with Silverwing deeper in the Dragonmont, the dragon flown by Jaehaerys’ wife.

Hugh Hammer

Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) appeared briefly at the beginning of Season 2, appealing to Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) for help funding more of their dragon-killing weapons.

The lack of food in King’s Landing under Team Green’s leadership leads Hugh to Dragonstone. He struggles through the chaos of Vermithor’s entrance but clearly makes an impression on the Bronze Fury when he steps up to protect a female Dragonseed about to be killed by the old dragon. Doing so earned Hugh the respect of one of the oldest dragons in Westeros.

The Dragons

The dragons that we see in this episode — one for the first time ever — have been riderless for some time. Here’s what we know about them.

Seasmoke

Seasmoke is a silver-grey dragon who was hatched to Rhaenyra’s thought-dead first husband Laenor Velaryon. Both the dragon and rider participated in the War for the Stepstones before Seasmoke fought in the Dance.

Seasmoke clearly took as much of a liking to Addam as the rider did the dragon. After rejecting Steffon Darklyn as a rider, Seasmoke sought out Addam on his own and aggressively.

Vermithor

Vermithor — also called the “Bronze Fury” — was previously ridden by Jaehaerys the Conciliator. He hasn’t been claimed since the Old King’s death and resided deep in the Dragonmont until won over by Hugh. Vermithor is mated to Silverwing who was ridden by Jaehaerys’ wife Queen Alysanne.

Silverwing

Silverwing is mated to Vermithor and last ridden by King Jaehaerys’ wife Alysanne. Ulf stumbled upon her and her egg clutches deep in the Dragonmont but luckily won her over.

This is the first the show has seen of Silverwing, though she has been mentioned a few times, most notably when Cregan mentions to Jace that Jaehaerys and Alysanne visited the North during the Old King’s reign and both Vermithor and Silverwing refused to fly beyond the Wall.

New episodes of “House of the Dragon” air Sundays on HBO and stream on Max.