Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 7.
Well, that was bloody. In the closestHouse of the Dragonhas come to staging a Westerosi hunger games, this week’s installment ofRyan Condal’sprequel series sees Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) make good on Mysaria’s (Sonoya Mizuno) suggestion that she look for new dragonriders among the bastards of House Targaryen by hosting an all-you-can-eat smallfolk buffet for Dragonstone’s unclaimed mounts. Inspired bySeasmoke’s hilarious claiming of Addam of Hull(Clinton Liberty) in last week’s release,House of the DragonSeason 2, Episode 7, “The Red Sowing,” instead revolves around attempts to claim Vermithor, Westeros’s second-largest dragon known as the Bronze Fury. And while many are burnt and eaten for their efforts, one lowly blacksmith is able to stand up to the dragon and survive–Hugh the Hammer.
Played by actorKieran Bew,Hugh has appeared intermittently throughoutHouse of the DragonSeason 2as a King’s Landing smith and struggling father. He first shows his face at the court of King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) as a petitioner, where he asks for advanced payments so that he might better provide for his family, and just last week he stole food from Rhaenyra’s gifts to King’s Landing moments before the riot that threatened the Dowager Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke). Hugh violently grabs a sack of vegetables from a commoner in order to help feed his ailing daughter, who has spent much of Season 2 hovering on the brink of death, underscoring the character’s grounded nature in contrast to some of Westeros’s biggest players. Yet, asHouse of the DragonSeason 2, Episode 7proves, this smith’spersonal history ties him directly to House of the Dragon’s civil war.
House of the Dragon
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO seriesGame of Thrones.Based on George R.R. Martin’sFire & Blood,House of the Dragonis set nearly 200 years beforeGame of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
Hugh the Hammer Is a Commoner With Uncommon Blood in ‘House of the Dragon’
In bothHouse of the Dragonand the prequel novel on which it’s based,Fire and Blood,Hugh the Hammer appears as a lowborn blacksmith of unusual stature.Known for his towering height and almost inhuman strength, Hugh’s hands are said to be so strong he can bend steel bars. In the book, Hugh gets his moniker from his favorite weapon, resemblingKing Robert Baratheon fromGame of Thronesfor his preferred method of killing enemies with a war hammer, butHouse of the DragonSeason 2 also makes several changes to the character’s personal life. Hugh’s wife (Ellora Torchia) and daughter, for example, aren’t mentioned inGeorge R.R. Martin’ssource material, whiletheir inclusion in the show provides Hugh with a more tragic element that turns him into a sympathetic, well-rounded commonerinstead of a purely intimidating warrior.
House of the DragonSeason 2 takes other liberties with its portrayal of Hugh the Hammer too. In Martin’s book, Hugh lives on the ancient Targaryen seat of Dragonstone instead of operating in King’s Landing, a trip Hugh doesn’t take until this week’s episode ofHouse of the Dragon. While the Targaryens have ruled the island since Aenar the Exile fled the ruins of Old Valyria and established the family’s stronghold in Westeros, there aremany branches in the Targaryen family tree, and some also took advantage of their status on the island to produce plenty of illegitimate heirs with the locals. Thesecouplings outside the Targaryens' tradition of marriages within the family producedbastards known as dragonseeds, or commoners with the blood of the dragon pulsing through their veins, andHouse of the DragonSeason 2, Episode 7 solidifies Hugh the Hammer as a crucial member of their ranks.
How Is Hugh Able To Claim Vermithor in House of the Dragon Season 2?
WhileHouse of the DragonSeason 2chooses not to have Hugh start out on Dragonstone, Episode 7 does finally confirm the blacksmith’s Targaryen origins. After Rhaenyra tasks Mysaria’s spy network in King’s Landing with putting out her call for lowborn dragonriders, Hugh reveals the truth to his wife, who attempts to discourage him from answering Rhaenyra’s summons out of concern that she’ll be widowed. Instead, Hugh reiterates his conviction by admitting thathis mother was a woman with silver hair who worked in a pleasure house, heavily implying her identity as Saera Targaryen, the ninthborn child of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne. This heritage not only reaffirms that Hugh has been hiding his importance in plain sight, but also thatKing’s Landing’s most underpaid blacksmith isa crucial descendant of the blood of the dragon.
Out of a desire to distinguish himself from his all-powerful relatives, Hugh goes on to explain that he became a blacksmith because he wanted to build his legacy with his own hands, andit’s this same personal drive that allows him to claim Vermithor in this week’s release.As the unfortunate barbecuing ofHouse of the Dragon’sSer Steffon Darklynproved in last week’s episode, blood is not always enough to guarantee a Targaryen will bond with Westeros’s war machines. As other dragonseeds are torched and devoured, Hugh’s altruism and bravery are ultimately what allow him to stand out from the Red Sowing’s dismembered crowd. His bold challenge to the dragon distracts Vermithor from feasting on an innocent woman, allowing Hugh to match the Bronze Fury’s sheer ferocity andcement his bond with another dragonwho had all but been lost to Westerosi history.
Forget the Blacks or Greens, I’m Rooting for ‘House of the Dragon’s Dog
This doggo should be king, not the Targaryens.
Hugh Has a Major Role To Play in the Targaryen Civil War To Come
Ironically, Hugh’s claiming of Vermithor possesses a symbolic significance beyond his own elevated status. As the lifelong mount of King Jaehaerys,Hugh’s reclamation of his lineage also seizes a major symbol of legitimacy from the same man who once banishedSaera Targaryenfrom Westeros for her strong sexual appetites. Not only does this reversal welcome her descendant back intoHouse of the Dragon’sprivileged world, but Hugh’s claiming of Vermithor establishes the blacksmith as one of Rhaenyra’s most crucial allies. Rivaled only in size by Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) Vhagar, the final scene ofHouse of the DragonSeason 2, Episode 7demonstrates the power of Hugh and Vermithor’s pairing by helping to repel the Prince Regent’s counterattack on Dragonstone, finallydelivering Rhaenyra one of her most infamous warriors in time for Westeros’s civil war to commence in earnest.
With full-blooded Targaryens long-established as Westeros’s true dragonlords, the ability to claim a dragon would be impressive for anyone, but Hugh’s achievement is especially unique because of his unlikely heritage. As the long-lost bastard of a Targaryen princess disgraced by the same patriarchal system which oppressesHouse of the Dragon’sRhaenyra and Alicent,Hugh’s mounting of the dragon of an old king demonstrates the powerof his earnest character and hidden parentage. With Season 2, Episode 7’s revelation that Hugh’s daughter succumbed to her sickness before her father could claim Vermithor,House of the Dragon’snewest rider has more reason to hate the Greens than everas the Blacks finally begin sending their dragons off to war, though fans will have to wait for next week’s finale to see just how much fire Hugh is able to muster from his powerful blood.
House of the Dragon is currentlystreaming on Max in the U.S. New episodes air every Sunday.
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