Warning: Major spoilers ahead for season two, episode seven of “House of the Dragon,” and “Fire and Blood.”
Season two, episode seven of “House of the Dragon” finally delivered on two side characters that it’s been giving time to all season: blacksmith Hugh Hammer and town drunk Ulf, both of whom managed to successfully claim a dragon.
While Ulf has claimed that his father was Baelon the Brave — making Daemon and Viserys Targaryen his half-brothers — Hugh’s parentage has been a bit less clear. In the latest episode, however, he gave a few telling clues: his mother worked in a pleasure house, where she experienced relative freedom and demand as a Targaryen with silver hair, and she was Daemon and Viserys’ aunt.
That information alone doesn’t confirm who Hugh’s mother was. But it does sound like one of King Jahaerys’ children — Princess Saera Targaryen.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Saera Targaryen was Jahaerys and Alysanne’s ninth child
Saera was one of King Jaeharys I and Queen Alysanne’s children. She was born in 67 AC, three years after her older sister, Daella.
In “Fire and Blood,” George R.R. Martin writes that Saera was “a trial from the very start.” She was talkative and insubordinate, demanding attention and drawing more attention than her comparatively quiet siblings Vaegon and Daella. Incidentally, Martin writes, she also continued to drink breast milk past the age of four.
Martin writes of Saera in “Fire and Blood” with a dramatic flair, calling her “one of the most troubling and distasteful chapters in the long reign of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne.” As she grew up, she continued to be a demanding princess and acted with malice toward her siblings, playing cruel pranks on her sister Daella. By the time she was 12 years old, she was frequently drunk when going to the sept for prayer.
Martin writes that Saera was both intelligent and beautiful. While she was amenable to the prospect of marriage, she also knew that she could attract plenty of people on her own. It would eventually be her undoing: after Queen Alysanne learned that Saera had kissed two of her female friends, and had sex with three of her male ones, she sent her to Oldtown to serve as a novice with the silent sisters.
After a year and a half, however, Saera escaped Oldtown, and was eventually found working in a pleasure garden in Lys. Queen Alysanne begged Jaehaerys to bring her back to Westeros, but he refused, saying that she was dead to him. Eventually, Saera settled in Volantis as a wealthy woman.
HBO
It’s still unclear if Saera is Hugh’s mother
Saera became relevant, however, during the search for King Jaehaerys’ successor following the death of most of his other children. Three of Saera’s sons from Essos made claims for the throne, but Saera herself at age 34 chose not to, as she did not desire to return to Westeros. It’s unclear in the book if she had more children past the three who submitted a claim.
Hugh’s testimony about his mother lines up with what we know about Saera. And Kieran Bew, who plays Hugh in “House of the Dragon,” all but confirmed the character’s parentage in an interview with Decider, though he said that he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to do so.
“It can’t necessarily be anyone else,” he told the publication, saying that the series’ showrunner Ryan Condal basically said as much.
“He told me who my mum is and it immediately gave me a huge backstory, huge motivation. Because I scoured the book for information,” Bew continued.
Bew said that what he learned from “Fire and Blood” about Saera and her children gave him ample fuel to flesh out Hugh’s character, calling the knowledge “the biggest gift.”
Still, a few questions remain: was Hugh born in Essos? How did he come to King’s Landing? Was he too young to pursue a claim upon the Iron Throne prior to Jaeharys’ passing?
It’s unclear if we’ll get much more on the show about Saera — but there’s plenty left in Hugh’s story, especially now that he’s got one of the biggest dragons in all of Westeros.
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