Who Are the Three New Dragon Riders on ‘House of the Dragon’?

Spoilers for House of the Dragon below.

A new crop of dragon riders has emerged in Westeros, and they’re not your typical Targaryens. While most dragon riders in the Game of Thrones universe share a last name and blood line, the three new dragon riders joining Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) in her fight for the Iron Throne are not high born, like Rhaenyra and her kin. Instead, they’re common folk who contain traces of Targaryen blood.

Although most of Rhaenyra’s dragon rider hopefuls end up as roasted dragon food, three men—Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), and Ulf the White (Tom Bennett)—not only survive the melee in season two episode seven, but claim Seasmoke, Vermithor and Silverwing in the process. In record time, these three lowborn men have gone from dragon seeds—those who have the potential to ride dragons—to full-blown dragon riders. But who are are Addam, Hugh, and Ulf? And how were they able to tame and Seasmoke, Vermithor and Silverwing? Below, a breakdown of Team Black’s three new dragon riders.

Addam of Hull

The first of the newly chosen dragon riders, Addam of Hull is a shipwright from the town of Driftmark who had been working for the Velaryon crew with his younger brother, Alyn (Abubakar Salim). The two brothers harbor a secret, both knowing that despite their status as commoners, they are the bastard sons of Lord Corlys “the Sea Snake” Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), a noblemen. While Corlys was wed to the late Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), he also had a dalliance with Addam and Alyn’s mother, Marilda of Hull, while he was away at sea.

At the start of season two of House of the Dragon, Alyn has recently rescued Lord Corlys from a watery grave, receiving praise from his estranged father. Addam urges Alyn to join him on the Sea Snake’s crew, knowing that both he and his brother have a legitimate claim to Corlys’s fortune as his heirs. Addam seems to chafe against their designation as bastard sons, criticizing Alyn for his lack of ambition, while Alyn seems perfectly content to keep things as they are.

As it turns out, Addam will get a chance to make a name for himself without his brother. While foraging for food on the beaches of Driftmark, Addam sees a dragon flying overhead. That dragon, Seasmoke, is in need of a rider, and ultimately is claimed by Addam.

When Rhaenyra flies to Driftmark to find out who has claimed Seasmoke, she comes face-to-face with Addam, who immediately pledges his loyalty to Rhaenyra and Team Black. With one episode left in the season, one question remains: Will Addam, who longs to improve his station in life, stay loyal to Rhaenyra? Or will he take Seasmoke and turn on Team Black—and his own estranged father—when given a chance?

Ulf the White

The goofiest of the new dragon riders, Ulf the White, talked a big game about having Targaryen blood earlier in season two, claiming that he’s the bastard half-brother of King Viserys and Prince Daemon As a result, he often gets to drink in King’s Landing for free. But when Rhaenyra puts out the call looking for dragon riders, Ulf initially has cold feet about cashing in on his Targaryen blood. Luckily for Ulf, his tavern buddies tease him so much that he begrudgingly goes to Dragonstone to claim a dragon. Bullying works!

Ulf’s unserious nature may be what caught the attention of Silverwing. At Dragonstone, Ulf runs away when Vermithor begins burning the dragon seeds alive. But while Ulf escapes from from Vermithor, he winds up encountering Silverwing deep in the dragon pit. While this easily could have been the end of Ulf, Silverwing seems to take an immediately liking to the barfly, playfully nudging him. By the end of the episode seven, Ulf is somewhat clumsily flying through King’s Landing on Silverwing’s back, and catching the attention of regent King Aemond and his own dragon, Vhagar.

Hugh Hammer

A blacksmith by trade, Hugh Hammer is struggling to make ends meet with his wife and young daughter in King’s Landing as season two begins. Described in George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood as a very large man who could twist steel bars with his bare hands, Hammer’s latent Targaryen lineage can be clocked by his long blond hair.

Hammer has plenty of reason to be upset with his distant relatives on Team Green. At the beginning of season two, Hammer pleads with King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), pointing out that tradesmen, like blacksmiths, are not being compensated for their work to prepare Team Green for the great war. While Aegon initially agrees to pay the blacksmiths, we learn later that he never follows through on that promise, leaving Hammer and his family destitute. As food and resources grow increasingly scarce in King’s Landing, Hammer’s young daughter falls ill and sadly perishes.

While mourning the death of his daughter, Hammer reveals that his mother worked in a brothel and was popular due to her silver hair, meaning that she could have Targaryen or Velaryon blood. (Spoiler: According to Fire & Blood, Hugh’s father was none other than Prince Baelon Targaryen, the father of King Viserys and Prince Daemon.) When Rhaenyra calls for anyone with Targaryen blood to join her in her fight against Team Green as a potential dragon rider, Hammer heeds the call, knowing that despite the danger, it’s the best way to avenge his late daughter’s death. At Dragonstone, Hammer bravely saves a female dragon seed from certain death by standing up to Vermithor and screaming “I’m ready!” in its face. That show of selflessness and strength helped Hammer claim Vermithor—the second largest dragon in Dragonstone—as his own.