House of the Dragon: Who Are Rhaenyra's Dragonriders, Ulf, Hugh ...

One of the biggest shockers of House of the Dragon season 2 arrives in episode 7, when a seemingly random townsperson in King’s Landing named Ulf claims... a dragon?! The character, played by actor Tom Bennett (A.P. Bio), has suddenly vaulted from a nobody to a dragon-riding Targaryen overnight. How did he do it? Well, it appears those rumors that he was a bastard descendent of Baelon Targaryen were true. Believe it or not, he’s Daemon (Matt Smith) and the late Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) half-brother.

“Ulf is the bottom of the barrel,” Bennett told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s Flea Bottom through and through. He’s poor folk and the oppressed. He’s the working-class man under the thumb of the ruling classes and lived with that his entire life. Suddenly, he’s sitting on a nuclear warhead. The power shift is huge.”

Read on to find out more about Ulf, as well as what the character might get into in House of the Dragon’s future.

Dragons turn the tide of the war.

Who is Ulf?

In George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel, Ulf the White is a lowborn man of Flea Bottom who isn’t quite sure if he’s a Targaryen bastard—or who his parents even were at all. Though in House of the Dragon, Ulf claims that he’s a bastard son of Baelon the Brave. Baelon was the only son of the late King Jaehaerys I to father children. He and Aemma Arryn gave birth to Viserys and Daemon. But as House of the Dragon season 2 suggests, Baelon was not faithful to his Queen. Hugh Hammer, another dragon rider, also claims that Baelon was his father.

Up until his big moment at Dragonstone, Ulf was shown sporadically throughout season 2 drinking at a bar in Flea Bottom. Everyone at the venue seems to be Team Black, cheering for Rhaenyra and goading Ulf to make the journey. After he arrives to Dragonstone, Ulf is among the bastards who are attacked by Vermithor. Escaping through the caverns and tunnels, he finds himself in the presence of Silverwing. She was the dragon of Queen Alysanne Targaryen—Jaehaerys’ wife. Since Alysanne’s death, Silverwing remained riderless unless Ulf found her.

Ulf has insane highs and lows throughout his journey in Fire & Blood.

What Happens to Ulf Next?

If you don’t want to find out what Ulf gets into during the Dance of the Dragons, I’d stop now before we get into spoilers from Fire & Blood. Though it isn’t likely to occur in the season 2 finale, Ulf eventually betrays Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy).

After surviving his first battle and helping Team Black to retake King’s Landing, Ulf and Hugh get a little ahead of themselves. Rhaenyra knights the lowborn for their efforts, but Ulf claims that they should become official Targaryen lords. Daemon suggests the potential of marriage to the widowed Stokeworth family or even the title of Lord of Storm’s End. Rhaenyra and Corlys (Steve Toussaint in House of the Dragon) advise against it. After Ulf and Hugh are sent to defeat Lord Ormund Hightower at Tumbleton, both dragon riders defect to Team Green. Daeron Targaryen names Ulf Lord of Bitterbridge. Still, Ulf strives for more. After Ulf seeks to claim Highgarden, Daeron regrets his deal. Sorry to any Ulf fans out there, but he’s going to break your hearts and become quite a monstrous ruler at Tumbleton. Same for Hugh.

In the second Battle of Tumbleton, Addam (Clinton Liberty in House of the Dragon) attacks while riding Seasmoke—and he meets his end alongside Hugh, Vermithor, and Daeron. Ulf miraculously survives, falling asleep due to drunkenness and missing the entire battle. When he’s finally woken up by the Hightowers, he’s fed poisonous wine and dies. In the end, both Team Black and Team Green were sick of his tyranny in the Reach. While Ulf may not suffer the same fate in House of the Dragon, he’s certainly on his way to it, now that he has a dragon.