Here’s why Hugh the Hammer was able to claim Vermithor in House of the Dragon

It all comes down to his royal lineage

4 months ago

Rhaenyra’s support was bolstered significantly during last night’s House of the Dragon episode, during which both Ulf the White and Hugh the Hammer claimed their dragons, Silverwing and Vermithor. Vermithor is now the second largest dragon in the entirety of Westeros, so Hugh the Hammer managing to claim him is a pretty big deal in House of the Dragon.

During the episode, we saw a lot of other bastard Targaryen’s trying, and miserably failing, to try and claim the dragons. A lot of them ended up being burned to a crisp, so why was Hugh successful? Let’s find out!

Hugh Hammer and Vermithor #HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/WHcbU62LNs

— Games of thrones club (@gotnhotd) July 29, 2024

When the other dragonseeds tried to touch Vermithor, Hugh the Hammer saved one woman from being turned by the massive dragon by pushing her aside and distracting him. Instead of being charred to a crisp, Vermithor instead bends to Hugh and accepts him as his new rider. But why did Vermithor accept Hugh and not the others who tried?

Dragons and their riders must have similar personalities and so by boldly throwing himself in front of Vermithor, Hugh showed himself to be a “Bronze Fury.” However, the key reason why the dragon accepted him was due to who Hugh’s mother was and the status she held. During the episode, Hugh confesses he is absolutely certain his mother was Saera Targaryen.

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He admits to his wife: “I never knew my father. That much is true. But I did know my mother. I hid it from you. And I’m sorry for that. She worked…in a pleasure house. She was granted more freedom than most because of who she was. And because rich men paid more to fuck a woman with silver hair. She used to tell me I was no different to her brother’s boys, Viserys and Daemon. But I was ashamed of her.”

Via HBO

In the Fire and Blood book, it’s described that she’s the daughter of King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne and wishes she could have been their only child. When she became a teenager she started indulging in sex parties with multiple men, and suggested she could marry the three men she’d been sleeping with and compared herself to Aegon the Conquerer.

This enraged her father who confined her to her room and eventually handed her over to the septas. Saera was told she would have to become a Silent Sister but she decided instead to run away to Lys to become a prostitute. She became very wealthy and had at least three bastard sons, one of which seems to be Hugh the Hammer.

Dragons are highly sensitive so it could be that Vermithor could sense the royal blood that flows through Hugh’s blood and decided he was the only one worthy enough to ride such a prestigious and powerful dragon.