Okay, but who is Saera Targaryen, Hugh the Hammer’s mother in House of the Dragon?

It was all go during the most recent House of the Dragon episode, with Hugh the Hammer not only claiming Vermithor but also dropping the bombshell that his mother was no one other than Saera Targaryen. For those of you who have read the books you’ll know what a big deal this is, but for the rest of us the reveal was slightly less jaw dropping.

It’s obvious Hugh the Hammer is going to play a pivotal role in House of the Dragon, but what’s so important about his mother Saera Targaryen? Let’s find out more about her mysterious character.

Via HBO

During the episode, Mysaria suggests to Rhaenyra that they should let potential Targaryen bastards in King’s Landing try to claim some of the dragons, with both Hugh the Hammer and Ulf the White being successful in their plight. Whilst Ulf isn’t quite sure if he’s actually the bastard son of Prince Baelor, Hugh confesses he is absolutely certain his mother was Saera Targaryen.

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

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House of the Dragon actor, Kieran Brew who plays Hugh the Hammer admitted there is nobody else his mother could be other than Saera Targaryen. If that’s not enough confirmation, I don’t know what it is.

He revealed: “In truth, I don’t know if I’m allowed to confirm, but it can’t necessarily be anyone else. He told me who my mum is and it immediately gave me a huge backstory, huge motivation. Because I scoured the book for information. But I learned quite a lot about her and her offspring and where I may fit within that. And it’s so much fuel for who he is and where he is and what you’ve been seeing of him so far. Like, to me, it’s just like the biggest gift. It was the best birthday present because I couldn’t believe it, you know? I don’t know if that’s me confirming or denying.”

But why exactly is Saera so important? 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.

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Featured image via HBO.