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Spoilers for Season 2, Episode 7, “The Red Sowing.” The episode ends with Rhaenyra gaining three dragonriders: Addam of Hull bonds with Seasmoke, Hugh Hammer claims Vermithor, and Ulf the White finds Silverwing. Their arrival gives the Blacks a much stronger immediate challenge to Aemond, but it does not end the Dance of the Dragons. When Aemond pursues Ulf and Silverwing toward Dragonstone, he turns away after seeing Rhaenyra’s assembled force—a retreat caused by deterrence, not a final victory.
Which dragons are claimed in the ending?
The Red Sowing produces three successful pairings, each with a different path to the bond.
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| New rider | Dragon | What the episode establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Addam of Hull | Seasmoke | Seasmoke chooses Addam. He submits to Rhaenyra, while keeping his parentage from her during their meeting. |
| Hugh Hammer | Vermithor | After Vermithor kills other aspirants, Hugh protects another person during the chaos and is accepted by the dragon. |
| Ulf the White | Silverwing | Ulf flees the failed ceremony and unexpectedly encounters Silverwing, escaping on his first flight. |
The process is not a safe test of ancestry. The episode shows that having, or claiming, Targaryen blood does not guarantee that a riderless dragon will accept someone; many candidates die before the three bonds succeed. The series depicts the bonds without giving a complete biological rule for why one claimant is chosen over another.
Why Aemond turns back
Ulf’s first flight carries him over King’s Landing, drawing Aemond out on Vhagar. Ulf and Silverwing then head toward Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra has gathered the newly enlarged dragon force. Aemond turns away rather than commit Vhagar to an immediate confrontation.
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That moment is a strategic power shift. Rhaenyra now has enough visible dragon strength to make an attack substantially riskier for Aemond, so the scene functions as deterrence. It is not proof that the Greens have been defeated, that Rhaenyra has won the war, or that the conflict is over. The Dance remains unresolved, with both sides still capable of further action.
Addam, Seasmoke and Corlys’s recognition
Addam’s story links the military development to a family wound. He is Corlys Velaryon’s illegitimate son, but Rhaenyra does not learn that from Addam when she confronts him after Seasmoke chooses him. Corlys later recognizes the identity of the new rider.
For Addam, the recognition matters as much as the dragon. Actor Clinton Liberty described Corlys’s brief praise—“Well done”—as emotionally enormous for Addam because “that’s all he ever wanted growing up” (TV Insider interview). The show therefore presents Seasmoke’s choice as both a battlefield gain and Addam’s first meaningful opening toward acknowledgment by his father.
Jacaerys sees a succession problem
Rhaenyra’s solution creates a political danger for her heir. Jacaerys is widely understood to have been born outside Rhaenyra’s marriage to Laenor, and his ability to ride a dragon has helped support the public case that he belongs within the Targaryen succession. By openly inviting bastards with possible Targaryen ancestry to claim dragons, Rhaenyra makes dragonriding less exclusive.
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Jacaerys’s concern is not that the new riders automatically outrank him. It is that the symbol he relies on—dragonriding as visible proof of Targaryen legitimacy—becomes less distinctive when other acknowledged or suspected bastards can do the same. Rhaenyra gains urgent military power while making the story around her heir harder to control.
What “The Red Sowing” changes for the Blacks
A larger dragon force
Before the sowing, the Blacks’ shortage of reliable riders leaves Rhaenyra unable to answer every threat with equal force. Addam, Hugh and Ulf give her three additional dragons, including Vermithor and Silverwing, whose presence makes the balance look very different in the episode’s final encounter.
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A dangerous new command structure
These riders are not established members of Rhaenyra’s inner circle. They are men whose loyalties, judgment and ambitions must now be managed. The episode confirms their immediate service—Addam bends the knee, while Hugh and Ulf emerge from the ceremony as riders—but it does not promise that military usefulness will eliminate future political risk.
A public demonstration rather than a battle
The closing image is deliberately restrained. The dragons do not fight to a decisive finish; their formation communicates that an attack would carry a much higher cost. The episode’s ending is consequently about leverage: Rhaenyra can make Aemond reconsider the next move, even though neither side has secured the war.
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Show canon and Fire & Blood context
George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood supplies historical background for the television adaptation, but it is not a scene-by-scene transcript of the episode. Coverage of the season notes differences in parentage and rider history, so book details should not be treated as confirmed screen facts unless the series has shown them.
| Question | What the episode shows | How to treat book context |
|---|---|---|
| Who rides which dragon? | Addam–Seasmoke, Hugh–Vermithor and Ulf–Silverwing. | Use the televised pairings as the authority for this episode; consult the book for background, not to overwrite the scene. |
| Why does a dragon accept a rider? | The show depicts selection and danger but does not state a complete rule. | Do not turn lineage theories or book explanations into a definitive screen rule. |
| What is established about Addam? | He is Corlys’s illegitimate son, keeps that from Rhaenyra in their encounter, and is later recognized by Corlys. | Any additional genealogy belongs to the relevant continuity unless the series confirms it. |
The episode is therefore best read on its own terms: the three bonds are real screen events, while broader claims about bloodlines, prior riders or future outcomes require a clear distinction between television canon and Martin’s fictional history.
Bottom line
Rhaenyra ends Episode 7 with three new riders and enough dragon power to deter Aemond from an immediate attack. The victory is tactical, not conclusive. Addam’s recognition, the deadly cost of the sowing and Jacaerys’s anxiety all show why expanding the Blacks’ military strength also deepens the family’s political crisis.
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