Saera Targaryen is a daughter of King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne and a sister of Prince Baelon. That makes her the aunt of Viserys I and Prince Daemon. In House of the Dragon she is never shown on screen. She matters to the show through season 2, episode 7, “The Red Sowing,” where the character Hugh Hammer describes his mother in terms that point to Saera, and through her family ties to the Targaryen line.
Her place in the Targaryen family
Saera’s relationships are simple to place, and they are the reason the show’s clues work. The table below lists the people she is tied to and the source for each link.
![House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) [4K UHD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JeAIckcXL._SL160_.jpg)
![House of the Dragon: Season 1 [Blu-Ray] [2022] [Region Free]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Od+cjqc2L._SL160_.jpg)
| Person | Relationship to Saera | Where it is established |
|---|---|---|
| King Jaehaerys I | Father | Book history, as summarized by A Wiki of Ice and Fire |
| Queen Alysanne | Mother | Book history, as summarized by A Wiki of Ice and Fire |
| Baelon | Brother | Book history, as summarized by A Wiki of Ice and Fire |
| Viserys I | Nephew (through Baelon’s line, in the family tree as summarized) | Book history, as summarized by A Wiki of Ice and Fire |
| Daemon | Nephew (same family-tree reference as Viserys) | Book history, as summarized by A Wiki of Ice and Fire |
| Hugh Hammer | Son, according to the identification reported from the episode and the actor’s interview | Season 2, episode 7 dialogue; interview reported by Den of Geek on July 29, 2024 |
The Hugh Hammer link is the only one that rests on the show rather than the book. Everything else is established in the book history.
Saera in the book history
In Fire & Blood, George R. R. Martin’s history of the Targaryens, Saera is the ninth-born child of Jaehaerys and Alysanne and their fifth-born daughter. The account, as summarized by A Wiki of Ice and Fire, describes her as clever, spirited, demanding and rebellious. Her story moves through several stages:
Recommended Free Tools
#1 Best Overall
- The court scandal. Her companions and the court fool, Tom Turnip, become the centre of a scandal that damages her standing at court.
- Exile to Oldtown. Jaehaerys sends her to Oldtown to serve with the Silent Sisters.
- Escape to Lys. She leaves Oldtown and goes to Lys, where she earns her living at a pleasure house.
- Claimed sons. Later, when Jaehaerys considers the succession, three men claim to be her sons. The book does not prove any of these claims.
These events come from the book’s account. The show has not, in the episodes covered by the reporting cited here, dramatised them in full.
What season 2, episode 7 tells viewers
“The Red Sowing” gives Hugh a short account of his mother. She worked in a pleasure house, she had silver hair, and she told him he was no different from her brother’s boys, Viserys and Daemon. Taken together, these details match the book’s portrait of Saera: a Targaryen princess, the aunt of Viserys and Daemon, who later lived in Lys at a pleasure house.
The episode does not name her outright. The identification comes from reading those clues against the book, and from the actor’s interview. Den of Geek reported that Kieran Bew, who plays Hugh, confirmed in an interview that Saera is Hugh’s mother. TIME’s episode explainer reads the clues the same way. Sky’s episode explainer for “The Red Sowing” covers the scene as well.
The quoted line, as reported by Den of Geek, is Hugh’s account to his wife Kat: “She used to tell me I was no different to her brother’s boys, Viserys and Daemon.”
How sure can you be?
- Established: Saera’s parents, her brother, her nephews, and her book biography, including Lys and the pleasure house.
- Established by the show’s clues and reporting: Hugh Hammer’s mother is meant to be Saera. The episode implies it, and the actor’s interview confirmed the intended identification as reported in July 2024.
- Not established: That Saera appears on screen in this episode. The reporting treats her as an absent mother whom Hugh remembers through his own account.
Where to read more about her
For the full backstory, Fire & Blood is the source to read. Saera’s story is short in the book, and it is more detailed than the show’s single scene. The show’s use of her is a shorter reference, not a retelling of the book’s events.
If you want to check the show’s wording against the book, read A Wiki of Ice and Fire’s entry on Saera Targaryen, then watch “The Red Sowing” again with the scene’s details in mind.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Rank #4
“
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
