Courtesy of HBO
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 7 of HBO’s “House of the Dragon,” titled “The Red Sowing,” currently airing on Max.
In the final moments of Sunday’s episode of “House of the Dragon,” Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) finally got the upper hand on the Greens with the stunning reveal that she’s found three new dragonriders to join the Black cause: Hugh (Kieran Bew), Ulf (Tom Bennett) and Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) — one of the illegitimate sons of her Hand, Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint).
The news was revealed (aloud) to Rhaenyra’s brother, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), the Prince Regent, while their brother, King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), was convalescing. Aemond then spots a dragon flying over King’s Landing, then heads to Dragonstone on his massive dragon, Vhagar. Arriving at Rhaenyra’s base, Aemond turns around, realizing that even his fearsome beast is no match for the six dragons Rhaenyra now has under her control. (Or seven, if Matt Smith’s Daemon ever comes home.)
Courtesy of Theo Whiteman/HBO
As we head into next week’s Season 2 finale, two of the most important people to Rhaenyra’s cause are Addam and his brother Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim). Addam is now the rider of Seasmoke, a dragon that previously belonged to Rhaenyra’s first husband, Corlys’ son Laenor Velayron. In Season 1, Laenor faked her death and ran off with her lover, with the help of Rhaenyra and Daemon, leaving her dragon behind. Alyn was Corlys’ go-between in smuggling dozens of Dragonseeds—people of presumed Targaryen ancestry, who Rhaenyra assumed had the best chance of mating with a dragon—from King’s Landing to Dragonstone.
Here, Liberty and Salim speak with Variety on the Hull brothers’ roles in Dance of the Dragons as the end of Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” approaches.
At the end of the episode, what do you think it takes to bond with a dragon: Targaryen blood, the Force, or something else?
Clinton Freedom: I feel like it’s a combination of a few things, because as we saw, Steffon Darklyn had the blood and the family of the high lineage. But Seasmoke could sense that the essence of the human wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, which made me realize, “Oh, it’s more than just blood, it’s also the essence of what the human is.” Because if you look at Laenor and Addam, yes, they both share the same blood and similar blood, but when you look at them as people, they’re actually just really good, kind, lovely human beings.
And it’s funny to say that in a world of hard-hearted people who are trying to claim glory, to win at any cost. I feel like that’s also a big factor in a dragon choosing a human to bond with, because dragons are very intelligent. They know who the essence of the human is behind the facade that the human is trying to portray. So I think it’s a mixture of blood – but it’s also who that human is.
Theo Whiteman
How much of this do you think is due in part to the fact that Addam is secretly Laenor and Corlys’ half-brother?
Freedom: We’re both technically family. And there’s a way of being in the Hull/Velaryon family, and it comes across. I feel like Seasmoke, who was already related to Laenor, senses that in Addam. But he also senses this kind of person who wants to do these incredible things in an honest way, and not try to kill anyone. He senses the purity in Addam.
Have you been told whether Laenor is actually dead – he died off-screen – and that’s how Seasmoke was able to bond with Addam as a new rider? Or does Seasmoke just think he’s dead?
Freedom: Do you know who this excellent question is for? Ryan Condal (the showrunner of “House of the Dragon”). He’s the one you need to talk to. To be honest, when I was working on this project, I was just focusing on the spirit of the character, because Addam doesn’t know that.
Addam is relaxing, he’s trying to live his best life, he’s trying to go fishing, catch crabs, take a peaceful walk on the beach. He doesn’t know anything about the politics behind what’s going on. So this is an introduction for him to the life of a dragon rider, to the life of Queen Rhaenyra and the rest of Westeros and King’s Landing.
Even in the scene with Addam and Rhaenyra, you see that he’s kind of tiptoeing around, not fully answering the questions. He’s vague, because he knows that if he answers the wrong thing, he could literally be burned alive, you know? So it’s a whole new world for Addam. And I took that for myself – not getting too deep into the story of what was going on, and just looking at it through Addam’s eyes.
Theo Whiteman
Can you explain how Addam feels when Corlys comes to him and congratulates him on his bond with Seasmoke? When he becomes a dragon rider and Corlys simply says “Well done” before leaving?
Freedom: Those two words, “Well done,” mean more to Addam than anyone could ever say. Because deep down, Addam just wants validation from his father. His whole life, he’s been striving for that. He’s always wanted that relationship with his parents, and he never had that with his father. That’s one of the reasons he wants to accomplish so much, and has tried to convince Alyn to take the throne of Driftmark and have a better life—so that one day, he can be close to his father. In that scene, it’s the first time he has a real conversation with his father, and it’s also the first time his father, Corlys, has praised him in any way. Going forward, he’s trying to prove himself even more, so that he can have more—because he craves that relationship.
He just wants his family to be proud of him. He wants his people to be proud of him, whether it’s the queen, his father, or his brother. I think his desire to achieve great things—the wealth, the throne, and the servants—is simply to show his father or his queen that he’s someone important. Please, just think of me as a person.
It’s all he’s ever wanted, and the only person who’s ever seen it is his brother. But now he wants that recognition from the world, and more importantly, from his father and the Queen as well.
When Addam befriends Seasmoke, Corlys comes to Alyn and asks if he wants to try his luck as a Dragonseed too, but Alyn refuses the idea, choosing to help in another way by bringing the Dragonseeds back from King’s Landing. Why does he do this?
Abubakar Salim: For Alyn, we see his life turned upside down, basically. What he wanted – the attention, the energy of Corlys, which he’s been craving for a while now – is coming true, his brother is granting his wishes. It’s almost like, in Alyn’s eyes, it’s a bit too much. And what Alyn does is focus on what he does well – working in the shipyard, working on the boats, being made of salt and sea. And that’s where the spirit of my character is.
He’s very protective of his brother and he loves him deeply. So to hear now that his brother is not only involved in the war, to some degree, but at such a high level as a dragon rider, it’s a lot to take in. And I think that’s why he’s thinking, “I need to be there more than ever, because I don’t want my brother to fail.”
Do you think Alyn could have bonded with a dragon if he had tried? In “Fire and Blood” he attempts to do so, but is unsuccessful.
Salim: You know what? Yeah, whatever I do, man! I can do it.
But the thing is, Abu says it. I think with Alyn, it doesn’t even cross his mind. Especially with the way he’s portrayed on the show, I feel like it’s not in my head, that it’s not something that Alyn cares about. His mentality, the way he’s raised, is that dragons are for royals, that kind of lifestyle is for royals. And it’s been made very clear to him that he’s not a member of the royal family, and he doesn’t deserve a place there either. So he says to himself, “Oh well. I know where I belong, and I’m good where I belong.”
Where do things go for Alyn now that he is so estranged from his brother heading into the final? They are both actively working for the Blacks at this point.
Alyn has put so much love and power into his brother, Addam, because he’s the only person he has. Every time I have a scene with Clinton, we always talk about: How long has it been since Addam and Alyn last saw each other? Where do we go from here? What do we need to catch up on and talk about?
It’s a precious moment. Now that there’s a dragon in the mix, it’s like, ‘OK, when is this going to happen now? Our lives are unfolding in very interesting and different ways.’
And I think that’s what’s going to make everything more tense as we approach the final.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.