House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 7 Recap: Spoilers Inside

Believe it or not, House of the Dragon Season 2 ends next week. Sunday night saw the debut of the season’s penultimate episode, focusing on the biggest storyline of the show. One of the previously riderless dragons found a companion at the end of Episode 6, and Rhaenyra is actively searching for matches for the other two. All of these events are leading to an even more violent and devastating war between Targaryen factions.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk…

Sunday’s episode of House of the Dragon picks up right where the last episode left off. Rhaenyra flies out to meet the mysterious dragon rider who has taken flight on Seasmoke. When she confronts Addam of Hull, expecting resistance, he surprisingly bends the knee and says Seasmoke sought him out. Addam pledges loyalty to her, marking the start of a new wave of dragon riders.

What Rhaenyra doesn’t know is that Addam is actually Corlys’ son. Addam tells her he is low-born, which motivates her to put out a call for anyone with silver hair or Valyrian descent to try and bond with dragons like Vermithor or Silverwing, regardless of their birth status. She faces pushback from many quarters, including the council, dragon keepers, and even her own son, but she presses on with the plan. This brings people like Hugh and Ulf to Dragonstone in response to her call.

Learning about Addam’s ability to ride a dragon, and always thinking of his late wife’s words, Corlys starts giving more responsibilities to Alyn. There’s a poignant moment when Corlys talks about Addam’s bond with Seasmoke to Alyn’s older brother, expressing worry that he might lose Alyn to the skies as well. Alyn reassures him by echoing Laena’s words, stating he is “salt and sea.” Alyn’s efforts help spread the word about the dragon rider search to King’s Landing and facilitate the transport of potential riders to Dragonstone.

Things aren’t going well in King’s Landing. As Aegon tries to recover from his wounds and citizens remain restless, Alicent decides it’s time for a change of scene. She takes a member of her guard into the woods with no specific plan for returning. Aegon struggles to walk again, despite Larys insisting he keep a grueling pace, believing the young king needs to get back in control.

Near the end of the episode, there’s a significant moment concerning Alicent’s family. Aegon and Aemond’s younger brother, Daeron, has been growing up in Oldtown and is known there as a respectable young man. He also has a dragon, Tessarion, who has finally started flying, adding a potential ally for Aemond’s forces.

Remember when Lyanna Mormont burst onto the scene in Game of Thrones and became an instant fan-favorite? House of the Dragon has its own “Lyanna” in the form of Oscar Tully, who has now taken over as the head of House Tully and Lord Paramount of the Trident. Oscar, in charge of the Riverlands, is summoned by Daemon to Harrenhal along with other Lords of the Riverlands to form his army.

Oscar makes it clear he doesn’t like Daemon but acknowledges that his family swore an oath to Rhaenyra, so he agrees to help. Unexpectedly, Oscar turns the tables on Daemon, calling out Lord Blackwood for his crimes against the Brackens—crimes carried out under Daemon’s orders. This forces Daemon to punish Blackwood to gain the respect of the other lords, leading him to behead his powerful soldier in the Riverlands.

Even though Oscar hasn’t been around long, he has made an immediate impact.

Before heading to Dragonstone to try and ride a dragon, Hugh tells his wife that his mother, who worked in a brothel in King’s Landing, was actually King Jaehaerys’ sister. He has Targaryen blood, just like Ulf claimed. An entire group of silver-haired people is taken to the pit to try and tame Vermithor. The dragon attacks and kills most of the group. Just as a young woman is about to be killed, Hugh steps in to save her, standing face-to-face with the beast and offering himself as a sacrifice. Instead of killing him, Vermithor bows, allowing Hugh to become his rider.

The connection to family is noteworthy. Vermithor hasn’t had a rider since Jaehaerys, which could explain the dragon’s recognition of the Targaryen blood in Hugh.

While trying to hide from Vermithor, Ulf encounters another dragon, Silverwing. Rather than attacking him, Silverwing lowers her head, allowing them to bond.

The final scene of the episode shows Ulf riding Silverwing over King’s Landing, provoking Aemond to summon Vhagar to follow. However, he retreats when he spots a gathering of dragons led by Rhaenyra near Dragonstone.