House of the Dragon Fans May Expect Much Bigger Role for This Season 2 Side Character
Commoners aren’t common in the show’s storyline, yet he was the one to break the rule.
House of the Dragon is officially back with its second season, reintroducing the members of the Blacks and the Greens as they prepare for the fiercest war Westeros has ever seen.
Though so far there hasn’t been any significant addition to the leading cast (we don’t count Tom Taylor’s 5 minutes of screen time as Cregan Stark), the new season’s first episode just subtly brought along a seemingly minor side character who still might become an important game player in the upcoming season.
Ironically, he’ll rapidly change sides once the war arrives.
In House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1, King Aegon II is seen hearing petitions from common people lamenting their government’s inability to provide them with basic needs.
Trying to win the folks’ trust, Aegon assures each of them that their problems will be gone soon, but the King’s grandfather, Otto Hightower, appears to be quite straightforward about Aegon deluding his people with promises he can’t keep.
The episode features only two of the commoners brave enough to speak up for the rest of those in attendance at the throne hall, with one of them being Hugh the blacksmith asking Aegon to proceed to paying the smiths for the weapons they made.
If this is the same Hugh the blacksmith that George R.R. Martin describes in Fire & Blood, then we’re about to see him again, and in a very unexpected way. According to Martin’s book, Hugh is one of those commoners recruited by Rhaenyra's son Jacaerys to ride dragons in the upcoming fight with the Greens.
Tempted by Jacaerys’ promises of granting him lands and knighthood, Hugh is quick to prove that he indeed is able to mount a dragon, becoming the new master for Vermithor, one of the biggest fire-spitting creatures previously ridden by Viserys I’s predecessor, King Jaehaerys.
Sadly, Hugh’s successes on the battlefield deluded him even more than any member of the royal family, as he seeks a way to get to the Iron Throne himself, but before that gets killed during a battle.