House Of The Dragon Officially Solves An 8-Year-Old George R.R. Martin Book Mystery

Ormund's New Ally Finally Solves An 8-Year-Old Book Mystery: HOTD Season 3, Episode 7 Ending Explained

Warning! Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7, ahead!Ormund Hightower just rearranged the board ahead of the House of the Dragon season 3 finale. Throughout episode 7, this newest Hightower villain was in surprisingly good spirits for having an army at his doorstep. Tumbletown isn't exactly a stronghold, so Ormund's position there doesn't offer many strategic advantages. Regardless, he seems to believe he is only moments away from a significant victory, and as House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7, comes to a close, we finally get to see why.

Ormund mentioned several times that he had a new piece on the board in his game against Rhaenyra, and, as it turns out, he meant Ulf the White. This is one of the bastard Dragonseeds whom Rhaenyra recruited to ride the Targaryens' unclaimed dragons. Ulf is bonded with Silverwing, and, leading up to episode 7, he has been keeping watch on Tumbleton at the queen's order. It's an arrangement he isn't as happy with as he might have thought, and after Daemon physically disciplined Ulf on the streets of King's Landing, something shifted.

At some point between Ulf beginning his surveillance of Tumbleton and his conflict with Daemon in King's Landing, Ormund Hightower made contact with the dragon rider. In the final moments of House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7, they meet again, and Ormund tells Ulf that he heard about Daemon's disrespect and essentially promises that he would be treated more appropriately if Ulf were to switch sides. Not only this, but Ormund points out that, with Corlys Velaryon in captivity, the seat at Driftmark is left open. Ulf could be Lord of the Tides.

This is, of course, blatant manipulation. Ormund has been pulling the strings of unrest against Rhaenyra ever since he arrived at Tumbleton. Ulf was almost too easy a target, since it wouldn't have taken Ormund's informants long to learn of this dragon rider's public punishments. The promise of a lordship was all it took, and Ulf agreed in House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7, to help burn Ormund's enemies.

The fact that Ulf is about to betray Rhaenyra is no real surprise, both because it makes perfect sense for this character and because it's precisely how George R.R. Martin wrote it in Fire & Blood. Still, the books kept the circumstances around the dragonseeds' defection rather mysterious. Now, House of the Dragon has taken the job of filling in the blanks.

How Ulf White's Betrayal Differs In George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood

Warning! Spoilers for Martin's Fire & Blood ahead.Those familiar with Martin's Fire & Blood knew from the first moment that Ulf appeared on screen that he would later turn against Rhaenyra. In the canon story, Ulf appeared to pretend to be on the Blacks' side as the Battle of Tumbleton began, but he turned to burn the town instead, officially joining the Green faction. Precisely how this came to happen is never confirmed, since whatever private conversations took place between Ulf and anyone on the side of the Greens wouldn't have been recorded in Westerosi history.

Of course, we can assume that Ormund's deal with Ulf in House of the Dragon season 3 is something similar to what Martin pictured when he conceived of the knight's betrayal. It's stated that Ulf is greedy and ambitious, so he most certainly would have been easy to manipulate. Still, there are some differences here. In Fire & Blood, Ulf's betrayal is what helps the Greens claim Tumbleton, and this only happens after Ormund is killed. It appears that House of the Dragon will merge the first and second Battles of Tumbleton, so it's hard to say just how things will play out this time.

We can certainly be assured that Ulf will betray Rhaenyra, and we now know, at least in House of the Dragon's version of the story, why he made this choice. What we have no clue about is whether Ulf will turn his dragon on the innocent people of the city, as his book counterpart did, or if he will "burn" the Blacks' approaching armies instead. House of the Dragon has made this character strangely likable compared to Fire & Blood, so we have to hope that, in this version, Ulf won't murder innocent men, women, and children.

House Of The Dragon Must Still Solve Two Dragonseed Mysteries

While House of the Dragon has confirmed that Ulf will turn on the Blacks, there are more Fire & Blood mysteries left to be solved here. After all, Ulf isn't the only one who betrays Rhaenyra for the Greens. Hugh Hammer does precisely the same thing. In Martin's version of the story, Hugh apparently turns on Tumbleton for the same reasons as Ulf—wealth, position, and status. That doesn't fit well with the character we have seen on screen so far in House of th Dragon. Additionally, Hugh's own wife is a refugee in Tumbledore. Why on earth would he risk her?

In House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, Hugh finally made contact with his wife after sneaking into Tumbleton, but she wasn't thrilled to learn that her husband had disappeared to claim a dragon and fight for the queen. The couple fights, and Hugh is left with no choice but to flee before he is discovered there. It could be that Hugh will come to resent his wife for her anger toward him, but murder in that regard seems pretty extreme. House of the Dragon will have to find some compelling enough alternative story, because right now, it's difficult to predict.

Finally, it's important that House of the Dragon answer for the actions of Addam of Hull. In Fire & Blood, Corlys has no struggle legitimizing his sons, so Addam is officially Addam Velaryon in the books. Thankfully, this third dragonseed had no part in Ulf and Hugh's betrayal, though Rhaenyra was slow to believe it. To prove himself, Addam heads to the Gods Eye to converse with the Green Men about something mysterious before heading out for a deadly victory at the Second Battle of Tumbleton. This time, the Blacks won, but Addam paid the ultimate price.

House Of The Dragon Is All Set Up For An Explosive Season 3 Finale

This was the penultimate episode of House of the Dragon season 3, so we can certainly expect a pretty spectacular finale. All signs point to the Battle of Tumbleton (whether it's considered the first, second, or a combination) playing out in episode 8. While this should technically be a victory for Rhaenyra, her worsening status in King's Landing indicates that there is really no such thing at this point. A victory at Tumbleton won't bring back the crown's gold or put food in the people's mouths. It also won't stop Aegon and his newly awoken dragon, Sunfyre.

We can also expect Daemon and Aemond to have their long-awaited showdown in the coming House of the Dragon season 3 finale. Daemon is, in some ways, beyond forgiveness in Rhaenyra's eyes, since he lied about taking revenge on Sheepstealer's rider to protect his daughter, Rhaena. Now, the prince will be all the more eager to deliver the head of the one who killed Lucerys. Aemond is surely in the process of being healed by Alys Rivers (again) and should be up for the fight if ever his dragon, Vhagar, returns.

Precisely where House of the Dragon season 3 will leave things off is unclear. Will Rhaenyra be forced from King's Landing? Will Aegon make his return on Sunfyre? What of Helaena and Alicent—will they be reunited? Martin's canon story is, technically, laid out before us, but House of the Dragon has already proven that we can't know what to expect.