Addam and Alyn stars in Seasmoke, Laenor, Corlys

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for HBO’s “House of the Dragon” Season 2, Episode 7, titled “The Red Sowing,” streaming now on Max.

In the closing moments of Sunday’s episode of ‘House of the Dragon,’ Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) finally gained the upper hand over the Greens with the stunning revelation that she has found three new dragon riders to join the Blacks’ 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 (loudly) to Rhaenyra’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), the Prince Regent, while their brother King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is recuperating, when Aemond sees a dragon flying over King’s Landing – and then to King’s Landing goes. Dragonstone on his enormous dragon, Vhagar. Upon arriving at Rhaenyra’s base, Aemond turns, realizing that even his fearsome beast is no match for the estimated six dragons Rhaenyra now has under her control. (Or seven, if Matt Smith’s Daemon ever comes home.)

As we head into next week’s season 2 finale, Addam and his brother Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) are two of the people most important to Rhaenyra’s case. 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 his death and ran away with his love, with the help of Rhaenyra and Daemon, leaving his dragon behind. Alyn was Corlys’s go-between who smuggled dozens of Dragonseeds – people of supposed Targaryen ancestry, who Rhaenyra assumes would have the best chance of bonding with a dragon – from King’s Landing to Dragonstone.

This is where Liberty and Salim speak Variety about the Hull brothers’ role in the Dance of the Dragons as 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, strength, or something else?

Clinton Freedom: I feel like it’s a combination of different things because, as we saw, Steffon Darklyn had blood and a highborn family. But Seasmoke felt that the essence of man wasn’t quite what Seasmoke was looking for, which made me understand, “Oh, it’s more than just blood – it’s also the essence of who man is.” Because when we see Laenor and Addam, yes, they both share the same blood and similar blood, but if you look at them as people, they’re really just really good, kind, sweet people.

And it’s funny to say that in a world of hard-hearted people trying to claim glory, they must win whatever the cost. I feel like that’s also an important factor for a dragon to choose a human to bond with because dragons are very intelligent. They know who the essence of man is behind the facade that man tries to portray. So I think it’s a mixture of blood, but it’s also who this human being is.

How much do you think is partly because Addam is secretly Laenor’s half-brother by Corlys?

Freedom: We’re both technically from the same family. And there’s a way you’re in the Hull/Velaryon household, and it just seeps through. I feel like Seasmoke, who had previously bonded with Laenor, senses that in Addam. But he also senses these kinds of people who want to achieve these amazing things in an honest way, and don’t want to try to kill someone. He senses the purity in Addam.

Have you been told if Laenor is indeed dead – that 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: You know who that’s a great question for: [“House of the Dragon” showrunner] Ryan Condal. That’s the man you need to talk to. To be honest, when I was working on this, the only thing I was literally focused on was the mind of the character, because Addam doesn’t know.

Addam is just chilling: trying to live his best life, trying to go fishing, collecting crabs, walking peacefully on the beach. He doesn’t know anything about the politics behind what’s happening. So this is an introduction for him into the life of a dragon rider, into the life of what’s going on with Queen Rhaenyra and the rest of Westeros and King’s Landing.

Even in the scene with Addam and Rhaenyra we see him walking on his toes and not answering the questions properly. He’s vague because he knows that if he answers with the wrong answer, he could literally go up in flames, you know? So it’s a whole new world for Addam. And I took that for myself – to not get too deep into the lore of what was going on, and just look at it from Addam’s eyes.

Can you explain what Addam feels when Corlys comes up to him and congratulates him on his bond with Seasmoke? When he’s become a dragon rider and Corlys simply says, “Good job” before he leaves?

Freedom: Those two words, “Good job,” mean more to Addam than anyone could ever say. Because at Addam’s core, all he wants is validation from his father. He has strived for that all his life. He always wanted that kind of relationship with his parents, and he never had that with his father. That’s one of the reasons he wants to achieve so much, and he tried to get Alyn to take over the throne of Driftmark and live a better life – so he could one day be close to his father. In that scene, that’s the first time he’s even had a real conversation with his father, and that’s also the first time his father, Corlys, has ever praised him in any way. In the future, he tries to prove himself even more so he can have more of that – because he longs for 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 or his father or his brother. I think he wants to achieve great things – and the riches, the throne and the servants – just to show his father or his queen that ‘I am someone of importance. Please see me as a person.”

That’s all he ever wanted, and the only person who’s ever seen him is his brother. But now he wants that recognition from the world, and especially from his father and the queen.

When Addam bonds with Seasmoke, Corlys comes to Alyn and asks if he would like to try his luck as a Dragonseed as well. Alyn rejects that idea and chooses to help in another way by retrieving the Dragon Seeds from King’s Landing. Why is he doing this?

Abubakar Salim: For Alyn, we see his life essentially turned upside down. What he wanted – the attention, the energy from Corlys, which he has been craving for a while – all comes, his brother gets his wishes. It’s almost as if, in Alyn’s eyes, it’s a bit too much. And what Alyn does is concentrate on what he is good at: working in the shipyard, working on the ships, being of salt and sea. And that’s where my character’s head is.

He is very protective of his brother, and he loves his brother dearly. So to now hear that his brother is not only involved in the war to some extent, but also at such a high level as a dragon rider, there’s a lot to take in. And I think that’s why he thinks, “I need to be involved in this more than ever, because I just don’t want my brother to fail.”

Do you think Alyn could have bonded with a dragon if he tried? In ‘Fire & Blood’ he tries – without success.

Salim: You know what? Yeah, whatever I put my mind to, man! I have this.

The thing is, though, it’s Abu who says it. I don’t think it even occurs to Alyn. Especially with this image that we give him on the show – I feel like it’s not in my head, it’s just nothing, because it’s not something Alyn is interested in. His mentality, the way he grew up, is dragons. are for the royal family, that kind of lifestyle is completely for the royal family. And it has been made very clear to him: he is not a royal one, and he doesn’t deserve a place there either. So he says, ‘Fuck it. I know where I belong, and I’m good at where I belong.”

Where does Alyn go now that he’s so separated from his brother going into the finale? They are both currently actively working for the Blacks.

Alyn has given so much love and power to his brother Addam because he is the only person he has. Every time I’ve had a scene with Clinton, we always talk – how long has it been? [Addam and Alyn] last seen each other? Where do we go from there? What should we discuss and discuss?

This is valuable time. Now that there’s a dragon in the mix, you’re like, “Okay, what’s it going to be like now? Our lives unfold in very interesting and different ways.”

And I think that’s why everything becomes more exciting as we go into the final.

These interviews have been edited and condensed.