Alyn & Addam Of Hull In House Of The Dragon Season 2 & Future Explained

WARNING! This article contains MAJOR spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 and George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, on which the show is based!

Alyn and Addam of Hull have been introduced in House of the Dragon’s season 2 premiere, with the sailors having an important role in the ongoing war and Westerosi history. The second season of HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood opened with Lord Corlys Velaryon thanking the sailor who saved his life. However, the importance of Alyn and his brother to Lord Corlys was much bigger than originally seemed. Alyn and Addam’s connection to the Sea Snake ties directly into the Dance of the Dragons, particularly after Rhaenyra starts to look for more dragonriders.

As House of the Dragon season 2’s episodes plunge further into the depths of war between the Greens and Blacks, plenty of new characters are being introduced to add more complications to the Targaryen, Velaryon, and Hightower families’ conflicts. Two of the most important new characters in House of the Dragon season 2 are Alyn (Abubakar Salim) and Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), whose roles will continue to grow in significance as the travesties of war take their toll. While HBO’s show will see some changes to Alyn and Addam’s depictions in the Fire & Blood book, their developments and backstories are no less important.

Addam & Alyn Of Hull’s Backstory

What Fire & Blood reveals about the brothers

According to Fire & Blood, Addam and Alyn are bastard brothers who hail from the small town of Hull in Driftmark, the seat of House of the Dragon’s noble House Velaryon. Their mother is a trader from Hull named Marilda, also nicknamed “Mouse,” the daughter of a shipwright. Growing up, Addam and Alyn’s mother refused to name the identity of their father, though their silver hair gave way to plenty of speculation regarding their parentage. Still, it wasn’t until the time when Prince Jacaerys Velaryon called for Targaryen and Velaryon bastards to attempt to claim dragons in the Sowing of the Seeds that their parentage would be revealed.

The backstories of Addam and Alyn are slightly different in House of the Dragon. Rather than working on their mother’s cog, the brothers have been working under Lord Corlys Velaryon on his ships and seemingly fighting alongside him in the battles in the Stepstones from House of the Dragon season 1. Additionally, the HBO show has made a significant change to the rumors surrounding their parentage and later confirmed something that the book never did.

In George R.R. Martin’s book, Marilda claims that Alyn and Addam of Hull were fathered by Ser Laenor Velaryon. However, given Laenor’s sexuality and the fact that his fathering of Rhaenyra’s sons was already widely doubted, this claim was taken with plenty of skepticism. Rather, though the “official” story was that Laenor Velaryon was their father (which was more difficult to disprove given his presumed death in the novel), it was widely speculated that Addam and Alyn were actually sired by Laenor’s father, Lord Corlys Velaryon.

Corlys Velaryon Is The Father Of Alyn & Addam

House of the Dragon confirms their true parentage

House of the Dragon season 2 makes it clear that Corlys Velaryon is Addam and Alyn’s father. For one, the idea that Alyn and Addam could be Laenor’s sons is ridiculous, given they seem to be about the same age as him. Fire & Blood situated Addam and Alyn as being around the same age as Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children and Daemon’s daughters, so the rumors about Laenor being their father had a bit more credibility. But, in House of the Dragon, it wouldn’t be surprising if Alyn was older than Laenor.

Addam and Alyn’s backstory has come to light as being the products of some sort of affair Corlys had while fixing his ships and docking between his sea adventures. Corlys likely kept his connection to Alyn and Addam a secret to avoid having Rhaenys learn of his infidelities. Still, once Rhaenys ran into Alyn, she was sure he was Corlys’ son and even said that Alyn’s mother must have been beautiful. Given Alyn makes a comment to Corlys about the tragedy of the demise of his “heir,” House of the Dragon is setting up Alyn and Addam’s future with House Velaryon’s succession.

Interestingly, both Addam and Alyn are fully aware that the Sea Snake is their father. Corlys is also sure of it, but none of them ever brings it up. Addam, who in the show is younger than Alyn instead of the other way around like in the book, believes they should come forward and be acknowledged by Corlys. Alyn, on the other hand, believes that Lord Corlys would rather lose everything than acknowledge his bastards and give Driftmark to one of them. This is a new dynamic between the brothers and their father that is not in Fire & Blood.

How Addam Of Hull Bonds With Seasmoke, Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon

Seasmoke was originally Laenor’s dragon in House of the Dragon

In Fire & Blood, Seasmoke was left without a rider after the death of Laenor Velaryon shortly after the birth of Rhaenyra’s third child. By the time the Targaryen civil war had become a truce “dance of dragons” fought in the skies, Seasmoke was one of the beasts available in Dragonstone for a new dragonrider to claim it. As a Velaryon bastard, Addam carries the same Valyrian blood as Laenor and was a logical choice to try to claim a dragon. In the show, however, it’s almost as if Seasmoke claimed Addam and not the other way around.

House of the Dragon risked writing itself into a corner by changing Laenor’s fate from Fire & Blood. The show established that Rhaenyra and Daemon helped Laenor fake his death. The arrangement allowed Rhaenyra and Daemon to get married, whereas Laenor got to flee to Essos. The problem is that the bond between a dragon and their rider should only end after the rider dies. It appears that in House of the Dragon, Seasmoke lost his connection with Laenor after the latter disappeared for too long. The fact that Addam is Laenor’s half-brother likely played a role in Seasmoke’s choice.

What Happens To Addam Of Hull

Addam meets a tragic end in Fire & Blood

Addam of Hull has one of the most exciting House of the Dragon storylines based on what happens in Fire & Blood. Firstly, Addam claims Laenor Velaryon’s dragon Seasmoke. While Addam doesn’t have a direct Targaryen parent, he gets to claim Seasmoke now that the beast without a rider, as House of the Dragon season 1 revealed Laenor fled to Essos while faking his death in Westeros. Addam becomes a huge asset for Rhaenyra’s side in the war and remains loyal to her until the very end despite her insecurities regarding the dragonseeds following two major betrayals.

After joining Rhaenyra’s forces as Seasmoke’s rider, Fire & Blood reveals that Lord Corlys petitions for Addam and Alyn to be made legitimate Velaryons. Rhaenyra accepts Corlys’ wishes, and Addam becomes Corlys Velaryon’s heir to Driftmark given Lucerys’ death, as Jacaerys is already the heir to the Iron Throne and Joffrey the heir to Dragonstone. However, it seems as if Alyn may be older than Addam in House of the Dragon, which means the former may be named Corlys’ heir instead.

Addam continues to ride Seasmoke into many of House of the Dragon’s battles, including the Battle of the Gullet, the Fall of King’s Landing, and the Second Battle of Tumbleton. After two other “dragonseeds” (Targaryen or Velaryon bastards who claimed dragons for Rhaenyra’s Party) betray the Queen, Addam attempts to prove his loyalty by flying to the Second Battle of Tumbleton and defeating the Greens. Sadly, as is the case with many of the characters in the war, Addam Velaryon dies in battle during the Dance of the Dragons.

At Tumbleton, Addam and Seasmoke are tragically killed by the riderless Vermithor and Tessarion during a battle at night. While Addam didn’t survive the fight, his efforts led to a retreat by the Greens’ forces, giving Rhaenyra’s side an essential win towards the Dance of the Dragons’ ending. Following Addam’s death, his brother Alyn would honor him by celebrating his loyalty, which he died proving.

What Happens To Alyn Of Hull

Alyn becomes Corlys Velaryon’s successor

While Addam becomes a dragonrider in House of the Dragon, this isn’t the case for his brother, Alyn. In the book, Alyn attempts to claim the dragon Sheepstealer but is unsuccessful and scarred by his burns, though it’s unclear whether House of the Dragon will include this event for Alyn. Following Addam’s death, Alyn is made heir to Driftmark and helps command House Velaryon’s fleet with Corlys, ultimately transporting Aegon II Targaryen back to King’s Landing when terms are struck after the death of Rhaenyra Targaryen.

When both Rhaenyra and Aegon II Targaryen die, Alyn sieges Dragonstone and reclaims it from the deceased King’s men, restoring it to the control of the new King Aegon III Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s eldest surviving son. Fire & Blood reveals that Alyn becomes Lord of the Tides after Lord Corlys Velaryon dies of old age, with Alyn marrying Baela Targaryen soon after, to avoid her undesirable political marriage to another. After Baela and Alyn “Oakenfist” have a daughter, the ruler of Driftmark takes up his father’s navigational and battle skills and is sent to deal with uprisings, conquests, and various voyages for the crown.

While House of the Dragon’s timeline isn’t expected to reach this point in Alyn Velaryon’s life, George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book reveals that Alyn falls in love with Princess Elaena Targaryen (the daughter of King Aegon II Targaryen) despite being married to Baela. Elaena and Alyn have two bastard children named Jon and Jeyne Waters, the former of whom has their family name changed to Longwaters, which is still around during Game of Thrones. Alyn’s future becomes a mystery about 40 years after House of the Dragon’s war, as he goes missing at sea and is never found.

House of the Dragon

Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.

Cast

Jefferson Hall , Paddy Considine , Fabien Frankel , Ryan Corr , Eve Best , Gavin Spokes , Graham McTavish , Steve Toussaint , Olivia Cooke , Sonoya Mizuno , Bill Paterson , Matthew Needham , Emma D’Arcy , Matt Smith , Rhys Ifans , David Horovitch

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Seasons

2

Directors

Miguel Sapochnik , Clare Kilner , Alan Taylor , Greg Yaitanes , Geeta Vasant Patel , Andrij Parekh

Showrunner

Ryan Condal

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