House of the Dragon only has two episodes left in its second season, but one moment from the sixth episode has spawned the most hilarious memes.
In the episode “Smallfolk,” Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) begins her plot to recruit Targaryen bastards to become dragonriders for the Blacks.
The first dragon she tries to do this with is Seasmoke. Near the beginning of the episode, she attempts this and many people, including a potential rider, are burned alive. However, the episode with Seasmoke landing a rider.
Who was the original rider of Seasmoke?
Seasmoke’s original rider, of course was a Targaryen. The Targaryen rider was Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan), Rhaenyra’s cousin/ex-husband and the son of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best).
He was the only rider of Seasmoke and bonded with him when he was a young dragon. Of course, Laenor’s death was faked by Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and he escaped, with his current whereabouts unknown.
Who claims Seasmoke?
Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), one of two bastards of Corlys Velaryon, tames Seasmoke after the dragon, fleeing Dragonstone, approaches him and chases him. This causes Rhaenyra to leave Dragonstone to go find out who claimed the dragon.
Why Addam of Hull is able to ride Seasmoke
It isn’t entirely known how Addam of Hull is able to ride Seasmoke, but we are able to piece a few things together.
To start off with, he is not a Targaryen. The lore of the show and the source material are different, so we aren’t clear on if Velaryons can be dragonriders in the show because they are also from old Valyria. There is no concrete evidence in the books that Velaryons and Targaryens are related despite their shared history and the old Valyria of it all. Over the years, Targaryens and Velaryons have married each other, just look at Rhaenys and Corlys. But there isn’t anything to suggest that Velaryons have Targaryen blood, though many Targaryens have Velaryon blood (Aegon the Conqueror’s mother was a Velaryon).
But back to the matter at hand– regardless, Addam still is the half-brother of Seasmoke’s old rider, Laenor, who is of both Velaryon and Targaryen descent. And though Addam isn’t a Targaryen himself, being Laenor’s brother could have something to do with the reason that Seasmoke was attracted to him.
Another theory is that maybe there is the potential for Addam’s biological mother to also be of Targaryen descent. Still, this may be the least plausible of the listed possibilities.
The Seasmoke/Black people memes
The episode resulted in hilarious memes across Twitter and TikTok about the fact that considering his original rider, Seasmoke only would accept being ridden by Black people. House of the Dragon deviated from the source material by making the Velaryon’s darker-skinned, so laughs ensued across social media because for many, it was clear why Seasmoke chose Addam.
