'House of the Dragon' just made a major change not in the book. It could make the Targaryen family tree even more complicated.

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• Hugh Hammer says he's related to some popular Targaryens in the latest "House of the Dragon" episode.
• In "Fire and Blood," he is also a bastard, but his parents are never revealed.
• Here's how this could change the storyline for future seasons of "House of the Dragon."

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for "House of the Dragon" season two, episode seven, and the "Fire and Blood" novel.

Hugh Hammer casually drops a massive bombshell in the latest episode of "House of the Dragon" that may complicate the Targaryen family tree even further.

In the latest episode, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) tries to recruit Targaryen and Velaryon bastards as dragon riders for her army, because only people with Valyrian blood can bond with a dragon.

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After the loss of his daughter, Hugh (Kieran Bew) tells his wife he wants to go to Dragonstone to claim a dragon so he can have more power to protect their family.

Hugh explains that his mother was a prostitute who was successful because she had the Targaryen's signature silver hair color.

"She used to tell me I was no different to her brother's boys, Viserys and Daemon," Hugh says, seemingly referring to the former king, Viserys I, and his brother, Daemon Targaryen.

Hugh never specifies his mother's name but implies she was the sister of Baelon the Brave, Viserys and Daemon's father.

This claim is strengthened later in the episode when Hugh becomes the only person who's able to bond with Vermithor, the second-largest dragon in the land.

If what Hugh says is true, it's a major departure from "Fire and Blood," the novel that "House of the Dragon" is based on, since it makes Hugh a direct relative of the Targaryen royal family.

Hugh isn't directly related to the Targaryens in 'Fire and Blood'

In "Fire and Blood," Hugh is the bastard of an unnamed blacksmith from Dragonstone. Though it's later disclosed he has Valryian blood when he claims the dragon Vermithor, there is never a direct link between him and the Targaryens.

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In an interview given before episode seven was released, Bew told Decider that Hugh was related to Saera, one of Baelon Targaryen's seven sisters.

In the book, Saera is a mischievous member of the family and goes to multiple sex parties. When she gets caught, she suggests marrying three of the men she was involved with and compares herself to her ancestor, Aegon the Conqueror.

This angers her father, King Jaehaerys I, who imprisons her and sends her to live with a religious group.

Saera eventually escapes and leaves Westeros to become a prostitute. She has three bastard children before her death, but Hugh isn't one of them in "Fire and Blood."

This isn't the first time "House of the Dragon" has changed a storyline from the book. Fans have praised some of these changes, while other changes have left plot holes, making the story more confusing.

Hugh's addition to the Targaryens makes an already puzzling family tree even more complicated. It also seems to hint that the show will adapt another major part of the civil war in "Fire and Blood."

In "Fire and Blood," Hugh betrays Rhaenyra and eventually tries to seize the Iron Throne for himself so he can rule as king.

Hugh isn't part of the royal succession in Westeros in the TV series, but the fact that he's related to the royal family and has one of the biggest dragons could give him a genuine claim to the throne. It's not as if the Targaryens haven't skipped over generations before.

We'll probably find out Hugh's ambitions with his dragon in next week's season-two finale.

"House of the Dragon" season two airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and is streaming on Max.

Correction: July 29, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled Baelon and misstated how many sisters he had. He had seven, not three. It also misstated the implied relationship between Hugh's mother and Baelon. Hugh suggests his mother was Baelon's sister, not Baelon's illegitimate child.