House Of The Dragon Just Brought Back A Season 1 Character You Probably Forgot About

What is dead may never die, and what is a spoiler may never be spoiled again ... or something like that. Either way, read no further if you haven't watched the latest episode of "House of the Dragon."

War has come to Westeros and there's no going back. With peace talks having broken down for good following the secretive meeting between friends-turned-rivals Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and the escalating threat of violence finally breaking out into the open with the Battle of Rook's Rest, it should come as no surprise that both warring sides of this Targaryen civil war are now resorting to increasingly desperate measures to secure their respective paths to victory. For Team Green, the party currently in control of the Iron Throne, they've ignored Alicent's reservations and thrown in their lot with the rogue Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who "accidentally on purpose" caused his royal brother Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) life-threatening injuries by blasting him out of the sky from the back of his dragon Vhagar and has now taken over as Regent of the realm. For Team Black, this week depicted a dizzying array of alliances and negotiations to help bolster their meager armies against the superior might of their foes.

But, as the devious spy Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) hints early on, "There is more than one way to fight a war." Rhaenyra takes these words to heart in the episode's most mysterious subplot. Since we aren't made privy to the specifics of the scheme that Mysaria hatches with the queen, it isn't clear why Rhaenyra's handmaid Elinda (Jordon Stevens) embarks on a mission to King's Landing ... or why she knocks on a door and reunites with a season 1 side character whom many viewers likely forgot about completely. Here's what we know.

Those who forget their history may be doomed to repeat it, but those who forget their Westeros lore are doomed to be completely lost — particularly when "House of the Dragon" pulls a deep-cut reference out of nowhere. It wasn't exactly a struggle to prepare viewers for, say, the shocking cameo of actor Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra earlier in the season, given the frequent praise thrown her way for her standout performance throughout the first half of season 1. But this latest example of reaching back into distant "House of the Dragon" history for an unexpected appearance is another dilemma entirely. For those who don't tend to sit through those "Previously on 'House of the Dragon'" intros before each episode, this is the explainer for you.

May we (re)introduce you to Dyana (Maddie Evans), the handmaid in the employ of House Targaryen back when the series had only recently pulled off its ambitious time jump. When we first cross paths with her, it's as a victim of young Aegon's brutality in episode 8. Alicent is summoned to deal with the weeping girl, who recounts how she was sexually assaulted by the prince while serving wine to his chambers. Not without pity, Alicent deals with this frightfully sensitive situation by serving Dyana some moon tea, underhandedly threatening her for talking too much about the incident already, and then paying her off to guarantee her silence ... all while Aegon faces no other consequences than a stern, motherly reprimand for his boorish behavior later on.

This scene accomplished a few things: establishing Alicent's struggle to control her children, foreshadowing the future king's inability to rule, and, unknowingly to us, setting up Dyana as a crucial returning figure down the line.

The wars and campaigns over the Iron Throne might be a game played primarily by the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in the realm, but sooner or later their scheming and plotting ropes in even the lowliest of smallfolk into their net. When you have a mistress of whisperers as formidable as the "White Worm" Mysaria in your employ, that goes double. As "House of the Dragon" has laid out in detail, the former sex worker's entire deal is about sticking up for the trod-upon commoners who routinely end up as pawns wielded by families as strong as House Targaryen. In that light, it's little surprise that rumors have apparently reached her ear about the scandal between Dyana and Aegon years ago.

So, what bearing could that possibly have on the present? Well, since this subplot never took place in author George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood" source material, our only clues hang on the substance of Mysaria and Rhaenyra's conversation on Dragonstone early in episode 5. While expressing frustration over her lack of agency in this war, the Queen's venting session inspires Mysaria to try a different tact. Noting that the "thousand-thousand" denizens of King's Landing have grown discontent under the rule of Aegon, she implies that the realm's subjects have much more power than the Queen assumes. The next question we have to ask ourselves is what information Dyana has that could potentially harm Aegon — or, perhaps more preferably, the current Regent Aemond. With Dyana now appearing to serve in the same brothel that Aegon and Aemond have frequented, the possibilities are endless.

We'll find out for sure when the next episode of "House of the Dragon" airs July 21, 2024, on HBO and Max.