House Of The Dragon Just Debunked A Major Alys Rivers Theory

This article contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" season 2 and George R.R. Martin's book series.

This week's episode of "House of the Dragon" wasn't a massive game-changer, but certainly laid the groundwork for what will most definitely be a hell of a final two episodes of the season. Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is still away at the extremely cursed House of Harrenhal trying to raise an army for his niece/wife, Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) but is continually tortured by hallucinations — including his dead brother King Viserys (Paddy Considine) telling him that he'll never be king, and going down on his own mother as she tells him he's her favorite son. Daemon is an unpredictable, selfish, and sadistic wildcard and this psychological torture is admittedly very fun to watch. Telling that his "f*** this, I'm out" moment came after hallucinating his brother telling him he sucks and not imagining doing it with his own mother — but hey, that's the Targaryens for ya!

During his time at Harrenhal, Daemon has been interacting quite a bit with the mysterious Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). It's assumed that the mysterious potions she's been concocting for him are the cause of his hallucinations, and there's something otherworldly about her. Is she a figment of Daemon's imagination? A ghost? Or something else altogether? 

Rankin recently spoke with Vulture about the ambiguity and said, "It's a thing I was struggling with every day. How do you play someone who is mysterious? How do you ground them, and make her a person with wants and needs and desires?" She continued, "As this season unfolds, you start to feel like there's a story there, a person and a history [...] hopefully we'll feel and see more specific details at some point."

Well, this week's episode gave us confirmation that Alys is a real person, and the House's most talented healer.

In the book series, it's theorized that Alys might be hundreds of years old, something that Rankin seemed to be hinting at in her talk with Vulture. "She's kind of like the First Lady of Harrenhal if there was a government," she said. "She knows all the really wonderful spots to go swimming and do fun, pleasurable things. She's spent a lot of time figuring out how to be by herself, but that's like a blessing and a curse after 400 years." This would make her centuries old, not unlike the "Game of Thrones" character Melisandre aka the Red Witch, who had attempted to help Stannis Baratheon take over the Iron Throne before eventually pivoting to backing Jon Snow.

When Simon Strong tells Daemon that Alys has left to assist with the possible healing of Grover Tully before his inevitable passing, it confirms that she is more than likely the cause of all of Daemon's hallucinations, and not another result of them. It still seems odd that no one in Harrenhal has ever directly interacted with her (that we've been privy to as an audience) up until that point, but when we think about how this world usually treats witchy characters like this, it does make sense. Women like Alys are typically feared by those around them and only called upon when their powers are of use to more "important" figures. Melisandre wasn't treated very well by folks in "Game of Thrones" either, unless they felt they could use her powers for their own gain (or were terrified of her retaliation).

Witchy magic is nothing new. We saw Jon Snow and the Mountain's resurrections in "Game of Thrones" and, in another universe, the TV series would have actually shown the resurrection of Catelyn Stark as Lady Stoneheart. There's also Maggy the Frog, a Woods witch who used blood magic to help Cersei Lannister.

Chances are, Alys is so mysterious because she's a witch ... or perhaps a Greenseer.

Alys Rivers is aware of what Daemon is hallucinating or dreaming about, which is an ability possessed by the Greenseers. The last of the Greenseers in "Game of Thrones" was the Three-Eyed Raven, a human living among the last of the Children of the Forest beyond the Wall (and a frequent visitor of future king Bran Stark). "House of the Dragon" takes place centuries before "Game of Thrones," so Alys' status, while rare, would not be unheard of. Not to mention, Alys has mentioned being a "barn owl," which she may have meant literally as Greenseries are known skinchangers. Being a Greenseer would explain her connection to Daemon's dreams, for sure, but also explain how she seems to know so much about everything. "What I hear, I hear in the wind," she tells Daemon.

In the "A Song of Ice and Fire" chapters from Bran's POV, he frequently describes "whispers on the wind" as a part of his greensight. In the books, Alys' history is hotly debated, but it was noted that she served as a wetnurse for House Strong, including Larys Strong. Not for nothing, but Larys Strong is also rumored to be a Greenseer, which would explain how he seemingly knows everything going on in Westeros and would add an additional layer to his speech to a wounded Aegon in this week's episode when he talks about the advantage of being underestimated. "Rivers" is the bastard surname (not unlike Jon "Snow") so if she were a bastard of House Strong, she and Larys could be related and therefore have a genetic Greenseer connection. Being a bastard would also explain why everyone in Harrenhal ignores her because she's deemed "lesser than" by those around her.

Greenseer or not, Alys Rivers is very much real and Daemon would be wise to heed her warning that he's going to die at Harrenhal.