Of all the women in House of the Dragon, anticipation for Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) was justified. Mysterious, influential, and even frightening, in the book and in the series she arrived at to cause and succeeded.

By her surname – Rivers – Alys is the bastard of a noble from House Strong, with the possibility of being the half-sister of Larys (Matthew Needham) and Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), since everyone mentions the former Hand of the King, Ser Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes) as her father. It is a fact, even in the book there are suspicions of this paternity, but no one knows about his mother or age, it would have been an escape by Ser Lyonel before he had even gotten married and had legitimate children.

Therefore, Alys’ real name is a mystery and since the series aired, a new theory has started: did it really exist? Or are we seeing Sixth Sense in the House of the Dragon version? That’s right: is Alys Rivers a ghost?

When it comes to Harrenhall, anything is possible because the castle and the land where it is located are surrounded by legends, deaths, magic and ghosts. But on the Internet, fans are divided. Some argue that the book proves that Alys lived, others use images from the series to say the opposite. I’m leaning towards the second, I’ll let you know!

Let’s leave the page descriptions as a basis, but use what we’ve seen so far in the series. Clearly, the showrunners are having fun at our expense.

The witch and the owl

Since Daemon (Matt Smith) landed in Harrenhall, without encountering resistance from anyone, Alys’s figure has proven strange. Always in the environment, but without interacting or being considered by anyone other than Daemon himself, it seems very similar to the structure of the film The Sixth Sense. Without a single dialogue with anyone there, it becomes clear that Alys is not “human”. At the very least, she really is a witch.

“I’m not a woman. I am an owl, cursed to live in human form.”

Alys Rivers in House of the Dragon

Clearly defiant and observant, Alys doesn’t even flinch when Daemon enters the castle, but he sees her clearly. In his first nocturnal delirium, he wakes up outside Harrenhall with Alys making a prediction: “You will die here.”

We know she’s not wrong, how does she know? Good being? Spiritual help?

Clearly, she is the local healer and moves through the haunted halls of Harrenhal with great intimacy. Daemon, who despite the extremely suspicious figure of this dark woman, talks to her and agrees to drink the strange drink she offers him – “to sleep” – and asks if she is “some kind of Maester”, to which she responds without clarifying who “inherited” the position “after the last one fled during the night.” Afraid of her, perhaps? As she “jokes”: “I’m not a woman. I am an owl, cursed to live in human form.”

If before drinking the strange drink Daemon was already dealing with his guilt – like seeing young Rhaenyra sewing Jaejaerys’ head on and then decapitating his wife when the same image confronts him for wanting the Iron Throne and the Crown, then it only gets worse for the rebel prince.

In every dream, Daemon reveals more about himself than he would like or ever admit to anyone. His fixation on the mother he barely knew, on the resentment of not being King or heir to the Throne, and so on. He is tired, vulnerable, unable to deal with the issues of bringing more supporters to the black side. As Aemon warned in Game of Thrones: a Targaryen alone is not a good thing.

To Alys, who has already revealed that she knows that he is not on good terms with Rhaenyra (there is no exchange of messages between them, as he comments), Daemon confesses that yes, he is fighting for the crown, but for him and if Rhaenyra wants, she can stay by his side. That’s because as Alys pointed out: “I imagine it’s difficult to pay homage to someone who replaces you as heir. And a woman too. A girl you jumped on your knee. Do you think its legitimacy is challenged? While you’re here, with a castle and a dragon trying to attract an army of men,” she summarized. Hit the mark!

This intimate relationship between Alys and Daemon will be extremely useful for her future lover: Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), with whom she will have a son. If she managed to uncover the deepest secrets of Daemon’s mind, Aemond would have it even easier.

The series has not yet made Alys Daemon’s lover, but in the book there are reports that the two will be more than “friends”. In any case, she stays behind when Daemon heads for King’s Landing, therefore free to embrace Aemond when HE arrives at Harrenhall. In fact, without forgetting that Mushroom says that in addition to Aemond and Daemon, Alys used potions to attract Ser Criston Cole, (Fabien Frankel) too.

Aemond will also leave Alys at the castle and she will be found – pregnant, or claiming to be expecting Aemond’s child – by Lady Sabitha Frey and when her lover returns for her, she helps him drive out the Frey from there.

Note the most important detail: Alys NEVER leaves Harrenhal, not with or for Aemond, who she supposedly loves so much. This, to me, suggests that the possibility of her being a spirit is extremely possible, toying with the two most dangerous men in Westeros.

When he returns to Harrenhal, Aemond just wants to confront his uncle, who after a long time, accepts the challenge and also returns to the duel. The one-eyed prince famously says that it was Alys’s vision that helped him find him and she kisses her passionately before mounting Vhagar and going to fight Caraxes and Daemon.

She will watch their deaths at the top of Kingspyre Tower, in Harrenhal below. She becomes the “Witch Queen” during the reign of Aegon III, son of Rhaenyra and Daemon, gathering an army of broken men and predatory bandits under her command.

If the fight over the Crown wasn’t confusing enough, Alys will insist that Aemond married her in secret, therefore her son is legitimate and – depending on the current – ​​the “true heir” to the Iron Throne. There are terrifying reports that Alys can use magic to blow open her enemies’ skulls, and she will certainly be feared. She curses anyone who threatens her power and dominance in Harrenhal.

And what happens to Alys and her son? What’s his name? There is no conclusion in the book… which also reinforces, in some way, the reputation of being a ghost… perhaps?

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