Warning: Contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5.
Summary
Could Alys Rivers be a ghost inHouse of the Dragon? Is the witch of Harrenhal even really there, tormenting Daemon Targaryen, or is she a manifestation of his own subconscious? After several episodes ofDaemon’s visions at Harrenhal, these are now pertinent questions the show will eventually need to address.
Things are much more straightforward in George R.R. Martin’s book,Fire & Blood. There, whileAlys Rivers is labeled a witch, there’s no question about her being real and/or alive. However, the show is making some key changes, and Daemon’s dreams and encounters with her are total invention, which means just about anything is on the table.That has even included some clues of Alys being some kind of supernatural specteror just pure imagination, and it’s not that far-fetched a theory.
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Evidence Alys Rivers Is A Ghost Or Doesn’t Exist In House Of The Dragon
It Would Explain A Few Mysterious Moments
There’s no doubt Alys Rivers is mysterious, powerful, and more than she seems- indeed, it’s possible she is even hundreds of years old - but there’s also direct evidence she’s either a ghost or in Daemon’s head. That’s in part because of what’s happening to him: he is having very strange dreams and visions, so it’s not impossible she is a by-product of that; a symptom, not the cause. Importantly, no one else at Harrenhal directly interacts with her, with Daemon the only person who talks to her and that she speaks to in turn.
…It has been noted that Alys seemingly disappears when Simon Strong comes to speak with Daemon."
The theory really gained traction, though, inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 5. Already a strange episode givenDaemon’s vision of his mother, it has been noted [viaThrones_Factson X] thatAlys seemingly disappears when Simon Strong comes to speak with Daemon. This is shown in the clip below:
It’s entirely possible this is just a trick of camera angles, and there’s nothing more to her disappearing than that. But notice how she’s almost floating even before she disappears, and the fact she’s not visible after it. It could be nothing, but it could also be the show giving a major hint that she is, indeed, a ghost.
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Do Ghosts Exist In Westeros?
There’s No Confirmation, But Is Some Evidence
There is no conclusive proof that ghosts exist in Westeros, but there’s also nothing to completely rule it out, either. Much like our own world, there are people who believe in ghosts…the difference in Westeros, though, is that we at least know death isn’t permanent. Beric Dondarrion and Jon Snow are both brought back from the dead inGame of Thrones, and Catelyn Stark is resurrected in theA Song of Ice and Firebooks. Given that and so much other magic, such as greensight and skinchanging, it is not a stretch to think ghosts are real.
InA Storm of Swords, Jaime Lannister asks Qyburn if he believes in ghosts. This is the former Maester’s response:
“Once, at the Citadel, I came into an empty room and saw an empty chair. Yet I knew a woman had been there, only a moment before. The cushion was dented where she’d sat, the cloth was still warm, and her scent lingered in the air. If we leave our smells behind us when we leave a room, surely something of our souls must remain when we leave this life?”
Qyburn knows a thing or two about defeating death. After all, he is the one who turns Gregor Clegane into what is, essentially, a kind of zombie. He has dabbled in the dark arts and learned a lot about magic and resurrection that the Citadel disapproves of, and so if any Maester was going to know - or at least come close to knowing - the truth about ghosts, it probably would be him.
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What Alys Rivers Being A Ghost Or Hallucination Would Mean
This Would Be A Radical Change For House Of The Dragon
Alys Rivers being a ghost, or a hallucination of Daemon’s, would change the story in a couple of ways. Plot wise, things would be progressing similarly, butit would mean Daemon’s mental state has been altered even more than previously thoughtif she’s a hallucination. That would then make the idea ofHarrenhal being cursedeven more pertinent, because she could be a ghost that haunts the place.
Game of Thronesseason 2 did have an episode titled “The Ghost of Harrenhal,” wherein Jaqen H’ghar kills the Tickler at the request of Arya Stark, leading people to believe there is a “ghost.” That obviously has a clear explanation, but does lay the foundation for the idea of Harrenhal being a genuinely haunted place that does have a ghost, perhaps watching over it or trying to ward off outsiders.
Game of Thrones always tried to keep its fantasy a little more grounded, even with dragons, White Walkers, and resurrections…
This would also be significant in terms of representing a further departure into the fantastical.Game of Thronesalways tried to keep its fantasy a little more grounded, even with dragons, White Walkers, and resurrections - they were used when necessary for the plot, and it rarely went too deep into the magical side of things. A ghost inHouse of the Dragonwould change that, making it a much more supernatural story.
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The Problems With The Theory That Alys Rivers Is A Ghost
It’s A Very Fun Theory, But Doesn’t Fully Work
One of the problems with Alys Rivers being a ghost is that, while no one speaks to her, people do seem to look at her. There have been a couple of moments where she’s entered a room and someone has looked up, and even in the clip above,Simon Strong turns his head and appears to look directly at her. However, this doesn’t disprove anything, as they could be sensing her presence, and Simon may even be looking to try and discern who or what Daemon was speaking to if he cannot see Alys.
[Alys is] a person there is a clear historical record of, which means there’s no real chance of her being a ghost in Fire & Blood.
It’s also worth pointing out thatAlys is at Harrenhal when Daemon first arrives at the castle. She is clearly standing in the room with Simon and others, and this is before he’s started sleeping in a weirwood bed and drinking strange potions. That technically doesn’t mean she can’t be a ghost, but would appear to rule out her being a hallucination, unless Daemon was instantly affected by Harrenhal.
Alys' story in the book doesn’t help the idea of her being a ghost either. She’s a person there is a clear historical record of, which means there’s no real chance of her being a ghost in Fire & Blood. Again, that doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the show, but it would be a surprising change given a significant part of her story involves Aemond Targaryen, meaning he’d also have to be hallucinating her or able to see her despite her being a ghost.
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It’s More Likely Alys Rivers Is A Powerful Greenseer
Alys Has Connections To The Weirwood Trees
The fact that Alys Rivers seemingly knows the contents of Daemon’s dreams, and may even be implanting and influencing them directly, very much suggests she’s a greenseer, since that’s an ability those with greensight possess. This would also make more sense of her previously saying she’s a “barn owl,” as all greenseers are skinchangers.
This would not only explain how she can directly impact and see Daemon’s dreams, such as knowing he had a vision of his mother (we’ve seen the Three-Eyed Raven, or Crow in the books, do similar to Bran), but how she knows much of what’s going on in the Riverlands. Alys tells Daemon:“What I hear, I hear in the wind.”
This could fit with her literally becoming a barn owl, but also echoes multiple lines from Bran’s point-of-view in theA Song of Ice and Firebooks. They make multiple references to whispers on the wind, and directly connect them to his greensight and visions. For example, inA Dance with Dragons, when Jojen is describing how only very few people are greenseers, he tells Bran:
“It is given to a few to drink of that green fountain whilst still in mortal flesh, to hear the whisperings of the leaves and see as the trees see, as the gods see.”
There are severl such passages in the books. Take this one, where Bran has a vision of his father, Ned Stark:
“‘Father.‘Bran’s voice was a whisper in the wind, a rustle in the leaves. ‘Father, it’s me. It’s Bran. Brandon.’
“Eddard Stark lifted his head and looked long at the weirwood, frowning, but he did not speak. He cannot see me, Bran realized, despairing. He wanted to reach out and touch him, but all that he could do was watch and listen. I am in the tree. I am inside the heart tree, looking out of its red eyes, but the weirwood cannot talk, so I can’t.”
What’s also notable in these instances is thatthe whisperings of the wind are often correlated with trees and the whisperings of leaves, most typically weirwood trees. Alys herself is very clearly connected to the weirwood trees too: it’s next to one she sees Daemon after a vision, she is the one who points out his bed is made of a heart tree, and the potion she gives him seems to be, potentially, a kind of weirwood paste.
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Rather than a ghost, it makes even more sense that Alys is a powerful greenseer. It can also be explained, quite simply, why others in the castle ignore her: she’s believed to be a bastard, hence the surname Rivers, so it wouldn’t be uncommon for nobles to just ignore her and act like she doesn’t exist. Daemon interacts with her because she keeps appearing when he has his visions, but that doesn’t mean she’s not real, even though it is a compelling idea.
What Does Alys Rivers Want With Daemon?
Why Is She Making Him Have These Visions?
Real or fake, alive or a ghost, there’s one question above all regarding Alys Rivers: what, exactly, does she want with Daemon? As it stands, there’s not really a clear answer. Is she trying to destabilize Team Black and create chaos to suit her own ends? Note that,in the book, Alys is said to have been the wetnurse of Larys Strong, who is doing something similar in King’s Landing (and there are also theories he is a greenseer).
Episode 8
August 4
Does she want power for herself? Is he simply trying to ward off an outsider from Harrenhal? Is she an agent of the Old Gods themselves, imbued with a spirit from one of the weirwood trees that was cut down at Harrenhal many years ago, out to take revenge? Has she seen visions of her and Aemond’s future together, and needs to do these things to Daemon to ensure that happens? Is she purely a plot device to make Daemon come to various points of realization about himself? There are various possibilities, and hopefullyHouse of the Dragonhas an answer.
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason 2 release Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO and Max.
House of the Dragon
Cast
House of the Dragon is a 2022 fantasy drama set in the world of Westeros, chronicling the Targaryen dynasty at its height. The story revolves around King Viserys’s controversial decision to name his daughter Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne, sparking tensions and divisions within the realm.
