Daemon Targaryen claimed Harrenhal on House of the Dragon, but he hasn’t found peace in that haunted castle. What he has found instead is a mysterious woman named Alys Rivers. Who is this strange figure and fan-favorite from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood? Is this bastard of the Riverlands nothing more than a wise woman who minds her surroundings? Or is she something much more magical and sinister? Here’s everything we’ve learned about Alys Rivers on House of the Dragon.
Who Plays Alys Rivers on House of the Dragon?
Gayle Rankin (GLOW, Perry Mason) plays Alys Rivers on House of the Dragon. She joined the prequel series during season two. While the character is known to readers of Martin’s Fire & Blood, the in-world history reveals less about her than many other figures in the book.
Alys Rivers Arrives With an Ominous Warning (Season 2, Episode 3)
Alys Rivers made her debut (without being named on-screen) in House of the Dragon season two’s third episode. She first appeared in Harrenhal’s dining hall when Daemon Targaryen claimed the castle for Queen Rhaenyra (and himself). Alys was the only person not to kneel to his “Grace.”
She truly made her presence felt later in the episode when she showed up during Daemon’s nightmare-turned-waking vision. After dreaming about his wife (who appeared as a young woman) sewing the head of little Prince Jaehaerys onto his body, Daemon suddenly found himself outside. He was standing near a dying weirwood tree overlooking the sacred Gods Eye lake. A confused Daemons then saw Alys Rivers appear below him. She only said one thing, but it made a major impact. She ominously told him, “You will die in this place,” before walking away.
Alys Rivers: Maester, Owl, or Witch? (Season 2, Episode 4)
Another nightmare once again led Daemon to walk directly to Alys Rivers during House of the Dragon season two’s fourth episode. He found her working late at night in what appeared to be a kitchen.
She explained she was the castle’s de facto maester after the last one fled in the night. Like Daemon, the maester could not rest at Harrenhal. Alys said the castle is responsible for Daemon’s nightmares because Harrenhal is haunted and has been since its first stone was laid. The King who built the massive structure, Harren the Black, felled a grove of sacred weirwood trees for the land. He then used the wood of the heart trees to make the castle’s furniture. According to Alys, the spirits who lived in those ancient trees still roam the castle. She said you can hear them whispering in the night.
When Daemon asked who she really is, Alys jokingly said she’s really an owl trapped in a human woman’s body. (At least it sounded like a joke. In a world with wargs that isn’t totally unbelievable.) Later Daemon accused her of being a witch because she seemingly knew things she shouldn’t. That included how she seemed to know everything Daemon has left unsaid about his feelings for his wife’s ascension. Alys didn’t claim witchcraft or other magical powers for her insights. She cited the many clues he’s unhappy being below Rhaenyra, including how he arrived alone but had yet to send a raven back saying he claimed the castle.
The alluring, wise, mysterious Alys then easily got Daemon to drink an unknown potion just days after he feared someone poisoning him. It was as though she had placed him in a trance and he couldn’t refuse her. Whatever she gave him was powerful. It knocked him out completely. Daemon lost a huge chunk of time after taking her potion. He awoke the next day, in the middle of a meeting, with no idea how he’d gotten there.
Alys Rivers Hears Cries of Anguish in the Wind (Season 2, Episode 5)
In season two’s “Regent” Alys Rivers continued to call out Daemon Targaryen. This time she chastised him for war crimes Ser Willem Blackwood committed in his name. Daemon had told the knight to do his “worse” to bring House Bracken to heel. Even before the other riverlords confronted Daemon for those atrocities, Alys Rivers knew about them. She told Daemon she heard the “strange things” on the “wind.” She spoke of “cries of anguish, children being taken from their mothers, men coming home to find their doors unlatched, their wives carried away.”
Did she mean she heard reports and rumors of those things from others? Or did she actually hear the real screams from far away? If so, how? In visions? Dreams? Through weirwood trees? Sorcery? No matter how she knew, she knew what it meant. “And once again, in the name of power,” she said, “It’s the weak and the women who must endure.”
It was also unclear if Alys happened to mention Daemon’s late mother by chance, or if that meant she was the one who caused his Oedipal dream about his mom. That was a curious topic for Alys to bring up at that exact moment. It raised the possibility that even if she isn’t responsible for Daemon’s nightmares, it’s possible she somehow knows about them.
Alys Rivers “Predicts” the Death of Lord Grover Tully (Season 2, Episode 6)
With Daemon losing his grip on reality thanks to frustration in the Riverlands and his own nightmares, the King Consort was ready to flee Harrenhal before he asked for Alys’ help counsel. She offered him insights into the “mud” men of the region. She said they would rather get bogged down fighting one another than bend an inch. Only the stability of House Tully could bring them all together and give Daemon the army he seeks.
With Lord Grover Tully too old and sick to bend the knee, that seemingly left Daemon without any options. But Alys told him while he couldn’t do anything, “in three days time the winds will shift.” That would offer him a path forward. Sure enough, three days later Grover Tully was dead and his young healthy grandson was the new Lord of Riverrun. And who was with Grover at the end? Alys Rivers, who had gone to help.
Did she kill Grover Tully as Daemon (and possibly Ser Simon Strong) believe? Or did she go there—possibly to ease his pain, make Daemon think he can trust her, or both—exactly because she somehow knew Lord Tully would die then? Either she’s a murderer or a seer, either of which would be of great value to Daemon Targaryen.
Also of value was her insight into what it takes to rule. She cited Daemon’s desire for the crown as reason for him not to be worthy of it. Rhaenyra needs her husband (and his dragon) fighting for her. Alys is the only one showing Daemon why the best he might ever be able to hope for is serving as King Consort and not the King.
Is House of the Dragon‘s Alys Rivers Really a Witch?
Is Alys Rivers a witch? Is she the one actually causing Daemon’s nightmares? Or is she an owl? Could she possess amazing greenseer abilities like Bran on Game of Thrones? Is that how she knows so much about the past, present, and future? And, maybe most importantly, was she predicting Daemon’s death at Harrenhal as a prophecy or simply warning him what will happen if he stays there because every Lord of the castle has died before? Or could it be because she will one day kill him, like she might have with Oscar Tully?
There’s still much to learn about Alys Rivers, and we can’t rule out any possibility about who, or what, she might be. The mysterious bastard of the Riverlands could just be a smart woman with a keen eye. Or she could be so much more.
Originally published on July 9, 2024.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s still mad we didn’t get GLOW’s final season. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
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