'House of the Dragon' Finale Fuels Fan Theories on Dragons, Dreamers and Weirwood Trees
The TV adaptation strengthens connections between Greenseers and "dragon dreams."
For a show about the peak of dragon-riding power in Westeros, House of the Dragon has given us a shocking amount of Weirwood magic, and fan theorists are having a field day with it. Looking back, Season 2 provided a lot of supporting evidence for some existing fan theories and helped spawn new ones as well, including some about the impending finale to George R.R. Martin's books, A Song of Ice and Fire. Read on for more details, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!
In Season 1, the writers raised the stakes on House of the Dragon and connected it to Game of Thrones by revealing that House Targaryen conquered Westeros in the first place to fight the white walkers. This was a huge revelation, but not unexpected – Targaryens are known to have magical "dragon dreams" that foretell the future, but we've never seen this ability related to other prophetic magic such as the Greenseers of the Weirwood trees – until now. Season 2 amped up the magic when Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) took over Harrenhal – a supposedly haunted castle that was built on a Weirwood grove and then destroyed by dragon-fire during the conquest.
The mystical nature of Harrenhal was practically ignored in Game of Thrones – as were many of the series' fantasy elements – but House of the Dragon has set the record straight. The castle was built by enslaved people, and Weirwood trees were not only torn down for its construction – they were used in its structures. The spirits stored in those trees now "haunt" Harrenhal in some way. On top of that, the castle sits right next to the God's Eye lake, where a mysterious group of "Green Men" live on the Isle of Faces guarding a sacred grove of Weirwood trees.
It's hard to summarize how deeply steeped in magic Harrenhal is in George R.R. Martin's books, but suffice it to say that Daemon is now sleeping – and dreaming – at one of the mystical epicenters of the world of ice and fire. Now that we've seen him go through profound change due to his dream-visions, fans are coming around on the idea that he has access to magic other than dragon-riding. Perhaps Daemon is tapping into the psychic influence of the Weirwoods as well.
Daemon the Greenseer?
This theory starts with YouTuber and podcast GrayArea, who has discussed the idea in the past but really put it all together in a 38-minute video published after watching House of the Dragon Episode 4. She points out that Daemon has the blood of the Weirwood-worshipping First Men in his immediate ancestry, as he is approximately one fourth Massey. That carries a lot of weight in Martin's books, where we've seen other characters who share Targaryen and First Men genetics wield immense power. Chief among them is Brynden Rivers, a.k.a. "Bloodraven," who is the old man that teaches Bran to become a Greenseer beyond The Wall.
In the main series, Bloodraven tells Bran that there have been many Greenseers like him before, leading fans to dig back in history and speculate about who could have filled this role. Daemon is a surprisingly good fit – not only does he have the right ancestry and a strong interest in the esoteric, he disappears mysteriously and is presumed dead, just like Bloodraven. I won't spoil the specifics of Daemon's disappearance, but those who have read Fire & Blood will likely see how this could be suggestive.
That was already an interesting theory before Episode 4, when Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) gave Daemon a mysterious drink that enhanced his visions. Although Daemon refused to even eat the food when he arrived at Harrenhal, fearing it might be poisoned, Alys somehow compelled him to drink her potion without a word of protest. Most ominously of all, as she prepared the drink, she seemed to be mixing blood into it.
In the latest book in A Song of Ice and Fire, A Dance with Dragons, Bran Stark was given a potion to "wed him to the trees" and awaken his potential as a Greenseer. This mixture was definitely magical in some way, and the Children of the Forest told Bran it was made of Weirwood seeds. However, a longstanding fan theory speculates that it may have contained blood as well. The books often emphasize the practice of making blood sacrifice to Weirwood trees, implying that their magical powers rely on it somehow. Daemon may have just had his fourth wedding of the series without even realizing it, all for the sake of the old gods.
Connected Prescience
Of course, the season finale takes this even further, with Daemon openly accepting the power of the "omens" he can see at Harrenhal and willingly entering a vision in the Godswood. He seems to essentially see a version of the same prophecy that compelled his ancestors to conquer Westeros – "A Song of Ice and Fire." He sees the red comet, the White Walkers and even Daenerys hatching her dragons. This implies that Weirwood visions may not be too different from "dragon dreams," and that perhaps every form of magic accesses the same fundamental form of prescience.
It's also notable that Daemon saw Bloodraven himself in this vision. This could have been a glimpse of his future bloodline, or just an important player in the story to come, but some fans theorize that it means Bloodraven was actually the one showing this vision to Daemon. It adds to a web of theories that Bloodraven has used his mastery as a Greenseer to send dreams and visions to people all over Westeros to psychically influence their behavior. However, Bloodraven told Bran that communication across time is not possible, so this one is a little shaky. It only works if we assume Daemon is a Greenseer himself, making him somehow easier to contact.
Dragon-riders, Wargs and Skinchangers
One really interesting aspect of this theory is what it implies about the connections between the two types of magical bonds we've seen in this series – that between a dragon and its rider, and that between a warg or skinchanger and its animal companion. Martin has often tried to draw distinctions between these two forms of magic, and we know that dragon-riders do not share thoughts and sensations with their dragons the same way that wargs can see through the eyes of their wolves, for example. However, it also seems that all magic in Martin's world is drawn from a similar source, with the difference being what users can do with it and how they access it.
It would be a huge revelation to see an accomplished dragon-rider like Daemon also tapping into Greensight and the collective consciousness of the Weirwoods. In that crossover, some of the biggest mysteries in the whole series could be answered, especially if Daemon develops a greater understanding of his own psychic abilities and relates them to the bond he already has with Caraxes. We're told that one person out of every thousand is born a skinchanger, and that one skinchanger out of every thousand is born a Greenseer, but we have no such ratios for dragon-riders and dragon-dreamers.
More Skinchangers
Finally, some of the biggest fan theories this season concern other characters that fans suspect are secretly skinchangers. YouTuber and podcaster Joe Magician has been steadily building a case that Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) is secretly a skinchanger, using his connections to ravens, rats and other small creatures to collect intelligence as the Master of Whisperers. His theory got some big boosts this season thanks to Alys Rivers, who was heavily implied to be a skinchanger when she told Daemon she was an owl "cursed to live in human form."
Alys later caught an owl on her arm, leading many fans to believe it was her companion – perhaps one of many. Meanwhile, in Episode 6 Larys speaks to Aegon about being born with a disability. He says that when he was born, "my foot was so twisted that my father named it sorcery. Accusing a member of our household of casting maligned spells." It seems likely that this was Alys, who is the wet nurse for Larys and his brother in the book. This may have been a false accusation, but some fan theories suggest that disabling a character's body can help awaken their abilities as a skinchanger or Greenseer, and that perhaps Bran was paralyzed on purpose by Bloodraven or someone else.
House of the Dragon is not a perfect adaptation, but it goes a long way toward enriching its setting and exploring the most interesting implications of its magic. Some of Season 2's mysteries may be solved in Season 3, while others may be answered in the upcoming book finale, and some may never be answered at all. House of the Dragon is streaming now on Max, and Season 3 is now in pre-production. Martin's books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.
Trending Now:
-
1James Earl Jones, 'Star Wars' and 'Lion King' Legend, Dead at 93 -
2Lucifer Actor Dies by Suicide at Gun Range: Karel Heřmánek Was 76 -
3TV Actor Suddenly Dies in His Sleep: Wife Confirms Death of Vikas Sethi -
4Gayle King's CBS Contract Facing Scrutiny, Report Claims -
5Chef Who Worked With Gordon Ramsay Dies After Being Attacked: Mussie Imnetu Was 41