Who is the Witch of Harrenhal in House of the Dragon?

New season House of the Dragonshowed that the series is ready to take the combination of political tension and inter-dragon violence to a new dimension. From Baela’s (Bethany Antonia) pursuit of Christon Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) to Daemon’s (Matt Smith) arrival at Harrenhal as part of his plan to conquer. The truth is that the production made a point of showing everything that happens in the midst of an inevitable conflict.

But one of the most interesting things about the third episode was to show that magic will also play an interesting role this season. In particular, the well-known aspect of mysterious prophecies, musings on the unknown, and even, outright, horror, will be as important as in Game of Thrones. It all happened during the episode that tells of Damon’s arrival at the ancestral home of the Powerful. As you may remember, the estate, where the titular family already died last season, is known for a curse that dooms its owner to disaster. Which seems to include even the death of his potential conquerors. This time it’s Demon.

According to tradition, the greatest castle in the Kingdom is one in which a hostile enclave condemns its owner to death and his line to extinction. It is therefore not surprising that the King Consort has had something of a hallucination that is difficult to explain. This is after dinner with Lord Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale). In the middle of the evening, he and his modest court, which included a mysterious woman, listened to her strange and sinister explanation of who inhabits the castle. Which led to one of the darkest scenes of the new season.

The Vision, the Witch and the Fatal Future

The demon, who had made it clear several times that he did not believe in the dragon dreamers – the famous mediums of the Targaryen family – or in the supernatural, was faced with an inexplicable situation. Namely: in a dream, he had a vision in which he saw the image of Rhaenyra, still a teenager (Millie Alcock). And also a very young prince, killed in King’s Landing. After that, he found himself, not knowing how he got there, next to a weirwood tree. The woman he had seen earlier at dinner was there too, and had announced to him then that she would die among the stones of Harrenhal.

This is Alice Rios (Gail Rankin), a witch who will gradually become a character of no small importance in the field of predictions and premonitions about what will happen in Westeros. In the book Fire and Blood (2018) by George R.R. Martin, she is spoken of as a witch, although she did not belong to any known congregation, group or lodge. But the book claims that despite this, she is dangerous. So much for bleating in the blood of virgins to maintain your attractive appearance despite the years.

Judging by her last name, she’s a bastard. But the most interesting thing about this mysterious woman from House of the Dragonis that his age is unknown. It is assumed – and the source emphasizes that this is just a rumor – that she is the daughter of Lionel Strong, the father of Laris and Harwin. However, in reality, Alice could be much older. According to Martin’s fiction, he always managed to nurse the entire line of Strong descendants as long as they remained in Harrendall. Which indicates that its age must be around 400 years.

Future Game of Thrones Connection

Since the book was published Fire and BloodThere were all sorts of theories that suggested Alice was something beyond nature, embodied in the most haunted place in Westeros. There were also suggestions that she might be an old acquaintance of A Song of Ice and Fire readers: Melisandre (played by Carice van Houten on the small screen). It, as various novels suggest, holds many secrets. Which corresponds to his true age.

However, since the two characters in House of the Dragon Played by different actresses, it’s clear that there’s little to no chance. That is, unless Alice magically changed her appearance or is now unrecognizable. However, another new theory suggests that she could be the mother of the Red Witch, who finally managed to give birth to a daughter during the Dance of the Dragons. We’ll just have to wait and see if House of the Dragonconfirms the extreme.