Mysaria’s Burning House in House of the Dragon E9 Explained

The King is finally dead. Long live the King!

Tension in Westeros is peaking as the long-awaited Targaryen Civil War, the Dance of Dragons, is finally on the horizon. The Green Council has openly declared its mutiny by announcing Aegon II as the new King.

Episode 9, titled “The Green Council”, was eventful and time-sensitive. One of the most important developments in this episode was Larys Strong informing Queen Alicent Hightower about the secret network of spies in Westeros held by her father, Otto Hightower.

Larys Strong, the Lord of Harrenhal and the head of House Strong, sets Mysaria’s house on fire in the latter half of episode 9 after getting Alicent Hightower’s permission. He does so to gain her trust in him.

After a dejected Alicent asks Larys Strong to take care of the situation by dealing with these spies, he ends up burning the house of Mysaria, better known as the White Worm.

Earlier, one of White Worm’s spies had informed Otto Hightower about Daemon and Rhaenyra’s little adventure in a pleasure house. In episode 9, Mysaria is the only one holding some amount of power other than the patriarchy.

It is she who informs Otto Hightower about Aegon’s whereabouts. In return, she asks for the cruel practices against the children of Flea Bottom to stop.

Remember our very own Littlefinger from Game of Thrones? Imagine him, but only creepier. That’s the perfect way to describe Larys Strong.

Larys Strong or ‘Clubfoot’ seems to have an unending lust for Queen Alicent Hightower and does everything to gain her confidence. It gives us nostalgic memories of how Littlefinger used to lust for Lady Catelyn Stark, and later her daughter, Sansa.

The torching of Mysaria’s house is a callback to the way Clubfoot took care of his own father and brother, simply because Alicent accidentally expressed her desire to get some support.

When Alicent gets to know that Mysaria was responsible for outing the location of Aegon II to Otto Hightower, she is visibly upset by her father’s doings. Larys Strong, as usual, offers to take care of the situation for her, and she agrees.

Moreover, Mysaria is one of the biggest allies of Princess Rhaenyra and the Black Council. She also had a relationship with Prince Daemon, though it didn’t exactly end well. Thus, harming her is strategically perfect for the Green Council and gives them an upper hand in the Civil War, which is just on the horizon now.

The scene showing Rhaenys Targaryen escaping from the dungeons is followed by the burning down of Mysaria’s house. The juxtaposition of moments featuring one ally of The Black Council escaping and another perishing (apparently) is another example of the exemplary cinematography of House of the Dragon.

Secrets have always been the number one currency in Westeros, often belittling gold. Blackmailing people using secret information has been the forte of Game of Thrones and has been one of the few tested ways by which one can keep the Iron Throne, and not get stabbed by it.

Once a whore, Mysaria of the free city of Lys has been the spy of Otto Hightower since the very beginning. She manipulated the rogue prince Daemon Targaryen to become his betrothed wife in a strange turn of events in episode 2, even though they ultimately didn’t marry.

I didn’t come into your service wanting gold. Or power. Or station. I came to you to be liberated.

Mysaria

Mysaria had become a full-fledged spy with a huge network by the end of episode 8, which was many years after episode 4 because of the time jump. She was serving as the ‘Mistress of Whispers’ to Princess Rhaenyra- a callback to Lord Varys, who held the same post in Game of Thrones.

Those who have read George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire and Blood will know that Mysaria is not dead.

She will play a pivotal role in the Dance of the Dragons and will help Daemon avenge the death of his family. She will prove to be a big weapon for the Black Council, and her connections within King’s Landing will prove crucial to the events of the Civil War.

As of now, let’s wait and watch what the much-awaited season finale has in store for us!

About House Of The Dragon

House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.

Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.

Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.