House of the Dragon‘s Lady Mysaria of Lys, otherwise known under the alias The White Worm, was the former lover and once a most trusted ally of Daemon Targaryen. Now she spends time developing and leading a network of spies in King’s Landing. She controls where all the information goes and uses the secrets found in the best interest of the people of King’s Landing. But did she actually die in the 2nd last episode of the season? Let’s find out.
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Mysaria’s Time in the Pleasure Houses in Westeros
We are shown that Mysaria is Daemon’s favourite sex worker to visit, going to her when he needs to take his mind off things or for comfort. She’s the one that congratulates Daemon on becoming the sole heir to the Iron Throne after the death of Queen Aemma and her son and listens as he makes his speech to the gold cloaks.
She leaves with Daemon to Dragonstone when he gets sent away and is saddened when she learns that he has been using her as a pawn in his games and putting her in danger with his lies. When Daemon returns to her after his confrontation with his niece, Rhaenyra, she reminds him that she was not with him for gold, power, or station, she was here because she wished to be liberated from her fear. His putting her in danger with his lies is just leading to more fear so she leaves his side and goes to find her own way in Westeros.
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Becoming “The White Worm”
Over the years, Mysaria begins to build an extensive spy network throughout the kingdom, building a reputation for herself and hiding under the name The White Worm. There is not a secret among the powerful families of Westeros that she does not know. It’s her spies that stumble upon Daemon and Rhaenyra in a pleasure den together and report their finding to Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King.
After she learns that King Viserys is going to die soon, she has her people kidnap and hide a drunken Prince Aegon in the Grand Sept beneath an altar. She demands a meeting with the Hand of the King. He agrees and upon the two meeting, she calls to have the establishments that enslave children and force them into prostitution or fighting rings, torn down. She wants to prevent them from living the same life she had to deal with.
Even after his betrayal of trust, Mysaria is shown still to have a bit of a soft spot for Daemon. After his evening with Rhaenyra, she finds him unconscious and hungover and stays with him to make sure that he’s safe, but he refuses any help she tries to offer him after he wakes up.
We see her spending a lot of time using the influence she has gained over the kingdom to better it in any way she can for the people that live in it, so she may not have wanted any gold or power, but she certainly managed to get her hands on both.
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Did Mysaria Die in House of the Dragon?
Mysaria’s (played by Sonoya Mizuno) actions throughout Season 1 of House of the Dragon have thrown her into a position of power in the kingdom and, under her alias The White Worm, given her access to the most valuable thing in Westeros: information. Power was not something she originally wanted, instead hoping to stay out of the limelight, but she decided to use her influence for the good of the kingdom and, as a result, created a couple of enemies.
Why Would the Hightowers Want the White Worm Killed?
Her influence in the kingdom and everything she knows had led to her being one of the most dangerous people in all of Westeros and her neutrality prior to the civil war doesn’t bring much comfort to those in power, especially if she decides to favour one side over another.
Rather than keep a powerful ally and player on the board, who has had known relations with Daemon Targaryen and once kidnapped a drunken Aegon to get something done and prove a point, the Hightowers decided to take her out, removing any chance the other side might have had to win her over.
Unfortunately for them, their attempt to kill The White Worm may not have been as successful as they thought, and rather just given Mysaria the opportunity to go into hiding and regroup, letting her further develop her webs… perhaps in Season 2 of House of the Dragon.
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Will We See the White Worm in House of the Dragon Again?
In the books, Mysaria is shown to be a key player in the Dance of the Dragons and a major ally of Rhaenyra and Daemon, so killing her off before the war even begins doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of the story.
After the death of Lucerys (Rhaenyra’s second son to Laenor Valaryon – so she claimed), Daemon relied on Mysaria and her connections as The White Worm to exact his revenge for the son of his grieving wife. After she is successful in providing retribution against King Aegon (through his sister-wife and their children) she is named Rhaenyra’s master of whispers and continues to serve her and Daemon as their spymaster.
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Larys Strong vs the White Worm
After he exposed her spies to Queen Alicent and burned down her base of operations, Mysaria may have had some unfinished business with the man who tried to kill her. Her survival of the attack would be made possible by spies that might have gotten to her before Larys’ men did.
With Mysaria the (potential) spymaster for the blacks and Larys the spymaster for the greens, it’d be interesting to see the two of them clash in future seasons of House of the Dragon, especially if Mysaria learns of (if she doesn’t know about it already) and uses Larys’ penchant for his Queen’s feet against him.
The survival of the White Worm and her extensive network of spies could be the very thing that leads to the ultimate downfall of the Greens during the Dance of the Dragons. The Hightowers may come to regret their choice to betray her.