In “House of the Dragon,” Mystic Women Defy Patriarchal Limits

“You’re a strange kind of woman,” Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) tells Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), the witch of Harrenhal who mysteriously perceives his every thought and desire. Alys, introduced early in “House of the Dragon’s” second season, accompanies Daemon through his stay in the haunted castle. She provokes, instructs, and beguiles the prince until the season finale when he, under her guidance, steps into another realm and briefly reunites with another strange woman.

“It’s all a story, and you are but one part of it,” says Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban), her voice echoing through the hall. “You know your part. You know what you must do.”

Though it remains unclear how Daemon will use Helaena’s guidance, the unity of these three characters hints at a greater scheme affecting the coming events until the dragons’ dance ceases. Alys and Helaena, women separated by status and distance, thus play crucial roles behind the scenes.

Alys replaces the maester in the dilapidated Harrenhal, a role traditionally reserved for men. Despite claiming the dragon Dreamfyre, Helaena despises burning people and refuses to mount her dragon. Unlike most women in Westeros, Alys and Helaena transcend gender limitations. Instead of adopting male roles, they delve into their supernatural powers, turning perceived weaknesses into influence and authority that surpass politics and war.

In Westeros, a woman’s worth is often measured by her body’s ability to perform emotional labor and bear children, benefiting a man’s political standing. A dragon-riding woman is rare, and esteemed women aren’t deemed fit for theological or higher learning. Alys and Helaena defy this by using the Harrenhal godswood’s heart tree, a nexus of the Old Gods’ power, to transcend time and space, something beyond maesters’ comprehension.

“Perhaps magic was once a mighty force in the world, but no longer,” Maester Luwin (Donald Sumpter) tells Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) in “A Clash of Kings.” “Valyria was the last ember, and Valyria is gone.”

Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers in “House of the Dragon” (HBO).

Luwin is wrong. Like Alys and Helaena, Bran has magic gifts that manifest after an accident leaves him disabled. Society sees Bran as unmanned by his disability, but he learns to fly.

Bran’s disability and the perceived frailty of Alys and Helaena mirror medieval Europe’s belief that women’s bodies acted as prisons for their souls, hindering their intellectual connection to God. Reframing this belief, women claimed a relationship with God comparable to men. If meek and gentle in body, they imitated Christ, whose caregiving, emotion, and suffering redefined traditional feminine attributes.

Accessing divinity, initially reserved for men, brought social influence through embodying Jesus Christ’s physicality. Julian of Norwich (c. 1343-1416), an anchoress, wrote, “The mother can give her child to suck of her milk, but our precious Mother Jesus can feed us with himself,” in “Revelations of Divine Love.”

Proving worthy of God’s messages often came at a physical cost. Martin’s character Melisandre of Asshai (Carice van Houten) endures pain for her prophetic visions. She believes her visions come from R’hllor, who speaks through fire.

Some women found joy in their suffering. Julian, afflicted in her twenties, compared Christ’s crucifixion to childbirth — both painful yet redemptive. This defiance of societal norms allowed women to claim spiritual roles, frustrating efforts to subjugate them.

The Faith of the Seven dominates Westeros’ religious life, with defined male and female aspects. Helaena’s connection to the Old Gods exceeds patriarchal imagination. Unlike medieval mystics, she remains subtle about her powers.

Alys’s presence raises no suspicion, although in “Fire and Blood,” a maester later records her as a witch. Her ability to see visions parallels Melisandre’s, suggesting potential across two supernatural systems.

“House of the Dragon” avoids the Madonna-Whore trap by portraying Alys with care. Alys and Helaena challenge patriarchal norms with wisdom from the Old Gods, affecting the show’s narrative.

In Westeros, the world’s fate may depend on Alys and Helaena, who use their insights to assist Daemon and others. They represent an unseen, existential threat on the horizon, influencing events without being fully perceived.