Who is Mysaria, the White Worm, in House of the Dragon Season 2?

In HBO’s House of the Dragon, Mysaria is portrayed by Japanese-born English actress Sonoya Mizuno. Mizuno recently appeared in Alex Garland’s Civil War as Anya and is currently starring with Dakota Johnson in Stephanie Allyne and Tig Notaro’s feature Am I Okay?, available on Max. A graduate of the Royal Ballet School, Mizuno gained widespread recognition for her role as Araminta Lee in the popular 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians.

We first encounter Mysaria in the inaugural episode of House of the Dragon season one. She is seen in a brothel with Prince Daemon, played by Matt Smith, who is taking out his frustrations on her yet fails to perform effectively.

In a significant scene, Mysaria says to Daemon, “You are Daemon Targaryen. Rider of Caraxes. Wielder of Dark Sister.” Later, she appears again in seemingly the same brothel, shortly after Queen Aemma’s death. She toasts with Daemon, saying, “The king’s sole heir once again.” This is when Daemon reportedly referred to the king’s son, Prince Baelon, as “Heir for a Day,” though we never actually hear him say it.

Mysaria returns in the second episode. By then, Prince Daemon has illegally occupied Dragonstone and stolen a dragon egg. He also declares that he is marrying Mysaria, making her his secondary wife, and claims she is pregnant with his child. However, Mysaria is not really pregnant and rebukes Daemon for endangering her.

She tells him, “I have been sold as property more times than I care to count, beginning in a homeland I can no longer recall. Most of my years have been spent living in terror … I didn’t come into your service wanting gold. Or power. Or station. I came to you to be liberated … [from] fear.”

Mysaria makes her presence felt even when she isn’t on-screen. She becomes known as the White Worm, informing Ser Otto Hightower of Daemon and Princess Rhaenyra’s visit to a brothel.

Despite their fallout, Mysaria looks after Daemon when he finds her drunk after his encounter with Rhaenyra. The White Worm learns of King Viserys’ death through Alicent’s lady-in-waiting before it is officially announced. While Otto and Alicent scramble to find the missing Aegon II, Mysaria captures him first and hides him in the Grand Sept. She offers to reveal his location to Otto, but only if the children’s fighting ring in Flea Bottom is closed.

She reminds Otto, “When… you install your grandson on the throne, remember it was me who put him there. I could have killed him as easily as a wasp on fruit. There is no power but what the people allow you to take.”

However, Alicent has her own spy network, run by Lord Larys Strong. He informs Alicent about Otto’s network of spies. Alicent responds, saying, “it must be taken out at the head.” Later, we see someone leaving Mysaria’s house as it is set ablaze.

This contrasts with what Mysaria tells Daemon in the first episode of season two. Even though she doesn’t directly help Aegon ascend the Iron Throne, her actions do impact the ongoing power struggle.

In the latest season, Mysaria has reverted to being the White Worm, this time for Team Black. She secures her freedom from Rhaenyra and warns Dragonstone about Ser Arryk Cargyll, although we don’t see how she knows who he is.

In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily, Mizuno stated, “My character veers quite far from the character in the book. That is both liberating and a challenge for me and the director. Liberating in the sense that we had more free rein, but also it still had to have a kind of framework.”

In the latest episode, she resumes her role as the White Worm for Team Black. As a reward for her warning about Ser Arryk, she asks to be part of Rhaenyra’s court. She helps the queen meet with Alicent face-to-face by disguising as a septa at the Great Sept of Baelor.

[SPOILER ALERT]

In the books, after Rhaenyra captures King’s Landing, Mysaria serves as the mistress of whisperers without an official title. According to the jester Mushroom, it is Mysaria who stops Rhaenyra from mutilating Alicent. Instead, she suggests that Alicent and her daughter Helaena be taken to a brothel, though historians discount this claim.

Later, Mysaria’s feelings for Daemon seem to wane, as she tells Rhaenyra about Daemon sleeping with the dragonrider Nettles. The series, however, could take a different path. In George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, it’s hinted that Mysaria told Helaena about the death of her son Maelor, prompting her to leap to her death. However, since Maelor doesn’t exist in the series yet, this part remains uncertain.

Being a Game of Thrones prequel means that favoring a character often leads to their demise. While the series appears to be diverging from the books regarding Mysaria’s fate, it’s clear that the White Worm will have a significant role in House of the Dragon.

Though her end may be inevitable, for now, the White Worm stands with Team Black, and we can only wait to see how her story unfolds.

Source: Various