Targaryen Greenseers? 'House of the Dragon' Strengthens 'Game of Thrones' Fan Theory

'House of the Dragon' seems intent on strengthening connections between Valyrian dragon-riding magic and Westerosi weirwood magic.

By Michael Hein

House of the Dragon Season 2 has had a surprising amount of weirwood trees and old magic, but no Bran Stark character for fans to ride along with. The series has strongly connected its dragon-on-dragon spectacle with the threat of the White Walkers, and in doing so, has inspired fans to draw connections of their own. Read on for several burgeoning fan theories about new wargs, skinchangers and greenseers in Westeros, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

House of the Dragon started strong by confirming that House Targaryen conquered Westeros because of a prophecy about the Long Night, raising the stakes on what would have otherwise been a simple war for succession. It added some other touches here and there, but things have really heated up in Season 2 now that Daemon (Matt Smith) is at Harrenhal. The mystical nature of this castle was practically ignored in Game of Thrones – as were many of the series' fantasy elements – but House of the Dragon has set the record straight. The castle was built by enslaved people, and weirwood trees were not only torn down for its construction – they were used in its structures. The spirits stored in those trees now "haunt" Harrenhal in some way.

It's hard to summarize how deeply steeped in magic Harrenhal is in George R.R. Martin's books, but suffice it to say that Daemon is now sleeping – and dreaming – at one of the mystical epicenters of the world of ice and fire. Now that we've seen him have at least three dream-visions, fans are beginning to wonder if he has access to magic other than dragon-riding. Perhaps Daemon is tapping into the psychic influence of the weirwoods as well.

This theory starts with YouTuber and podcast GrayArea, who has discussed the idea in the past but really put it all together in a 38-minute video published after watching House of the Dragon Episode 4. She points out that Daemon has the blood of the weirwood-worshipping First Men culture in his immediate ancestry, as he is approximately one fourth Massey. That carries a lot of weight in Martin's books, where we've seen other characters who share Targaryen and First Men genetics wield immense power. Chief among them is Brynden "Bloodraven" Targaryen, who is the old man that teaches Bran to become a greenseer beyond The Wall.

Bloodraven tells Bran that there have been many greenseers like him before, leading fans to dig back in history and speculate about who could have filled this role. Daemon is a surprisingly good fit – not only does he have the right ancestry and interest in the esoteric, he disappears mysteriously and is presumed dead, just like Bloodraven. I won't spoil the specifics of Daemon's disappearance, but those who have read Fire & Blood will likely see how this could be suggestive.

That was already an interesting theory before Episode 4, when Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) gave Daemon a mysterious goblet that enhanced his visions. Although Daemon refused to even eat the food when he arrived at Harrenhal, fearing it might be poisoned, Alys somehow compelled him to drink her potion without a word of protest. Most ominously of all, as she prepared the drink, she seemed to be mixing blood into it.

In the latest book in A Song of Ice and Fire, A Dance with Dragons, Bran Stark was given a potion to "wed him to the trees" and awaken his potential as a greenseer. This mixture was definitely magical in some way, and the Children of the Forest told Bran it was made of weirwood seeds. However, a longstanding fan theory speculates that it may have contained blood as well. The books often emphasize the practice of making blood sacrifice to weirwood trees, implying that their magical powers rely on it somehow. Daemon may have just had his fourth wedding of the series without even realizing it, all for the sake of the old gods.

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One really interesting aspect of this theory is what it implies about the connections between the two types of magical bonds we've seen in this series – that between a dragon and its rider, and that between a warg or skinchanger and its animal companion. Martin has often tried to draw distinctions between these two forms of magic, and we know that dragon-riders do not share thoughts and sensations with their dragons the same way that wargs can see through the eyes of their wolves, for example. However, it also seems that all magic in Martin's world is drawn from a similar source, with the difference being what users can do with it and how they access it. It would be a huge revelation to see an accomplished dragon-rider like Daemon also tapping into greensight and the collective consciousness of the weirwoods. In that crossover, some of the biggest mysteries in the whole series could be answered.

House of the Dragon Season 2 continues on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max. Martin's books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

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