“House of the Dragon” takes place a long, long time before the events of “Game of Thrones,” so it wouldn’t quite make sense for vast majority of “GOT” characters to make any sort of appearance. But there is one character fans are theorizing could appear: the Red Witch, Melisandre (Carice van Houten). Could we see our old friend in “House of the Dragon” season two and beyond?
Here’s a refresher if you haven’t thought about “Game of Thrones” in a while. Melisandre is a Red Priestess who aligns herself with Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane). She preaches the religion of R’hllor, also known as the Lord of Light, who’s very closely associated with fire. The faith is much more popular in the Free Cities, and basically no one in Westeros practices before Melisandre comes. They also believe in the Prince That Was Promised, who will save everyone from the darkness. At first, Melisandre thinks it’s Stannis, though eventually she turns her attentions toward Jon Snow (Kit Harington) — who is secretly a Targaryen.
For a lot of “Game of Thrones,” it’s hard to tell if Melisandre is for real or not. She does create the smoke monster that kills Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony), but almost all her attempts to help Stannis don’t really work. But then, after Jon Snow is killed, she successfully brings him back to life. And during the Battle of Winterfell and the fight against the White Walkers, she uses her fire magic to help the side of the living. When the war is over, she heads out into the snow to finally die.
So how does that tie into “House of the Dragon”? When Melisandre brings Jon back to life, she takes off her necklace and reveals that she’s actually a very old woman. She’s really hundreds of years old. And what series is set hundreds of years before “Game of Thrones”? “House of the Dragon.”
Some fans have wondered if characters we’ve already met are Melisandre in disguise. A handmaiden in episode nine, Talya (Alexis Raben), lights candles. Sure, she could have just been lighting candles (as handmaidens often do), but some fans thought it’s a clue. If the witch does ultimately appear, we’d guess she’ll make a big splash right away and use a little more fire than it takes to light a candle.
In “House of the Dragon,” King Viserys (Paddy Considine) shares Aegon’s dream, aka the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy. That prophecy points toward the prince — or princess — that was promised, just like the religion of R’hllor. Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her father both believe that person is her, though we know the battle the prophecy predicts won’t come for many, many years. But that doesn’t mean Melisandre won’t find her way to Westeros some time during the Dance of Dragons to help out the greens or blacks.
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