Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3 finale.House of the Dragon Season 3’s finale offered more than a few surprises, but one of the most shocking revelations came much earlier as the series finally delivered a backstory for Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), the mysterious lady of Harrenhal. With her deep knowledge of Harrenhal’s history and her supernatural abilities, Alys has always been enigmatic, and Fire & Blood sheds little light on her exact history. As is the style of George R.R. Martin‘s book, Alys’ origins are left to speculation, with no option confirmed, but House of the Dragon chose to do something different.
In the finale, Alys describes her loneliness to Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), and during the story, she confesses that she was alive during Aegon’s Conquest. The backstory is as shocking as it is tragic, especially as it makes her over 100 years old. But the series goes even further by connecting her to a major event of the Conquest: the burning of Harrenhal. In doing so, House of the Dragon potentially sets up an interesting storyline for another Game of Thrones spin-off, as Alys Rivers’ new backstory would allow her to appear in the upcoming film about Aegon the Conqueror. If this crossover happens, not only would it tie the two stories more closely together, but it would allow fans to gain an even greater understanding of Alys and the horrors she’s experienced.
‘House of the Dragon’ Gives Alys Rivers a New Backstory
Since her introduction in Season 2, Alys has hidden behind a sense of mystery. Her knowledge of magic and the curse of Harrenhal have become central to the story as she guided Daemon (Matt Smith) and later Aemond through their time at the castle. However, the Season 3 finale shines a light on her past. In an emotional scene, she tells Aemond about her personal history, revealing that she was a noble woman when Harren the Black built Harrenhal, and she had a son with Harren himself. But when Aegon I attacked Harrenhal with their dragons and burned down the castle, her son was injured. Alys claims to have done everything to save him, including making deals with the old magic, leading to the loss of her identity and rank and an unnaturally long life, but her son still died from the dragon fire.
Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell
Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie.
🐺Stark
🦁Lannister
🐉Targaryen
🦌Baratheon
🌹Tyrell
01
Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house.
02
What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours?
03
Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything.
04
How do you deal with your enemies? A house’s method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could.
05
What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly.
06
You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory.
07
Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours.
08
The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character.
The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…
Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don’t. That’s very much up to you.
Winterfell · The North
🐺 House Stark
Winter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view.
You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having.
Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn’t bend when things get difficult.
The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold.
You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are.
Casterly Rock · The Westerlands
🦁 House Lannister
You understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology.
You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage.
A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order.
You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway.
The lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you.
Dragonstone · The Iron Throne
🐉 House Targaryen
You carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it.
You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality.
Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs.
The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible.
At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them.
Storm’s End · The Stormlands
🦌 House Baratheon
You are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them.
Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what’s behind it.
You value strength and straight dealing. You’d rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers.
The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after.
The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too.
Highgarden · The Reach
🌹 House Tyrell
You understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn’t quite reach the eyes.
Growing strong is your house’s motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts.
You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter.
The Tyrells fed King’s Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it.
You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is.
This story not only explains her mysterious origins, but also her supernatural abilities and her attachment to Harrenhal. However, it is a change from Fire & Blood. The novel suggests multiple origins for Alys, but they all claim that she is a bastard of House Strong. This adds a bit of irony to her involvement with Aemond, given his hatred of his nephews because of their connection to the same House. However, no one can agree on Alys’ age. While one account claims Alys is the child of Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), the leader of the House during House of the Dragon Season 1, another claims she was much older. However, all versions agree that she looked exceptionally young for her age, and House of the Dragon certainly kept that element of the character.
‘House of the Dragon’ Sets Up a Story for the New Movie
While the new backstory shines light on Alys’ character, it comes with an interesting consequence. This story could mean Alys will appear in another franchise installment.Aegon’s Conquest is one of the biggest Targaryen stories, and it is already in the works. Warner Bros. Discovery announced that the film will be released in the not-too-distant future, and House of the Dragon justfit Alys into it. Alys describes one early battle of the conflict and takes a notable role. When Harren refuses Aegon’s treaty, the aspiring King threatens the Lord with the end of his line, which makes Alys and her son a significant part of the story. This will be an interesting test of the franchise’s continuity, since there is no mention of such a storyline in George R.R. Martin’s lore. While the destruction of Harrenhal is only a fraction of what the film will explore, it does provide room to bring Alys back, connecting the two stories even more deeply.
The two stories are already closely tied together. They take place in the same world, both feature Vhagar, and House of the Dragon includes several mentions of Aegon I, from his prophecy to tales of his historic battles. However, an appearance from Alys would bring them even closer. Additionally, including her would provide a deeper understanding of her character by showing the kind of person she was before things went so wrong, and it could actually benefit the film. Alys, being on the other end of the attack, emphasizes the tragedy of the Conquest. While Aegon and his sister-wives will be the center, Alys’ appearance could offer the perspective of those conquered, adding nuance to the story. While the crossover isn’t guaranteed, the opportunity could benefit the film and make the franchise fit together seamlessly.
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max in the U.S.
