One character’s backstory revealed in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6, confirms parallels to Varys from Game of Thrones, setting up a potential twist. House of the Dragon’s season 2 timeline is set roughly 170 years before the events of the original series, but similarities in Westeros’ feudal society mean constant parallels in character archetypes. Both series center around the outbreak of war following the death of a king who couldn’t hold things together, and supporting characters fill similar roles as they fall into either side of the conflict.
The season 2, episode 6, ending sees Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s budding relationship turn intimate. Mysaria provides Rhaenyra with a sense of comfort and superiority while much of her council constantly looks to undermine her word. Before their kiss, Mysaria reveals more about her origins, prior to coming to King’s Landing and beginning her affiliation with Daemon years earlier. This backstory is original to the TV series and creates comparisons between her and Varys beyond them just being two schemers with backgrounds from the Essos city of Lys.
Mysaria’s Similarities With Varys Explained
Mysaria & Varys Are Both Victims Of A Horrible Upbringing In Essos
In Mysaria and Rhaenyra’s scene in “Smallfolk,” the White Worm explains the origin of her neck scar, which Rhaenyra had asked about in episode 3. She reveals that the scar was from her father, who sexually abused her. When he discovered that she was pregnant from him, he cut her throat and left her for dead. She survived this instance, leading her to Westeros, where she decided she would never trust anyone. She also claims that she became unable to have children because of this, which ties back to Daemon’s season 1 statement about her bearing his child.
This backstory furthers Mysaria’s similarities to Varys. In Game of Thrones, the Spider reveals that he was also the victim of a sorcerer that he was sold to in Myr. The sorcerer gave Varys a potion that caused him to lose his ability to move and feel pain and then removed his male organs, making him a eunuch. The sorcerer then used his organs in a magical ritual before leaving him on the streets to die. These upbringings have notable parallels that define both characters and lead them to similar lives in King’s Landing.
Mysaria’s Tragic Backstory Makes Her More Like Varys
Both Mysaria & Varys Found Themselves Serving A Targaryen Queen
As previously mentioned, Mysaria and Varys are two Lysene survivors who made it to King’s Landing and built lives for themselves using their ingenuity and the trade of information. Both rose to power under the Targaryen dynasty and established themselves by playing the political game as outsiders that no one could trust but everyone would need. With the addition of Mysaria’s origin, the comparisons go even further, as their backstories provide a motive and rationale for their independent, untrusting methods of conducting themselves.
In the case of Varys, he found hope in Daenerys Targaryen as a ruler who would potentially unite the realm, working with Illyrio Mopatis for years to see a Targaryen rise to power in Westeros again. Mysaria and Rhaenyra’s season 2 dynamic has seen the White Worm similarly take interest in a Targaryen queen. Both characters scarcely put their faith in anyone besides themselves but seem to find value in their show’s respective female Targaryen heroines. This leads to further questions of how far House of the Dragon will take this parallel.
Will Mysaria Betray Rhaenyra Like Varys Betrayed Daenerys?
There’s No Indication Mysaria Will Betray Rhaenyra, But Anything Is Possible
Mysaria’s story looks to be taking a turn from her path in Fire & Blood, so it’s hard to say where exactly she’s headed. In the book, she’s still Daemon’s lover around this time. Rhaenyra permits this and allows Mysaria to serve as her mistress of whisperers regardless. She later informs Rhaenyra of Daemon’s affair with Nettles, implying that she might have had some loyalty to Rhaenyra, but Mysaria’s motives are questionable at best in the text. She dies later on with little context as to her long-term plans or desires, which the TV show will likely change.
Given that Nettles doesn’t seem to be a planned character for House of the Dragon, Mysaria’s story could see some significant changes. She’s definitely appealing to Rhaenyra’s good side right now in a way that could be perceived as manipulative, but there’s no other person in Westeros she would be loyal to and betray Rhaenyra for. She hates Daemon and the Greens, so it’s possible she’s either earning Rhaenyra’s trust for her own self-interest or she just actually supports Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon.