‘House of the Dragon’ Just Revealed Its Direct Connection to the ‘Aegon’s Conquest’ Movie
The Season 3 finale of "House of the Dragon" gave a long-mysterious character, Alys Rivers, a detailed backstory that ties her directly to Aegon's Conquest, potentially linking the series to the upcoming "Aegon's Conquest" film. In the episode, Alys reveals to Aemond Targaryen that she was present when Aegon I attacked Harrenhal with dragons, making her over a century old and raising the possibility she could appear in the planned prequel film about Aegon the Conqueror.
Alys, who has appeared since Season 2 as the enigmatic lady of Harrenhal with knowledge of magic and the castle's curse, tells Aemond she was a noblewoman who had a son with Harren the Black, the castle's builder. When Aegon I's dragons burned Harrenhal during the Conquest, her son was fatally injured; Alys says she struck bargains with old magic to try to save him, losing her identity and rank and gaining an unnaturally long life, though her son still died. The revelation, absent from George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood", was created for the show and opens the door to a crossover appearance in the upcoming Conquest film.
- Alys Rivers revealed to have lived through Aegon's Conquest, over 100 years old.
- Her son died when Aegon I's dragons burned Harrenhal.
- Backstory could link her to the planned "Aegon's Conquest" film.
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House of the Dragon is HBO's prequel to Game of Thrones, set roughly 200 years before the original series and based on George R.R. Martin's history book Fire & Blood. It follows the Targaryen dynasty, the dragon-riding royal family, as a succession dispute tears them apart in a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Aemond Targaryen is one of the warring family's key figures, a one-eyed prince and skilled dragon rider.
Alys Rivers is a supporting character who has featured since the show's second season as a mysterious healer and "wise woman" living at Harrenhal, a vast castle long rumoured to be cursed. Her true age and origins had been left unexplained, prompting speculation among viewers about who she really is and how she came to have such apparent knowledge of ancient magic.
Aegon's Conquest is a separate film in development for HBO, telling the story of Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen king, who unified Westeros roughly a century before the events of House of the Dragon using his dragons, including the assault on Harrenhal referenced in the story. Because that founding era has not yet been dramatised on screen, any detail in House of the Dragon that touches on it is of interest to fans trying to work out how the franchise's various shows and films might eventually connect.