Foreshadowing in House of the Dragon: The power of the people

Threats lurk under the surface of House of the Dragon Episode 9, “The Green Council.” As Helaena Targaryen points out, “There is a beast beneath the boards.” This prophecy referred to Rhaenys Targaryen literally rising up from beneath the floor on her dragon Meleys, but it may also foreshadow events far in the future.

While the Green Council plans ways to counter Rhaenyra Targaryen, who will surely be wroth when she learns that they crowned Aegon king instead of installing her as queen, the true threat to any ruling power, so often ignored, lies elsewhere: the common people. And “The Green Council” gives them plenty of reason to be upset with the people in power.

Warner: SPOILERS ahead for George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood

There is no power but what the people allow you to take

At one point in Episode 9, Otto Hightower goes to meet with Mysaria, a former sex worker who rose up from nothing to become a powerful information broker in King’s Landing. She tells him, “There is no power but what the people allow you to take.”

While the gently born main characters in the story play their game of thrones, the common people struggle to survive. What Mysaria wants from Otto in return for her service is simple: for the people in power to do their duty by the people they rule. Otto may want to listen.

But that’s not the impression Mysaria is likely to get. While it’s easy to miss, the building that’s ablaze while Rhaenys makes her escape from the Red Keep is the same building previously revealed to be Mysaria’s manse in Episode 8. Larys Strong set the fire in hopes to cripple Mysaria’s network of spies within the Red Keep, but the woman herself will probably assume that Otto ordered this, or at least that it was done with her knowledge. If she thought she could work with these people before, she probably doesn’t think so now.

And I’m assuming that Mysaria is still alive; we didn’t see a body, which on TV means the person isn’t dead. This betrayal will prove fatal for the Hightowers in time as Mysaria will start working with Daemon Targaryen again. In George R.R. Martin book Fire & Blood, their partnership will be very dangerous to the greens. And that’s not the only way the common people will have their revenge.

The beast beneath the boards wakes

Queen Rhaenys’ dramatic interruption of Aegon’s coronation was a triumphant moment that garnered cheers from many a House of the Dragon fan. But this moment foreshadows another dire event during the Dance of the Dragons.

Later in the story, after the war between the blacks and the greens has gone on for some time and people are suffering, the smallfolk of King’s Landing decide they’ve had enough of Targaryen rule and swarm the Dragonpit en masse, intending to kill the dragons inside and thus rob the Targaryens of their power. When the needs of the people go ignored, they will lash out at their oppressors, and the result will be bloody. Rhaenys’ burrowing from beneath the boards of the Dragonpit lays the foundations for much of this unrest. While it may have been awesome for those of us watching at home, dozens — maybe hundreds — of innocent people were injured or killed. This fear of dragons and the belief that they are beasts from hell is a huge contributing factor in the people’s eventual uprising.

The power of the people and the consequences of ignoring them is a major theme throughout the rest of Fire & Blood, and it seems like House of the Dragon is leaning into it. It’s fascinating to watch all of these seeds be planted that will sprout and grow as the seasons go on, ultimately paying off a long way down the line.

There’s only one episode left in this season. What will be foreshadowed then? Where will the show leave us? We’ll find out soon enough.

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