Halaena Targaryen has been an interesting character in the House of the Dragon (HOTD) so far. Her monologues during episodes are like a puzzle waiting to be decoded, and that is what the fandom has been loving. This ninth episode was no exception. Ever since its debut, the train of theories and speculations about Halaena’s words have been trending all over the internet. Let us see what they are and if they really have any significance.
Halaena Targaryen
“It is our fate, I think, to crave always what is given to another. If one possesses a thing, the other will take it away.” – Princess Halaena Targaryen
In one of the scenes of the episode, while looking for his eldest son Aegon, Alicent and Otto barge into Halaena’s room. Halaena is wife-sister of Aegon. There she sees Halaena along with her two twins – Jahaerys and Jahaera. The twins were playing together, while Halaena seemed to be stitching a design of a spider on a white cloth. Alicent demands to Halaena where Aegon was, to which she replied, “Not here”.
Otto seemed surprised to learn that he was not in his room. Afterward, when Alicent tries to console her, Halaena yells at her saying, “There is a beast beneath the boards.” But why spider? The answer to this comes later, that too not from Halaena, but Lord Larys.
Spiders or ‘Spy-ders’
“There is a web of spies at work in the Red Keep. Along its threads travels news of all our doings.” – Lord Larys Strong to Queen Alicent
In another scene, Lord Larys comes to visit Queen Alicent in her room. He warns the queen about the existing spies in the castle. In talking about spies he gives an analogy of a spider. Larys says that there exists ‘a web of spies…in the Red keep.’ So, to answer why Halaena was ‘weaving’ the design of a spider in her cloth seems more likely as a warning for the ‘Greens’ by her. There is also a theory circulating around the fandom that Halaena could possibly be a greenseer (people who possess the magical ability to perceive the future, past or distant events).
Thereafter we learn that, the handmaiden Talya, was a spy of Myseria. That is how Myseria aka White Worm, despite all the secrecy, knew about King’s death. On Alicent’s order of ‘handling the situation’, the goons of Lord Larys set Talya’s house on fire. However, despite Alicent taking a sigh of relief, the danger has not yet been deferred. Book readers are well aware of a ‘huge event’ that is about to occur at the Red Keep on behest of these ‘lurking’ spiders within the walls.
Halaena as a possible Greenseer
Halaena has evidently (or, apparently) prophecies many events that happened HOTD beforehand. In episode six, she tells her mother, “He’ll have to close an eye”, and ultimately Aemond (Alicent’s second son) loses an eye to Lucaerys in a quarrel.
In another moment, Halaena said, “Hand turns loom, spool of green, spool of black, dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread.” The specific words ‘spool of green’ and ‘spool of black’ might have referred to the two sections that the Targaryen house shall get divided into – the Greens (those supporting Aegon’s claim to the throne) and the Blacks (those supporting Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne). And the words ‘dragon flesh’ could refer to the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war, that is about to commence between the two sections.
She also prophesied that Rhaenys will arrive on her dragon, saying: “There is a beast beneath the boards.” And soon enough Rhaeys burst out of Dragonpit with her dragon Meleys during Aegon II’s coronation ceremony. Or, the prophecy may have referred to something big that is about to happen shortly.
However, the showrunner decides to handle the character one thing is sure – Halaena Targaryen is probably the ‘Spoiler Queen’ among the Targaryens! We have to be very observant of whatever she says and does. Just a few words from her could mean something big is about to happen.
