In House of the Dragon season 1 as well as season 2, we saw that the royalty didn’t treat the common folks in the right manner. They were oppressed, demeaned, discriminated against, and often used as fodder or pawns in the game of power. One such commoner who had to face a lot of struggle in her life was Mysaria, aka the White Worm. She was from Yi Ti and had come to Westeros as a slave. She had gone through a lot in her life, but she never lost hope, and she kept fighting even though the odds weren’t in her favor. She had built a life for herself, and it didn’t take 2 seconds for people like Alicent and Otto Hightower to destroy whatever she had created. Only she knew how much blood and sweat went into building that house. Every brick inside those walls bore testament to all the battles that fearless women had fought in a male-dominated society and made a space for themselves in the world.
Spoiler Alert
In season 2, we saw that Daemon went to her and asked her to give him some information that could help him enter King’s Landing. Mysaria didn’t want to do any sort of business with Daemon, but he offered such a thing that she couldn’t say no to him. Daemon told Mysaria that he would release her from prison if she helped him enter King’s Landing. Mysaria knew that the consequences of doing so could be bad, but her need for freedom trumped everything else. So she told Daemon about Cheese and Blood, and so it could be said that she played a significant role in the death of Jaehaerys, though not directly. Rhaenyra met Mysaria in episode 2 after she got to know that she had helped Daemon. Rhaenyra blamed her for what had happened, and she told her to her face that no matter what Daemon had promised her, she was not going to be released.
How Did Mysaria Get The Scars?
Rhaenyra misjudged Mysaria for being an opportunist and unworthy woman, but the reality was that she was a victim of her own circumstances. Rhaenyra, while talking to her, realized that she was the same woman with whom Daemon once wanted to get married. Mysaria gave a sarcastic smile and told the queen that women like her wouldn’t ever be accepted by someone like Daemon. She said that the men only used her as a pawn, and once they realized that she was no use, they threw it away like trash. In the previous season, we saw that Daemon, without meaning it, announced in front of everybody that he was going to marry Mysaria, just so that he could get some leverage over his rivals or at least create the illusion of having so.
Rhaenyra very curiously asked Mysaria what the mark on her neck was. That mark was proof of how much that woman had to struggle to create a life for herself. A strap was tied to her neck back in the day, when she was a slave. She told Rhaenyra that it didn’t take Alicent and Otto a second to burn down her house and destroy her life. She said that she did help Daemon enter King’s Landing, and she didn’t have any qualms about it. It was a selfish world, and she had learned to look out for herself because she knew that nobody else would. After doing so much for Daemon, being by his side through thick and thin, and bearing all his mood swings and tantrums, she was demeaned and ridiculed in the worst possible manner. Maybe he didn’t intend to, but he did use her when he needed her, and when Rhaenyra came into his life, he just left her to fend for herself.
Why Did Rhaenyra Let Mysaria Go?
Rhaenyra was moved after listening to her story, and she probably could relate to it, too, since she also had to fight an uphill battle in a male-dominated society. Rhaenyra knew exactly what being discriminated against felt like. Rhaenyra had the talent, skill, knowledge, and everything else to rule the kingdom, but still, it took men around her some time to accept her in that role. Rhanerya realized that she was extremely wrong in judging Mysaria for her actions, and she knew that had she been in her position, she would have done the same thing. Rhaenyra realized that life had not been fair for Mysaria, and that’s why she made the decision to stay true to the promise that Daemon made and release her. The next day, when Rhaenyra went to tell Mysaria that she was being granted her freedom, the latter couldn’t believe her ears. That day, Mysaria realized that the world needed more rulers like Rhaenyra, as firstly, she knew how to take criticism, she wasn’t rigid and stubborn about her opinions, and she could listen to reason and change her perspective for the better. Rhaneyra empathized with Mysaria’s grief, and the latter was surprised because maybe nobody ever understood her plight.
