House of the Dragon: Why Mysaria Is Failing as Rhaenyra's Master of Whisperers

Do I believe in Mysaria after Rhaenyra appointed her as Master of Whisperers? Of course, yes. With her track record, who would argue that she was the best candidate and the perfect person to fit this position? Had it not been for her, Rhaenyra would have been dead by now after Prince Jaehaerys' assassination, following Ser Criston Cole's infiltration order. That is a real credit to her.

But as every good spy or Master of Whisperers, you shouldn't be stuck in your old ways. As times change, you need to know how to adapt to the new ways and trends, and that is what Mysaria is lacking. With her background giving her access to every detail of whatever is happening in the city, she should be the right person to disclose whatever is happening within and outside the walls of the kingdom. Yet she has been caught in the dark just like ordinary folks.

Larys Strong outworks Mysaria in King's Landing

In contrast, did Lord Larys do his work better? Although he has some dirty tricks up his sleeve, one that keeps coming to mind is his ambition of setting both his father and brother ablaze after his father decided to resign, but Viserys turned and denied him permission to resign. Yet he is very good at his work. If there is one person who turned himself into an intermediary servant and dismantled Mysaria's internal spies at the Red Keep, which were operated by servants and maids, that is definitely the Clubfoot.

He didn't just do that, he even burnt Mysaria's hub where she was getting her information from. This further proves how committed he was in King's Landing. I'm not saying Mysaria isn't good enough, but I prefer that she learn from her mistakes. Your web of spies was scattered, but what is keeping you from re-establishing a new one?

Or does she lack the finances to motivate her informants? Maybe that too can be a problem. With the coffers of the throne empty, where will she get money to motivate her spies to work? Looking at the way Lord Larys operates, even after he managed to escape from the castle with Aegon, it goes on to prove that encouraging people by giving them coins isn't something he finds hard.

With such a person, getting intel isn't a big deal. Who will pay to torture a dragon when he himself knows the owner was the right person beside it? With such a mentality, only the universe knows how far such a person can soar because he really understands the psychology of how people think. With such an attitude, he will always be ahead of you when it comes to whispers. Does Mysaria have such resources to fund or even pay her spies? I don't think she has that much in comparison with Lord Larys.

This isn't about Sonoya Mizuno's acting, it's about the writing

Let us lay the truth bare. Is it that Sonoya Mizuno is a bad actress? I wouldn't agree with that, but my disappointment has to do with the writers promising whisperers, yet the show doesn't even allow her to actually do her work. Now, here is the catch. What excitement will there be if Mysaria happens to know everything in advance?

During the days of Lord Larys and Aegon, and with the atmosphere of the whole show, that was the best he could do, and it fitted back then. But where the show is heading, I think her knowing everything in advance would sap the surprise and shock that we, the audience, experience when watching the show.

But I wouldn't argue that the writers could have done better by giving her something that could make her look useful, aside from maybe rekindling her relationship with Daemon. That would have even made things more exciting, and it could also create tension or even an affair with the queen herself. That would have been interesting. In season 2 episode 6, Smallfolk, after Rhaenyra kissed her, I thought that would have led to something fascinating moving forward, but that didn't happen. But what can I say? Nothing.

Varys set the standard for what a spymaster should be

What is the main function of the old cliche spymaster? Well, it is one of any kingdom's biggest and greatest assets that every king or queen needs in their arsenal in times of war or not. Their primary function is to have every tidbit of information with regard to whatever is happening within the realms. In Game of Thrones, do you think Varys was just feeding those homeless children for fun? No. As he called them little birds, he knew the importance of knowing what was to happen prior to the day itself.

With such information, his power and presence would amaze every king he found himself serving in that universe. Just imagine how people and even kings were surprised at how and the manner in which he got his intel. It goes to prove that he wasn't just holding the title, but Varys knew his responsibility, because no king will pay you and even furnish you, including providing food three times a day, without getting any relevant information that can help them know what might happen in the future.

Varys knew everything that was happening in every room, and before you even finish doing what you set out to do, he had already anticipated it and knew where you were heading. This is the standard that made him exceptional at his job. It isn't always about giving advice or counsel. It is the ability to know far beyond the shores of your borders. As a spymaster, yours is to create a vast web of spy links that keeps providing you with valuable information that will keep all threats at bay, just like Lord Larys does. He doesn't mind cutting your tongue if he finds out you could be a problem.

Three unsolved mysteries put Rhaenyra's safety at risk

There are three canker worms that urgently need to be solved. If not, then Rhaenyra isn't safe. One is the whereabouts of Aegon. How on earth did Lord Larys manage to slip away with the usurper Aegon without Mysaria's informants noticing him? I know someone might argue with me that her web of spies has been compromised, and Lord Larys made that possible. But I'll argue about this, because why do you give up on what made you relevant in the first place?

I can see that the Blacks have spent most of their energy looking for the threat that threatens the legitimacy of her rule. Although Alicent's opinions were considered, and now you're declaring Aegon dead, my question is, is he really dead? This same thing happened when Xiang Yu had the chance to kill Liu Bang, who happened to be his friend, and with whom he used to fight side by side. His failure to kill him came back to bite him when the tables turned. Rhaenyra is making the same mistake here.

Daemon has done the same thing. When he got the chance to meet with Ormond, why didn't he kill him? Because he failed to notice how ambitious this man is. How do you expect him to stay loyal to a crown that he himself believes isn't held by the Targaryen who deserves to be the overseer and overlord of the whole of Westeros? Well, it is just a matter of time before he retaliates, just like how he has spread his spies across the entirety of Dragonstone, killing the City Watch guards every now and then.

I never wanted to call Mysaria incompetent, but from the looks of things, I can't think of any better word for her. Even if your sources were replaced, how long should it take you to rebuild? Does it take a rocket scientist to notice that Aemond and Vhagar are the biggest threats now? And what are we seeing? Just staying in the castle with no actionable plan. Even the queen herself, when she needed to find the answer to what was troubling her, disguised herself and visited Alicent. So did Alicent when she wanted peace. How much more a common folk? I guess it's time for Mysaria to move to the ground to know whatever is happening if her spies are failing to deliver the relevant intel.

Does she even have spies at all outside the walls in the first place? Because how can such a large dragon be escaping? How do you expect the Blacks to find her, Vhagar, and her whereabouts if you fail to give them the precise location ahead of time? If you have a master of whisperers who isn't able to know where Vhagar hides, that means she just lives by the title for nothing. Just like a dead lion, I will always prefer to be a living dog rather than to be called a lion who is dead.

Where is the kingdom heading if Mysaria fails to solve these three relevant and critical problems: the whereabouts of Aegon, where Aemond is hiding, and the most threatening one, where Vhagar has gone after she left Harrenhal? What really changed after the badge was given to her? Back in the day when she wasn't answerable to anyone, her operations were moving smoothly. Maybe she had better go back and stay in the shadows. That might help.

Reacting instead of preventing, and two obstacles working against her

From my perspective, we are all reacting to what's happening because you only give solutions to problems that have already occurred. Then Mysaria and I, the audience, are in the same position. Not just the same position, we are in the same boat and we don't even know the direction to sail in. We are completely lost. She has now taken the job of an advisor and as far as I know, that isn't her job.

Let me be fair, though. There are obstacles that aren't obvious to notice in the first place, and one of them has to do with rebuilding her connections in times of such chaos. Finding trusted sources is also a problem to begin with, looking at how informants are being killed. It is risky. Just look at what Daemon did to Ormond's informant after he was caught. With the kind of interrogation that was done, I believe killing him was not the best idea, because such a person could assist them in finding the root cause of the sudden deaths of the City Watch.

What happened was a signature move from Daemon, always impulsive, when in some instances the best thing to do is to stay calm and find out the number of people working for him. Even if he fails to tell you, there are numerous ways of killing a cat. Sooner or later, he would have given up and this would have made him tell you everything he knew about Ormond's operations behind the shadows.

The second problem she is facing is operating in Dragonstone instead of King's Landing. Every good whisperer shouldn't aspire to live in isolation. How do you expect your contacts to get in touch with you? It is always advisable to learn how to blend into the fold, and in doing so, it's nearly impossible for relevant information to escape you, because the closer you are to the people, the better.

Is she doing anything different behind the scenes?