Alys Rivers Already Knew Aemond Was Coming
Plausibility Score
(?)Convinced
(?)#6
of 1000 theories
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THEORY ASSESSMENT
The episode confirms Alys's pivot to Aemond and her prior warnings to Daemon, which are consistent with the theory, but nothing in the ground truth explicitly confirms foresight over opportunism as the mechanism.
STORY CONTEXT
Daemon came to raise an army and instead got waking nightmares. Theories here ask whether Harrenhal's curse is supernatural, psychological, or something Alys Rivers is actively orchestrating, and what it means that the walls seem to know his guilt.
ACTIVE SIGNALS
This theory ranks among the highest-scored in the entire Theory Atlas catalog.
WHY THIS MATTERS
If Alys Rivers operates with genuine foresight, she becomes the most dangerous figure in the Riverlands, capable of positioning herself around moves no one else has made yet. Her alignment with Aemond would then represent calculated predation rather than mere opportunism, with Aemond as the specific resource she always intended to claim. He believes he found an asset. She may have spent weeks ensuring he arrived at exactly the right moment to think so.
Other Theories for S3E02
Grief Makes Rhaenyra Cross the Final Line
Rhaenyra took King's Landing as a mother shattered by grief, and the execution of Otto Hightower, performed while she wept openly, was the first life she had ever personally taken.
Otto Hightower Was Left Alive on Purpose, and the Execution Was Staged Before the Wrong Audience
Larys Strong left Otto Hightower alive in the Red Keep dungeons as what may have been a calculated act of sabotage timed to detonate Rhaenyra's alliance with Alicent at its first test.
Otto's Death Breaks the Deal Permanently
Alicent almost certainly reads Otto's execution as confirmation that Rhaenyra held him prisoner throughout their negotiations, staging his death as a public demonstration of power.
Jace's Last Order Doomed the Black Fleet
Jacaerys's order to lock Rhaenyra in her chambers was an unauthorized transfer of command authority executed through a named knight, leaving the Black fleet without sovereign direction at the Battle of the Gullet.
Rhaena Rode Sheepstealer and Lost Jace
Rhaena rode Sheepstealer at the Battle of the Gullet, lost control of the dragon under combat pressure, and bears direct responsibility for Jace's death as a consequence.