Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 1 and content warning for references to birth trauma and baby loss.
An intriguing House of the Dragon fan theory has speculated that Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) might have been the puppet master behind the tragic deaths of Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) and her baby… and it’s extremely convincing.
In episode 1 of the Game of Thrones prequel series, Queen Aemma’s childbirth quickly descends into a fatal situation when King Viserys (Paddy Considine) is informed that the baby is breech and the only way to deliver the child would involve cutting directly into the womb.
The resulting blood loss causes Queen Aemma to die, while the baby – a boy named Baelon – dies after just a few hours, with the mother and son subsequently sharing a joint funeral.
While it may have seemed as though this turn of events was simply a cruel card dealt by the gods, a Reddit user has theorised that it was calculated from the start by Hand of the King Ser Otto, the King’s most trusted advisor.
The fan, who goes by the handle @Necessary_Candy_6792 on the social media platform, pointed out that Grand Maester Mellos (David Horovitch) was the person in charge of delivering the baby, telling Viserys that there was no avoiding Aemma’s death and that the only way of bringing the baby out safely would be a C-section.
After Baelon is delivered, ‘the baby is alive and well and Mellos looks down on it with a troubled look’, the Reddit user said.
‘Mellos continuously kept telling Viserys that it might be a girl and not to get his hopes up. The next time we see Baelon, he is dead,’ they stated.
Now, let’s cast our memories back to the King’s small council meeting, where Otto – as well as Maester Mellos – urged Viserys to name his daughter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) his heir.
‘Otto then asks Mellos to send a secret message to Oldtown immediately in the same scene he tells Alicent to go seduce Viserys,’ the fan wrote, with Otto’s young daughter Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) later chosen by Viserys to become his wife.
A message being sent to Oldtown is extremely significant, as not only is that the location of House Hightower’s ancestral seat, but it’s also where the Citadel is situated, which is where maesters are trained.
On top of all of this, it was Otto who informed Viserys that the monarch’s younger brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) – who was formerly next in line to the Iron Throne – gloated about the baby being ‘heir for a day’, which viewers don’t see (although Daemon appears to admit he did say those words later in the throne room).
‘Everything seems all too conveniently set up to allow Otto to marry Alicent to Viserys and if she gives him a male heir Rhaenyra will be expectedly set aside,’ the theory read.
Referencing Queen Aemma’s past pregnancy and baby losses, they added: ‘Who wants to guess that Mellos was also in charge of delivering and medicating Aemma during her miscarriages and stillbirths and only when Alicent has blossomed into a beautiful young woman does Aemma finally die.’
The fan deduced that the maester might have been trying to help Otto’s family wangle their way onto the Iron Throne, just like how Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) was loyal to the Lannisters in Game of Thrones.
‘Otto and Mellos conspired to trick Viserys into killing Aemma and then smothered Baelon with a pillow or fed him poison the second he was alone in a room with him,’ they concluded.
We can’t lie… all the clues are adding up!
Several Reddit users also agreed that the theory makes a huge amount of sense, with one commenting: ‘Never the one to jump for conspiracy theories, but this one looks pretty sound. Thank you for sharing it.’
‘I thought exactly the same when watching, but it didn’t occur to me that they might’ve killed Baelon too. Hopefully this stuff comes to fruition. Mellos definitely seems to be up to something,’ someone else remarked.
Another person pointed out yet another clue indicating Mellos and Otto were scheming together, as when the maester arrives at the tournament to share an update on Aemma’s condition, ‘he whispers to Otto first, not the king’.
‘And then Otto informs Viserys, Oldtown anti-dragon conspiracy is all but confirmed to me,’ they said.
There’s no doubt Otto is definitely up to something… so we wouldn’t put it past him to go to lethal means to secure more power across the realm.
House Of The Dragon is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW, with new episodes released at 2am on Mondays.
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