Elinda Massey has come into her own in the latest episode of House of the Dragon—but her future’s not very bright.
Played by Jordon Stevens, Elinda has proven herself once again to be a loyal maid of Queen Rhaenyra. As the daughter of Lord Gormon Massey, she has served as a lady-in-waiting to Rhaenyra Targaryen since season 1. While up until now she has been supportive but largely behind the scenes, she’s now taking a more active role in the Dance of Dragons for the first time, as commanded by two women in command.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood.
In House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5, we saw Elinda head into King’s Landing, cloaked and hooded, to pursue a scheme devised by Rhaenyra and Mysaria. It saw her come face to face with another former maid from the Red Keep, Dyana, played by Maddie Evans.
We only got a brief glimpse but saw that it was the same maid that Aegon assaulted in season 1, suggesting that she would be open to helping Elinda and, by extension, Rhaenyra and the Blacks out of hatred for Alicent and Aegon.
Elinda doesn’t have a happy future in House of the Dragon
While we don’t know exactly what Mysaria has planned for Elinda in King’s Landing, we do have an idea of her future from the books. Final warning: huge spoilers ahead.
When Rhaenyra is killed on Dragonstone by her half-brother Aegon, she is fed to his maimed dragon, Sunfyre. The golden dragon doesn’t obey the command at first, forcing them to prick her breast with a dagger. When he finally does eat her alive, only her arm is left, horrifying the few handmaidens and her remaining son who was with her.
One of her maids, who was unnamed, was so horrified by what she saw that she clawed out her own eyes, if the stories are believed. Elinda, as seemingly the most loyal of Rhaenyra’s ladies-in-waiting, could end up with this fate in the show.
After all, we’ve already seen her sickened and desperate to help when Rhaenyra is in pain, as with her stillbirth of Visenya in season 1, episode 10. Now, she’s placed herself in danger by travelling to King’s Landing. Clearly, she’s a very loyal servant and so the bloody eye-clawing does seem like it could be in line with her love for the queen.
(featured image: Max)
Published: Jul 16, 2024 07:09 am