Mysaria is the MVP of House of the Dragon season 2

The selling factor for House of the Dragon season 2 is the 'Dance of Dragons.' As fans of the series, the clash between the Blacks and the Greens has been the fire that lights our kindling, the piece of the story that we're all deeply invested in whether we have book knowledge or not. But, seeing the season play out, it's clear that the show's writers are most interested in the moves each side is making and how they arrive at those decisions. It's a season about rulers, those that wish to rule, and the people who advise them.

Advisors have played a greater role than I anticipated during this stretch of the story. Every person seeking to sit the throne of Westeros has relied nearly entirely on the thoughts, opinions, and skillsets of those that provide them counsel whether officially or otherwise. It's been a season of listening and, in many ways, seeming inaction as we sit through (and enjoy in varying degrees) Daemon's meandering arc in Harrenhal, Aegon's failed reign, Aemond's budding grasp for power, and Rhaenyra's one step forward, two steps back fight to oust Alicent's sons out of power and off her seat.

But, out of everyone that has the ear of a ruler, it's Mysaria that's been the most standout figure and the most effective at using her influence to shift the winds of war. This is likely due to her being the sole lowborn advisor who wills power from the shadows. Otto Hightower called it right that the smallfolk could be the Greens' Achilles heel if not properly attended to hence his decision to trot Alicent and Helaena out in their grief to manipulate the smallfolk into sharing their pain and sympathizing with the crown.

It was effective, even after Aegon undermined the effort with his shortsightedness and public hanging of innocent men to catch and bring to justice the guilty party. But dissent, mistrust, and anger are far easier to breed in war, particularly when one ruler has ignored the hunger and growing ire of a people starving and who have been forced to remain in King's Landing, and the other is presented as a savior who thinks of the smallfolk even whilst she is leagues away in Dragonstone.

Mysaria's understanding of everyday people, their fears and concerns, and her ability to persuade Rhaenyra to consider that war is not solely fought with might, has put the queen in a position to destroy the Greens from within. She is not the one who must placate a populace growing more and more discontented with every passing day. Nor must she consider what it means to be significantly outnumbered by your citizens with only their (fraying) loyalty the sole wall between you and an uprising that will distract from, hinder, and severely impair your ability to wage war.

The men that make up Rhaenyra's council see their ruler and respect her position, but they haven't been able to acknowledge her gender as a simple fact and not a weakness. More than once she's had to get them together for slights, off-hand comments, and naked misogyny as they assume they know best because they are men even though they are all figuring out how to wage this war one decision at a time, and they know no more about battles fought than she does because of the decades of peace the realm has had.

They are quick to want to meet fire with fire, to loose dragons because Rhaenyra has them and meet this war head on rather than considering, as Mysaria does, that wars aren't just fought on the battlefield. They're also psychological and there's a human component. She recognized that Rhaenyra is a ruler who not only seeks counsel but takes it. Who weighs what's been said to her and reflects over the right course. What she needed was someone who didn't make assumptions about her capability to lead while at war and Mysaria gained her confidence.

Rhaenyra has always been a shrewd character and someone who looks at all sides of the board. She also chafes at being underestimated and consistently remind of the societal limitations placed on her because of her gender. She's defied it at every turn, but it is tiring. And, while she is open and candid with her son and heir, Luke, Mysaria is who she can completely unburden herself with and who routinely gives her advice that sways the fight for her throne in her favor.

Out of all the advisors in House of the Dragon season 2, Mysaria is by far the most consistently effective and has played an integral role in destabilizing the Greens' grip on power in King's Landing. The latest development between her and Rhaenyra in episode 6, "Smallfolk," will likely only further her influence since they've tipped over into romance now as well.

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