“She Shot Him in the Eye”: House of the Dragon's Season 3 Secret Weapon Isn't a Dragon
You ever see someone get cast and just know they're gonna steal every damn scene they're in? That's where we are now with House of the Dragon Season 3. Because HBO just confirmed something the loreheads have been dreaming about since the first campfire skirmish in Season 1: Alysanne Blackwood is coming. And she's coming with a bow, a grudge, and—if we're lucky—a damn good eye.
Let's be honest: the Dance of the Dragons has always been more chessboard than battlefield. Dragons are flashy, sure, but war? Real war? It's about positioning. Moves that don't always make headlines but break empires all the same. And this latest casting? That's a checkmate in the making.
The Arrow Loosed: Who is Alysanne Blackwood?
If you're only watching the show and haven't read Fire & Blood (George R.R. Martin's brilliant, bloated historical novel that feels one part Shakespeare, one part Wikipedia rabbit hole), the name might not ring bells yet. But it will. In fact, you'll likely be chanting it by episode three.
Alysanne “Black Aly” Blackwood is a minor noble on paper—but in the lore, she's a stone-cold legend. Bow in hand, blood on her tunic, and fury in her heart. She's the aunt of young Lord Benjicot Blackwood and the reason House Blackwood even stayed in the game after losing their lord in Season 2's Battle of the Burning Mill. (Yes, the one we saw. Yes, the one where they weirdly let Amos Bracken walk away intact. That will not stand, I assure you.)
In the books, when her brother is killed by Amos, Alysanne doesn't scream. She doesn't beg. She simply draws an arrow—and puts it through his eye.
Is HBO going to give us that moment? Maybe not. But then again… they've saved worse for later.
Annie Shapero: A Perfect Storm of Newcomer Energy and Genre Muscle
The casting of Annie Shapero as Alysanne Blackwood doesn't just feel right—it feels inspired. Shapero, an Australian-British actress (yes, the accent is covered), has been quietly making waves in the international drama circuit. If you saw Red Skies—that Israeli miniseries from Euphoria co-creator Ron Leshem—you already know she can handle emotionally volatile terrain. And she's not new to genre either: there's The Narrow Road to the Deep North with Jacob Elordi, and the upcoming Aussie horror flick Saccharine opposite Midori Francis.
But House of the Dragon? That's another level. And HBO knows it—they've reportedly given her a five-episode arc in a season that only has eight episodes total. That's not a cameo. That's a statement.
No, she's not a series regular. But I've seen this move before—give the right actor the right character at the right time… and suddenly, they are the show.
Team Black's Wild Card—and Feminist Firebrand?
Let's zoom out a second.
Martin's Westeros has always had room for warrior women. Arya. Brienne. Nymeria. Even Lyanna Mormont got her punches in before the Wight took her down like a damn kaiju. But with the Dance of the Dragons, the battlefield is often skybound, not ground-bound—and that's where Alysanne stands out.
She's no dragonrider. She doesn't need to be. She chooses to be in the mud, in the woods, on the front lines with a longbow and a brain. She's loyalty wrapped in vengeance, sharpened by political savvy.
And then there's the Stark connection. Because if they stay true to the source, Alysanne eventually marries none other than Lord Cregan Stark (played by Tom Taylor). That's not just romantic subtext—that's a political power move that could rewire the post-war map of Westeros.
Imagine: A woman from the Riverlands who helped shape the Dance… then quietly helped stitch the realm back together.
The Green vs. Black Stakes Just Got Sharper
For context, we've got James Norton as Ormund Hightower, Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick Dustin, and Dan Fogler (yes, from Fantastic Beasts) stepping in as Ser Torrhen Manderly. Good names. Solid pedigree. But this move—the Alysanne casting—feels like the most important piece yet for Team Black.
Because the third season isn't about big dragon duels anymore. We've seen that. We've felt the fire. This next chapter? It's going to be about legacy. Repercussions. The quiet vendettas that boil just beneath the crown. And Black Aly is basically vengeance in human form.
A Note from a Guy Who's Been at This Too Long
I've covered Game of Thrones since that 2011 Comic-Con when they had a tiny booth next to True Blood and no one knew who Maisie Williams was yet. I've walked out of early screenings dizzy from dragonfire and eye-rolling over drawn-out small council scenes. But this… this feels different.
There's an emotional velocity behind Alysanne's story. It's the kind of arc that stays with you. You root for her not because she's right—but because she's real. And HBO may have just found the one person who can walk into that fog of war, loose one perfect arrow, and change the entire damn board.
Bring her on.
