The reveal of Helaena Targaryen’s prophecies about her brothers in House of the Dragon’s season 2 finale make her tragic upcoming death even more devastating. Like in Game of Thrones, it’s to be expected that the majority of House of the Dragon’s characters will die by the end of the Dance of the Dragons. Several important characters have already perished, with two major Targaryens already having their deaths directly predicted to them during House of the Dragon season 2: Daemon (by Alys Rivers) and Aemond (by Helaena). However, Helaena’s prophecy omits her own tragic fate, arriving shortly after Aemond’s.
With House of the Dragon season 2’s ending suggesting that Helaena is connected to the Three-Eyed Raven, the story of Alicent and Viserys’ daughter becomes more upsetting. Seemingly like Game of Thrones’ Bran Stark, Helaena is able to quite vividly see present events as they occur, such as Aemond burning Aegon at Rook’s Rest, as well as future events, such as Aemond’s death and Aegon sitting on a “wooden throne.” While Helaena doesn’t disclose her own grim fate, the description of her death in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book hints she may already know how she dies.
Helaena Targaryen’s Prophecy Hints She’s Already Seen Her Own Death
Helaena Sees Aemond & Aegon’s Futures, So She Likely Sees Her Own
Of the tragedies that plague House Targaryen in House of the Dragon, Helaena Targaryen’s death stands out among the most devastating. Helaena is seen as the most innocent of the major Targaryen players in the Dance of the Dragons, wishing no harm on Teams Green or Black, yet she suffers gravely throughout the majority of the war. As such, it’s extremely brutal that, according to Fire & Blood, Helaena dies by suicide less than a year after Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing and the Iron Throne.
If she’s seen Aemond’s death and Aegon reclaiming the Iron Throne in the future, it’s implied that Helaena has also seen her own death.
While the book’s narrators include some rumors that Rhaenyra may have killed Helaena or her followers manipulated Helaena into taking her own life, the histories generally agree that Helaena’s death was by suicide. In Fire & Blood, Helaena’s mental health began to significantly decline after Blood and Cheese killed Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, with the sources claiming that she refused to eat, bathe, and leave her room. Then, just a few days after Helaena’s warning about Aemond’s death comes true and he dies at the Battle Above the Gods Eye, Helaena dies by suicide at the Red Keep.
Helaena supposedly leaps from her bedroom window in Maegor’s Holdfast and is fatally impaled by spikes below, leading to chaos in King’s Landing as the smallfolk soon rebel against Team Black. While Helaena’s death was already extremely tragic in the book, her strong visions in House of the Dragon season 2 make her future even worse. If she’s seen Aemond’s death and Aegon reclaiming the Iron Throne in the future, it’s implied that Helaena has also seen her own death. Therefore, Helaena may see her death as fulfilling her prophecy and role in the greater “story.”
House Of The Dragon Has Already Made Changes To Helaena’s Death In Fire & Blood
House Of The Dragon Cutting Maelor Creates A Big Change From Fire & Blood
The idea that she may have seen her own demise would continue the changes House of the Dragon has already made to Helaena’s upcoming death. Fire & Blood indicated that Helaena’s death was influenced by her guilt over the deaths of her sons Jaehaerys and Maelor. However, House of the Dragon has seemingly cut Maelor, Helaena and Aegon’s youngest child. In the book, Blood and Cheese forced Helaena to choose which of her sons would die, and while she reluctantly chose Maelor, they beheaded Jaehaerys anyway. Helaena was subsequently unable to face Maelor, driving her guilt prior to her death.
Without Maelor being in the show, the build-up to Helaena’s death has already been changed from the book. Of course, it’s important to remember when watching House of the Dragon that, unlike with Game of Thrones and Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Fire & Blood is written from the perspective of typically unreliable narrators. While certain events may appear differently in House of the Dragon than Fire & Blood, that doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t happen. House of the Dragon has a show canon and a book canon, and Helaena’s death is one major instance in which they depart.
House of the Dragon’s showrunner and writers have yet to confirm whether Helaena’s son Maelor is being cut entirely from the show’s future.
Helaena’s Stronger Visions Give A New Meaning To Her House Of The Dragon Death
Helaena’s Visions May Be A Key Reason For Her Death In House Of The Dragon
Still, it seems that House of the Dragon season 3 will generally maintain a key part of the lead-up to Helaena’s death, regardless of Maelor’s inclusion. Fire & Blood’s narrators reveal that Helaena is “broken” and “mad” at the end of her life, even being found locked inside of her bedchambers when Team Black takes King’s Landing. While Helaena’s increasing mental health struggles were largely seen as being connected to Jaehaerys and Maelor’s deaths in the book, House of the Dragon hints her struggles may actually be related to her visions.
When Alicent refuses to let Helaena fly on Dreamfyre with Aemond, she defends her choice by stating, “Who will she be if her mind is broken?” This line suggests that House of the Dragon will depict Helaena as becoming more “broken,” confused, and cryptic as season 3 progresses, but due to the intensity and weight of her visions rather than guilt over her sons’ deaths. Regardless, Helaena’s death in House of the Dragon will be among the show’s most agonizing moments, giving her one of the saddest fates in the franchise.
