If there’s one character from HBO’s House of the Dragon that deserves more attention, it’s Helaena Targaryen. The daughter of King Viserys I Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower has a special prophetic ability to tell the future, or at least, give some hints.
Viewers met Helaena in Episode 6, where she appeared playing with bugs and saying cryptic messages. So far, she has a very marginal role in the story, however not any less. Her fortune-telling is one of the most important parts of the series.
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Helaena’s Role In House Of The Dragon
In one of the scenes in the same episode, Aemond revealed his desire to own a dragon, and Helaena, still playing with her bugs, said, “he’ll have to close one eye.” Indeed, many people did not catch this line or probably just ignored it, but it proved to be a hint of what would happen in the next episode.
Episode 7 saw Aemond steal and claim Vhagar, the largest living dragon previously owned by Laena Velaryon. His nieces and nephews confronted him, and they got into a brawl where Lucerys Velaryon slashed one of Aemond’s eyes – a testament to Helaena’s prediction. Later on, he remarked that he may have lost an eye, but he gained a dragon.
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Who Is Patchface?
Helaena’s ability to see the future is reminiscent of a lesser character from Game of Thrones. Patchface, a character in Stannis Baratheon’s story arc, is a court jester who utters strange prophecies that ended up becoming major events in the novel. He serves as a fool in the court and spends a lot of time with Shireen Baratheon, Stannis’s daughter.
Patchface was originally intended to appear in Game of Thrones before writer Brian Cogman decided to omit him. He thought that Stannis’s story is already too much to handle and that adding another character might complicate things. Instead, Patchface’s presence was hinted at in the subtlest way. Shireen’s song “It’s Always Summer Under the Sea” is actually sung by the jester in the prologue of A Clash of Kings.
Helaena’s prophecies will remind fans of the mystery-loving jester who likes to foreshadow events. As the story of the House of the Dragon progresses, many of Helaena’s cryptic foretelling will come to light, especially now that a preview of Episode 8 has been revealed. Hopefully, the young Targaryen princess will play a more significant role in the upcoming Dance of the Dragons.
Set two hundred years before the major events in Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon unveils the story of the House Targaryen and their imminent doom. The prequel series is based on George R.R. Martin’s novel, Fire & Blood.
Catch Episode 8 this Sunday on HBO Max.
