What Happened To Helaena Targaryen In 'HOTD'? Her Fate, Explained
TW: This article discusses topics that some may find triggering, including depression and suicide. Please read with care.
House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 8, featured the tense, fiery, and bloody Battle of Tumbleton. It resulted in many casualties, including the death of prominent figures like Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and Roddy the Ruin (Tommy Flanagan). While it's unlikely many tears fell for either of them (although, Roddy, you're the GOAT), another on-screen death occurred in King's Landing that has left audiences shook.
Toward the Season 3 finale's conclusion, Helaena Targaryen (played wonderfully by Phia Saban) leaps from the window of her chambers, leaving behind nothing but an embroidered tapestry. Here's what you need to know about Helaena's tragic death, including what the images on the tapestry mean and the symbolism behind her Dreamfyre dream.
Helaena Targaryen Became A Dance Of The Dragons Victim
While the Dance of the Dragons didn't claim Helaena in the traditional sense because she didn't die in battle, the circumstances of the war and politics did. Really, Helaena's slow demise began after Season 2's "Blood and Cheese" incident, when Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) arranged for two assassins to kill Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) for the death of Lucerys (Elliot Grihault). Unable to locate Aemond, the assassins settle for Helaena and Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) son, Prince Jaehaerys.
The loss was understandably soul-shattering for Helaena. Come Season 3, after Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) takeover of King's Landing, she further restricts Helaena's access to her only other child, Jaehaera. Then, Rhaenyra further confines Helaena to a room with her mother, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and limits her time outdoors—a place Helaena feels peaceful in.
Things only ramp up further when Rhaenyra uncovers that Helaena is pregnant, and as they both know, if it's a male, the baby will be yet another challenge to Rhaenyra's rule. Rhaenyra promises not to hurt the child, but Helaena's prophetic visions—remember, she's a dragon dreamer—show her a future where her child would be ripped from her arms.
While there isn't a single reason why Helaena chose to end her life, the bottom line is that Helaena appeared to be suffering from depression, and her dreaming abilities showed her a complicated, grim future—likely without her children—that she didn't want to be a part of.
What Did Helaena's Vision Of Riding Dreamfyre Mean?
Some have wondered why Helaena saw a vision of herself riding Dreamfyre and unleashing fire on approaching soldiers, only for her to die the next episode. The complicated thing about "dragon dreams" is that not all prophecies and visions come to pass—or come to pass in the exact way they appeared to the dreamer. Thus, the scene with Dreamfyre may still happen in House of the Dragon Season 4, just with a different rider in Helaena's place. That said, Dreamfyre has a more somber ending in George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood, making it just as likely that we don't get a shot-for-shot replica of that vision.
The real point of this particular vision seems to hint at an alternate future, one where Helaena would be forced to use Dreamfyre as a weapon. Helaena, of course, is a naturally peaceful person who has repeatedly refused to ride Dreamfyre into battle, despite pressure from her family. Right after this sequence, Helaena also has a vision of herself, her unborn son, and Jaehaera in a sun-drenched field, only for darkness and snow to invade the picturesque setting.
While this seemingly teases the rise of the White Walkers much further in Westeros' history, it also carries symbolic meaning. This dark future filled with questionable morality, conflict, and deadly choices isn't one she wants to be a part of. As Helaena says to Rhaenyra, "All the things you care about are ugly. This place is ugly. You, yourself… ugly." And yes, the future to Helaena was ugly, too.
What Does Helaena's Tapestry Mean?
In some ways, Helaena's tapestry doubles as a suicide note. What's left behind is a visual diary, depicting tragic events that happened and some not yet to pass. Gleaming every detail within the tapestry is quite the task, but the most obvious moments include Jaehaerys' funeral and Helaena's own death. Perhaps more importantly is the image of Rhaenyra, seated upon the Iron Throne but surrounded by blood and fallen dragons.
In that sense, the tapestry is both a jab and a warning to Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra might pretend she cares about peace like her father, but to Helaena's point, her takeover has been nothing but "ugly," and many people and dragons have died for the cause. The blood running from Rhaenyra's body and down her hands may also be a warning—perhaps a vision of her death. While it's too soon to know for sure what every detail in the tapestry means, House of the Dragon Season 4 should give us more answers.
