Warning: The following article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 8.
House of the Dragon Season 2’s finale just gave us our biggest hint yet that Queen Helaena Targaryen possesses prophetic powers. But is Helaena Targaryen really a seer, or is there another explanation for her apparent gifts?
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Is Helaena Targaryen a Seer in House of the Dragon?
Maybe. Certainly, we get plenty of circumstantial evidence in House of the Dragon Seasons 1 and 2 that Helaena is a seer. In Season 1, Episode 6, she accurately predicts that Aemond Targaryen will lose an eye. Two episodes later, Helaena mutters a cryptic warning about Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys crashing King Aegon II’s coronation, but no one hears her.
Meanwhile, Helaena seems to sense the Blood and Cheese tragedy early in Season 2, Episode 1, while in Episode 8, she foretells Prince Regent Aemond’s fate in book-accurate detail (plus what’s coming next for her brother-husband, Aegon). Oh, and she pops up during Prince Daemon’s heart tree vision of Westeros’ future, too.
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All of the above screams “seer,” however, that’s not necessarily what Helaena is. The likes of Game of Thrones‘ Bran Stark and the Three-Eyed Raven don’t have a monopoly on premonitions; some Targaryens also have similar (albeit more modest) abilities. Targaryen “dreamers” can (as the name suggests) dream about forthcoming events.
Alternatively, Helaena could be consulting the Red Keep’s heart tree off-screen. As shown in Season 2, Episode 8, heart trees let regular folk like Daemon see the world without time. That said, Episode 8 indicates that Helaena is both awake and nowhere near a tree when she appears in Daemon’s vision. In the scene immediately after, she’s apparently coming out of the vision while standing on the Red Keep’s battlements. As such, there’s a good chance Helaena is a seer, or has seer-like abilities.
Is Helaena Targaryen a Seer in the Book?
No, House of the Dragon‘s source text, Fire & Blood, doesn’t mention Helaena Targaryen being a seer. That said, it’s possible she was a seer, dreamer, or something in that vein and kept it to herself. Fire & Blood is a faux historical tome, so there are gaps in the information it supplies. In short: Helaena’s seer status isn’t canon, but it doesn’t explicitly contradict canon, either.
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At the same time, a recent blog post by Fire & Blood author (and House of the Dragon co-creator) George R.R. Martin confirms that Helaena’s seemingly supernatural abilities only exist in the show’s continuity. “None of the strangeness [Helaena] displays in the show was in evidence in the book, nor is her gift for prophecy,” Martin wrote. “Those were born in the writers’ room… but once I met the show’s version of Helaena, I could hardly take issue.”
House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently streaming on HBO and Max.
Published: Aug 4, 2024 10:00 pm