House of the Dragon: Helaena Targaryen “dreamer” theory, explained

Speculation has surrounded Helaena Targaryen in House of the Dragon, and the possibility of her being a dreamer – let’s break down what that actually means, and whether it’s true in the show.

In Game of Thrones, we watched the Great Houses fight, betray each other, and eventually come together to face off against a common threat: the White Walkers, led by the Night King.

While the show never did anything with it, we also heard about the Prince That Was Promised, the savior known as Azor Ahai, the champion of the Lord of Light who’d fight the impending darkness.

From its first episode, House of the Dragon leaned into the prophecies and “dreamers” of Westeros. Now, Helaena Targaryen has her own “dreamer” theory – and it’s pretty compelling, so let’s dive in.

House of the Dragon: Who is Helaena Targaryen?

Helaena Targaryen is the daughter of King Viserys I and Alicent Hightower, and the sister of Aegon II and Aemond.

She’s played by Evie Allen and will be portrayed by Phia Saban later in the show.

House of the Dragon: What is a dreamer?

A dragon dreamer is a Targaryen with the ability to see premonitions and visions of the future. As George R.R. Martin wrote in The Mystery Knight, “there have always been Targaryens who dreamed of things to come, since long before the Conquest.”

House of the Dragon’s best example came in the first episode, when Viserys passed on an ancient Targaryen secret to Rhaenyra upon naming her heir: Aegon the Conqueror’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms was sparked by a dream, in which he foresaw the “end of the world of man.”

HBO

The catspaw dagger now holds the secret of Aegon’s Conquest.

“It is to begin with a terrible winter, gusting out of the distant north,” he says.

“Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living.

“When this great winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of man is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, strong enough to unite the realm against the dark. Aegon called his dream the Song of Ice and Fire.”

The Valyrian steel dagger used to kill the Night King also has the song hidden in the steel.

There are other notable Targaryen dreamers: Daenys the Dreamer, who foresaw the fall of Old Valyria; and Daeron the Drunken, who dreamt that dragons would return one day.

Even Master Aemon has strange dreams, telling Samwell Tarly: “I see them in my dreams, Sam. I see a red star bleeding in the sky. I still remember red. I see their shadows on the snow, hear the crack of leathern wings, feel their hot breath. My brothers dreamed of dragons too, and their dreams killed them, every one.”

House of the Dragon: Is Helaena Targaryen a dreamer?

We don’t know for certain if Helaena Targaryen is a dreamer right now. There’s nothing in Fire and Blood to suggest she has prophetic abilities, but fans have good reasons for suspecting Helaena does in the show.

When she’s first introduced in Episode 6, we see Alicent speaking to her while she plays with a millipede. As they talk about Aemond’s sadness at not having a dragon of his own, she says: “He’ll have to close an eye.”

In Episode 7, Aemond bonds with Vhagar – the second-biggest dragon in Westeros history after Balerion the Black Dread – following Laena Velaryon’s death. However, he also loses his left eye in a fight with Lucerys after taking flight for the first time.

While looking at the millipede, she also observes: “The last ring has no legs at all.”

Some believe this may be an early prophecy, referencing Bran Stark’s ascension to the Iron Throne at the end of Game of Thrones. Others think she may be referring to Aegon II – but we won’t go into those details just yet.

In Episode 9, Helaena warned Alicent about a “beast beneath the boards”, before Rhaenys erupted through the dragon pit with Meleys at Aegon’s coronation.

A coincidence, perhaps, or further evidence of Helaena being a dreamer.

House of the Dragon Episode 10 will be available to watch on October 23 in the US and October 24 in the UK.