House of the Dragon Boss Explains Helaena’s ‘Evolving’ Preternatural Powers, How They Might Affect Season 3

One of the quietest revelations in House of the Dragon ‘s Season 2 finale was also one of its most remarkable: Helaena’s newfound facility with her power as a literal visionary.

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Viewers will recall that the young queen startled her brother, Aemond, when she (correctly) accused him of burning King Aegon and then prophesied the exact way Aemond would die. “Aegon will be king again,” she said. “He’s yet to see victory. He sits on a wooden throne. And you? You’ll be dead. You are swallowed up in the God’s Eye, and you are never seen again.” (Read a full recap .)

The show’s version of Helaena is very different from the one laid out in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood , on which the Game of Thrones prequel is based. “Helaena was always fascinating to us because she was a bit of a tabula rasa, as described in the book,” showrunner Ryan Condal told reporters Monday. “And we cast this fantastic actor, Phia Saban, and we just loved her performance and we became fascinated with who this person is.”

And while Viserys was obsessed with his bloodline’s ability to foretell the future, he didn’t realize that his own child was gifted with a strong, preternatural talent (mainly because she’s a little odd).

“… Helaena, his daughter, right under his very nose, had this power that everybody kinda ignored because they view her as different or odd or just ‘Oh, that’s just Helaena,'” Condal continued. “But now people are starting to take a little bit more care and notice of her. And she, herself, is evolving. Whatever this ability is that she has, she’s learning to wield it or to pay more heed to it or she’s learning how to interpret it better.”

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Which brings us to the quietly powerful moment, right after Daemon’s vision, when the action cut to Helaena on a balcony miles away and we realized that she was actively engaged in the disturbing visuals — likely as a co-visionary, rather than an instigator, but who knows?

What’s more, Helaena’s ability to interpret the things she sees — and her sharing them with Aemond in a moment where he feels very powerful — “have forced him to look inward,” Condal said, which will affect the trajectory of Season 3 and possibly beyond .

He added: “we were interested in seeing how a spooked Aemond is going to react from this point forward in the story.”

What are your thoughts on Helaena? Aemond? House of the Dragon overall? Hit the comments, and let us know!

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