If I could help any character in House of the Dragon escape all of its madness to live a happy and healthy life, it would be Helaena Targaryen. She is the only daughter of Alicent, a woman who is willing to sacrifice her own kids and grandchild to save her own skin. She has two insane brothers, one of whom she was pushed to marry (yuck) and another one that she doesn’t even know. Helaena’s son was brutally murdered and now her rage and grief filled half-sister is holding her and her daughter hostage. Oh, and Helaena has no friends and she’s pregnant again. She’s a kind and pure soul who is caught in the middle of everyone’s mess, and I hate that for her. In fact, Helaena cannot even catch a break in her dreams.
In House of the Dragon season three’s seventh episode, Helaena has a series of really sad yet interesting dreams that speak to her state of mind. After Rhaenyra harasses her to no avail, Helaena dreams of giving birth to a baby boy, who is swiftly taken away from her before she can even truly see or hold him. Then, we see her in full battle wear as she mounts a dragon and burns an entire army of men. The next scene is her with her twin children (who are now older) living in peace and feeding chickens, a reality that she will never get to experience. The sky begins to darken and it starts to snow before a cold mist takes over the land.
While there could be some deeper future meaning into these visions, they appear to be pretty straightforward. She hopes that the birth of her child won’t lead to his death and her becoming a brutal and cold person like other Targaryens. And, even though she dreams of a life in the light, she knows that winter is coming and this will not end well for anyone. It’s a sad life for someone to live, and her own mother is to blame. Just Helaena, I also question why she didn’t just let Helaena marry off into some wealthy family and get away from all of this.
Sure, there was a chance that her husband could be a not-good man. In fact, most men in Westeros are not great husbands. But it could have been better than marrying her brother and becoming a pawn in this, ahem, game. Alicent even admitted that part of the reason was her own selfish desire to keep her daughter close. As a mom, it makes sense to want to protect your daughter but you know that your own son is a horrible man.
What will happen to Helaena in House of the Dragon? Probably nothing good, I’d guess. If this child is a boy, it is not beyond reason to think that, instead of becoming the person she did in her dream, that she would rather end her own life. We will have to see what else Helaena’s dreams reveal as this season starts to come to an end.