House of the Dragon’s season three finale was a big one that impacted both Team Black and Team Green. Both sides took some major losses, thanks to the Battle of Tumbleton, and those fractures and betrayals will inform big decisions next season. While some deaths gave us great delight, there was one that was rather sad and somber. The death of Helaena Targaryen didn’t happen onscreen in House of the Dragon, but we felt the impact all the same… and so did Rhaenyra.
In the episode, Helaena was still refusing to eat despite being pregnant. This, coupled with her limited time outdoors and lack of engaging with others, was taking quite the toll on the princess. Her mother Alicent was off to murder her son Aemond (and failed miserably) and Rhaenyra was harassing her about dreams and s**t when all she wanted to do was needlepoint and chill. She dreamed of a life where she could be free from all of this political drama and anger, but that wasn’t meant to happen for her.
Helaena receives a warning from Mysaria to not trust the queen and that Aegon was alive. She said that her child would be a pawn in this fight for the throne, and Helaena takes her words to heart. Of course, Mysaria is upset about being dismissed coldly by Rhaenyra and this is a jab back at her. But she’s not wrong, either.
After finishing her piece, Helaena jumps out of the window to her death, which we find out about at the end of the episode. Rhaenyra enters her quarters to see the window open and finds what Helaena was working on. The artwork depicts her death and tears but also shows Rhaenyra standing in front of the Iron Throne. There’s fire and blood (ha) and dragons, signaling a horrific end to her reign.
Whether Rhaenyra truly believes this is her fate is debatable because 1) she’s delusional and 2) she could think that Helaena did this as one last middle finger to her. Either way, she will now have to answer to Alicent, who assumes that Aemond is dead and now will return to discover that her daughter and unborn grandchild are dead.
It is sad that the only way Helaena could find peace and freedom in her life was through dying by suicide. We will have to wait and see what prices are paid when House of the Dragon returns for its fourth and final season.