The House Of The Dragon Character You Should Be Paying More Attention To
If there's one thing HBO's "House of the Dragon" isn't lacking, it's memorable characters. The "Game of Thrones" prequel has taken a page out of its parent series' playbook by slowly but surely building out an impressive, sprawling ensemble of characters, many of whom already hold their fair share of both allegiances and grudges. However, while "House of the Dragon" viewers have gotten the chance to become familiar with a number of characters over the course of the show's first seven episodes, there are still a number of significant Westerosi figures that have yet to receive their turn in the spotlight up to this point.
That includes one of the many Targaryen children who were introduced to viewers for the first time in "House of the Dragon" Episode 6. Indeed, even though several of those characters — namely, Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton) and his older brother, Aegon II (Ty Tennant) — have been fleshed out quite a bit, the same cannot be said for Helaena Targaryen (Evie Allen), the daughter of Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
In "House of the Dragon" Episode 7, it's revealed that Aegon and Helaena are already betrothed to each other, but despite that fact, the latter character has yet to truly be given the introduction she deserves. Taking that into account, here's why Helaena is more important than most "House of the Dragon" viewers probably think she is right now.
Helaena Targaryen may be able to predict the future
In "House of the Dragon" Episode 7, Aemond Targaryen manages to successfully secure his place as the new rider of the legendary dragon known as Vhagar. However, his decision to claim Vhagar leads to him getting into a fight with several of his Targaryen and Velaryon cousins, which ends with him losing one of his eyes. For most viewers, the moment in question likely came as a major shock, but Aemond's injury was actually foreshadowed in "House of the Dragon" Episode 6 by his sister, Helaena.
In that episode, Aemond fervently expresses his desire to claim a dragon to his mother, Alicent. When Alicent responds by telling him that he will have a dragon of his own one day, the episode cuts to Helaena, who notes absentmindedly that "he'll have to close an eye." This brief moment suggests that Helaena may have known about her brother's wound long before it actually happened. That would, therefore, make Helaena one of the few Targaryens capable of having visions known as "dragon dreams."
According to A Wiki of Ice and Fire, dragon dreams are premonition-esque visions of the future. Only those with "the blood of the dragon" are said to be capable of having dragon dreams, and thanks to the ending of "House of the Dragon" Episode 1, we know that Aegon the Conqueror had dragon dreams. If certain legends are to be believed, it was even a dragon dream that led Aegon on his quest to unite the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
In other words, "House of the Dragon" viewers have more reasons to pay attention to Helaena than they may have previously thought. To put it succinctly: It's not just her betrothal to her brother Aegon that makes her one of the series' more noteworthy characters.