Warning! This article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 8 and the Fire & Blood book.House of the Dragon followed episodes 6 and 7 by featuring another prophecy from Helaena Targaryen that can be interpreted in many ways with regard to the future of the show. House of the Dragon episode 8 centered around another Targaryen reunion in King's Landing that, as is par for the course with the show thus far, causes tension, drama, and deep-rooted trauma to come flooding to the service. However, one of the characters who has been on the outskirts of the Targaryen family drama thus far is Helaena Targaryen.
Helaena is the second child of King Viserys and Alicent Hightower, and has mostly been underutilized in House of the Dragon up to this point. When she has been featured, though, Helaena has had some interesting things to say that seem to prophesize the future events of the series. For example, House of the Dragon episode 6 included a scene with Alicent insisting that her second son, Aemond, would one day have a dragon, to which Helaena strangely responds, "He'll have to close an eye." This foreshadowed the events of House of the Dragon episode 7 in which Aemond claims Vhagar, the largest living dragon in Westeros, before losing an eye at the hands of Lucerys Velaryon.
Another prophecy came in House of the Dragon episode 7 when Helaena repeatedly states "Hand turns loom, spool of green, spool of black, dragons of flesh, weaving dragons of thread", foreshadowing the eventual Dance of Dragons between the Greens, the Blacks, and their dragons. House of the Dragon episode 8 then, took Helaena's prophecies one step further during the episode's climactic dinner scene. In the midst of a round of toasting to various families, some earnest and some in jest, Helaena can be heard muttering "Beware the beast beneath the boards" before making a toast of her own. If these words are to follow on from what House of the Dragon has established with Helaena thus far, it is safe to assume this prophecy can be applied to a variety of future events, including her brother Aemond, her own future at the hands of characters such as Blood, Cheese and Mysaria, and a few other potential meanings.
Helaena's HOTD Episode 8 Prophecy Could Be About Blood & Cheese?
Blood and Cheese are two characters not yet introduced in House of the Dragon, though will likely be seen going forward with the show due to their presence in the source material for the Game of Thrones spin-off, Fire & Blood. In Fire & Blood, Blood and Cheese are known simply as a butcher and a ratcatcher respectively, with the book not disclosing their real names. Blood was once a man of the City Watch, before being dismissed after beating a sex worker to death in King's Landing. Cheese, through the nature of his work, is aware of all the secret entrances, exits, and tunnels beneath the Red Keep, and the two play a big part in Helaena's life during the Dance of Dragons.
In Fire & Blood, shortly after Aemond Targaryen exacts his revenge against Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra and Daemon retaliate by sending Blood and Cheese into the Red Keep using the secret tunnels at Cheese's disposal. Upon entering, the duo finds Helaena Targaryen, and forces her to choose which of her sons they should kill in response to Lucerys' death. This results in the beheading of prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, who is an especially notable member of the House Targaryen family as Helaena and Aegon's firstborn son. It is these events from the Fire & Blood book that Halaena's prophecy could be foreshadowing in House of the Dragon episode 8.
These events are a key part of the Dance of Dragons, which House of the Dragon is building towards, meaning it is highly likely they will be shown in the show. Helaena's words in episode 8 could be in reference to Blood and Cheese themselves. As the two use the hidden tunnels beneath the Red Keep to sneak in and kill Jaehaerys, they could be the prophesied beasts beneath the boards due to their awful, beast-like actions. Also, Cheese being a ratcatcher likens him to a rat himself, again being a beast beneath the Red Keep.
Helaena's "Beast Beneath The Boards" Prophecy Might Be About Mysaria
Another possible meaning of "beast beneath the boards" was also reintroduced in House of the Dragon episode 8: Mysaria the White Worm. Mysaria was initially part of House of the Dragon's first few episodes as Daemon Targaryen's paramour before the latter left the former to fight in the Stepstones. Mysaria then came back in episode 4 as the Master of Whispers, serving Otto Hightower with information, much like Varys from Game of Thrones. However, Mysaria was absent from House of the Dragon from then until episode 8's ending, foreshadowing future events and tying into Helaena's prophecy.
The "beast beneath the boards" could actually be in reference to Mysaria herself. Firstly, Mysaria's moniker as the White Worm could be enough to pin her as the subject of the prophecy. While a worm is not exactly a beast, they certainly operate beneath the ground, metaphorically the boards in Mysaria's case due to her work in the shadows. Secondly, the prophecy could link to Mysaria through Blood and Cheese, as it is House of the Dragon's White Worm that hired the two assassins for Rhaenyra and Daemon in the first place in Fire & Blood.
Helaena's Prophecy Could Really Be About Aemond Targaryen
While not as concrete as the potentiality of the prophecy pertaining to Mysaria, Blood, and Cheese, the "beast beneath the boards" could actually be about Aemond Targaryen. Aemond is Helaena's younger brother, who was shown to have claimed Vhagar and lost his eye in House of the Dragon episode 7. If the events of Fire & Blood are anything to go by, though, Helaena's prophecy could reference Aemond's future with Lucerys Velaryon. In Fire & Blood, at the onset of the Dance of Dragons, both Aemond and Lucerys are sent to Storm's End to obtain the Baratheon family's aid for the Greens and the Blacks respectively. As Aemond and Lucerys have bad blood due to the latter taking the former's eye, they are both expelled from Storm's End due to Lord Borros Baratheon wanting no part in the fighting in his castle. This causes Aemond, astride Vhagar, to chase Lucerys and Arrax and kill them both, setting into motion the events with Mysaria, Blood and Cheese, and the Black faction's retaliation.
These are the events that Helaena's prophecy in House of the Dragon episode 8 could pertain to. Aemond was bullied as a younger child by Lucerys and his brother, which caused the beginning of the grudge between the two princes. This was then reaffirmed when Lucerys took Aemond's eye. This grudge and long-held need for revenge against Rhaenyra Targaryen's son that Aemond holds could be what the prophecy is hinting at, with Aemond's revenge boiling beneath the surface being the "beast beneath the boards".
What Else Could Helaena's "Beast Beneath The Boards" Prophecy Mean?
One other possible person that could be the subject of Helaena's prophecy is Larys Strong. Larys Strong was introduced in House of the Dragon episode 3 as the brother of Harwin Strong and the son of Lyonel Strong. He is an ally of Alicent Hightower and is considered by many to be House of the Dragon's version of Littlefinger from Game of Thrones, due to his manipulative way of navigating court. Larys was shown to orchestrate the deaths of his father and brother so that Otto Hightower could once again resume his post as Hand of the King in House of the Dragon episode 6. One of the many theories surrounding Larys Strong and his way of gaining information is that he is a Greenseer, able to possess the bodies of animals and see through their eyes like Bran Stark could in Game of Thrones.
If this theory were to be true, then Larys Strong could be the man linked to Helaena's prophecy. One common theme of House of the Dragon has been rats in the Red Keep showing up during climactic moments, such as Rhaenyra's wedding and in Viserys' bed chamber. The Larys theory states that he can commandeer the rats of the Red Keep in order to gain his information. The rats that skulk beneath the Red Keep - or the beasts beneath the boards - could by extension be agents of Larys, proving him to be the subject of Helaena's prophecy. Regardless of who actually is the subject of House of the Dragon episode 8's Helaena Targaryen prophecy, it is clear that the events of Fire & Blood and the show's future provide many meanings for the "beast beneath the boards" during the downfall of House Targaryen.
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