WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon season 1, episode 7!Helaena Targaryen’s sweet yet cryptic demeanor is already setting up House of the Dragon’s vilest moment to be significantly more agonizing. The daughter of Viserys and Alicent, Helaena Targaryen is somewhat ostracized by her family in House of the Dragon, being seen as odd due to her quiet personality and shockingly prophetic phrases. Compared to her brothers Aegon and Aemond, mother Alicent, and grandfather Otto Hightower, Helaena is presented as the most decent and misunderstood of the greens, which makes what happens to her later in life far more upsetting.
Since young Helaena Targaryen is simply a peculiar and kind child with creepy dragon dreams, understanding that the most horrible crime in House of the Dragon will happen to her is all the more tragic. This agonizing moment in House of the Dragon is Blood and Cheese, which sees the two eponymous assassins sneak into the Red Keep and force Helaena to choose which of her sons will die. Helaena offers herself, but the blacks were specific that they needed a “son for a son,” as the crime was arranged as revenge for the death of Lucerys Velaryon. The kindhearted Helaena reluctantly chooses her 2-year-old son Maelor, but the assassins behead the 6-year-old Prince Jaehaerys instead. Helaena is perhaps the most innocent of all Targaryens in House of the Dragon’s civil war, but she ends up suffering from the most brutal event.
When Will Blood & Cheese Happen In House Of The Dragon
Blood and Cheese is one of the first major events in the Dance of the Dragons, suggesting it could happen as early as House of the Dragon season 2. Blood and Cheese is a direct response to Lucerys Velaryon being murdered by his uncle Aemond "One-Eye" Targaryen, which occurs before much of the war's fighting has begun. It will likely be another episode or two after Lucerys’ death that Blood and Cheese happens, but such events are likely to appear in season 2 when the war truly kicks off. Considering the shocking nature of the crime and its devastating effects, Blood and Cheese is apt to be saved for House of the Dragon season 2’s penultimate episode, as episode 9 is typically when Game of Thrones’ biggest twists and moments occur.
What Happens To Helaena After Blood & Cheese
George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood explains that following Blood and Cheese, Helaena descends into “madness,” refuses to eat, and avoids Maelor out of guilt. After spending several months in captivity once Rhaenyra takes the Iron Throne, Helaena dies by suicide after jumping from her window. There are plenty of rumors put forth about the cause of the beloved Queen Helaena’s death, with one particularly malicious theory suggesting Rhaenyra murdered her. Others speculated that Helaena died by suicide after Mysaria told the Queen of Maelor’s death and its brutal cause, that Rhaenyra hired one of the gold cloaks to murder her, or that Helaena took her own life after supposedly becoming pregnant in a brothel. However, the last two rumors hold very little weight and are rejected by Fire & Blood’s narrators.
Considering she wasn’t confirmed to be a dragon dreamer in Fire & Blood, Helaena Targaryen's prophetic “gift” may add another heartbreaking layer to her tragic end. Helaena is already speaking cryptically as a child, so if the rumors of her “madness” are true, the character could reach a point after Blood and Cheese where she only speaks in peculiar prophecies. This would be similar to A Song of Ice and Fire’s often incoherent character Patchface, a childlike jester who continually spoke in rhymes of prophetic nature. House of the Dragon could introduce a twist in which Helaena’s dragon dreams become more intense, frequent, and overwhelming after Blood and Cheese, which may be what eventually leads to her death.
New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.