WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon season 1, episode 6!Helaena Targaryen oddly predicts major character developments for Aemond Targaryen and Bran Stark, teasing that she could be a coveted dragon dreamer in House of the Dragon. Targaryens having prophetic dreams has been an important concept in House of the Dragon, going back to Daenys Targaryen’s vision of the Doom of Valyria and Aegon the Conqueror’s Song of Ice and Fire dream. The gift is extremely rare among Targaryens, but House of the Dragon is teasing that Helaena may share it with her father Viserys.
House of the Dragon episode 6 is the first time Helaena Targaryen is truly introduced as a character, with Alicent and Viserys’ daughter having a peculiar interest in bugs. When showing Alicent a millipede, Helaena is interrupted by her brother Aemond, who Alicent disciplines for dangerously trying to claim another dragon. While she’s no longer talking to anyone, Helaena looks at the insect and remarks that the “last ring has no legs at all,” then pauses and says “he’ll have to close an eye.” This simply sounds like an odd observation about the bug, her words have much larger connections to future events in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones.
The most obvious prediction that Helaena makes in House of the Dragon episode 6 is for Aemond, who happens to walk in while she makes such observations. When Helaena says “he’ll have to close an eye,” she’s referring to her younger brother, who will soon lose an eye and become known as Aemond One-Eye. Helaena’s comment about the millipede not having any legs also seems to connect to Game of Thrones’ Bran Stark, who loses his legs before becoming the King of Westeros. Similarly, the “eye” comment can connect to Bran’s journey as the Three-Eyed Raven. The possible dragon dreamer’s statement about losing legs could also apply to her brother Aegon, who will become crippled when his legs are shattered in the Dance of the Dragons. HBO describes Helaena Targaryen's young character as often speaking in "cryptic language," which further suggests that she has the power of prophecy or sight.
How Aemond Targaryen Loses An Eye In HOTD
Helaena’s prediction that Aemond will lose an eye is no coincidence, as she says “he’ll have to close an eye” right after Alicent says he will have a dragon one day. Making a dangerous play to steal a dragon for himself is exactly how Aemond will lose his eye in House of the Dragon, which occurs at a funeral on Driftmark. House of the Dragon episode 6’s ending saw Laena Velaryon die from her dragon Vhagar’s fire, leaving the creature without a rider. Fire & Blood reveals that when the Targaryens and Velaryons gather on Driftmark, Aemond secretly tries to claim Laena's dragon Vhagar for himself. He’s caught by Rhaenyra’s youngest son Joffrey, who tries to stop him from taking the largest dragon. Joffrey Velaryon yells for his older brothers, but Aemond is able to climb Vhagar and fly two circles before coming back down.
When he descends from Vhagar, Aemond maliciously calls Rhaenyra’s sons "Strongs," at which point Jacaerys Velaryon attacks his uncle. Fire & Blood explained that Aemond began beating Jacaerys so brutally that Lucerys grabbed a knife and slashed at Aemond’s face, unintentionally taking out his right eye. As such, Helaena’s words are mysteriously prophetic in House of the Dragon episode 6, as Aemond will lose an eye for trying to claim a dragon.
Helaena Teases Bran Stark Becoming The Three-Eyed Raven
The Princess’s observation that the “last ring has no legs at all” seemingly describes Bran Stark, who won't be born for over 150 more years. The “last ring” could also refer to Bran being the last known king of Westeros by Game of Thrones’ timeline, who would reign once the Targaryen dynasty was completely destroyed and be the symbolic outer ring of their time in Westeros. House of the Dragon’s Helaena Targaryen also could have still been referring to Bran Stark through her comment about losing an eye, as Bran’s major storyline in Game of Thrones involved using his elevated internal sight as the Three-Eyed Raven. When being trained by the old Three-Eyed Raven, Bran had to learn to use his third "eye" in his mind to see the future and travel through other beings, at which point he had to "close" his eyes back on his physical body.
Is Helaena Targaryen A Dragon Dreamer In The Book?
Since the history of House Targaryen explored in Fire & Blood comes from the accounts of unreliable narrators outside the family, the book has no confirmation of Targaryens being dragon dreamers unless it was widely documented or suspected. As such, Helaena Targaryen wasn’t described as being a dreamer in Fire & Blood. So far, every major revelation from House of the Dragon about Targaryens being dreamers (except for Daenys) is new to the story. Aegon the Conqueror wasn’t said to be a dreamer in Fire & Blood, and neither was King Viserys I Targaryen, whose dream of his son Aegon sitting on the Iron Throne wearing the Conqueror’s crown will eventually come true. However, Helaena Targaryen was described as quieter and slightly more mysterious in the book, so the character being a dragon dreamer in House of the Dragon is still realistic.
New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.