WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for House of the Dragon’s season 2 finale and George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, on which the show is based!
Summary
Helaena outlines her family’s future with a prophecy about Aegon and Aemond inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, including that Aegon will sit on “a wooden throne.” Alicent and Viserys’ daughter Helaena Targaryen has shown gifts of dragon dreaming ever since she was a child, with her visions becoming much stronger and clearer byHouse of the Dragonseason 2’s ending. In addition to foretelling Aemond’s death, Aegon being king again, and a bigger “story” that cannot be changed, she powerfully begins appearing in other peoples’ visions, as she shows up during Daemon’s weirwood tree vision at Harrenhal.
When Aemond asks Helaena to fly into battle on Dreamfyre, she refuses and questions whether he’ll burn her like Aegon, elaborating that she saw Aemond burn and let Aegon fall at Rook’s Rest. BeforeHelaena warns Aemond about his own deathin the Gods Eye, she tells him, “Aegon will be king again. He’s yet to see victory. He sits on a wooden throne. And you… you’ll be dead.” Helaena’s eerie prophecy aligns with the events outlined in George R.R. Martin’sFire & Bloodbook, including the detail about Aegon using a seat other than the Iron Throne.
Aegon’s Wooden Throne Is Likely His Litter After Breaking His Legs
Aegon Sits On A Wooden Chair Below The Iron Throne When He Returns To King’s Landing
Aegon is already broken and bedridden inHouse of the Dragonand, as Helaena predicts, his condition worsens later in the Dance of the Dragons. AfterLarys helps Aegon escape King’s Landing, he hides on Dragonstone and arranges a coup in which some members of Team Black switch alliances and help him take the castle. During the Fall of Dragonstone, Aegon flies on Sunfyre and fights Baela Targaryen on Moondancer, which culminates in Aegon jumping from his dragon and breaking both his legs in the fall. Subsequently,Aegon is unable to walk and is carried on a wooden litter.
Both Baela and Aegon Targaryen survive their battle, but their dragons Moondancer and Sunfyre both die from their wounds.
Therefore, the “wooden throne” that Helaena foresees is likely the litter Aegon sits on after his legs are shattered. Further aligning with Helaena’s prediction that he sits on his wooden throne after he sees “victory,” Aegon is unable to climb the steps to the Iron Throne when he reclaims King’s Landing afterkilling Rhaenyra Targaryenon Dragonstone. Consequently,a “carved, cushioned wooden seat” is placed at the bottom of the steps to the Iron Throne, giving King Aegon II Targaryen his “wooden throne” from which he rules and holds court.
How The Hell Did Helaena Break That Vision Rule In House Of The Dragon?!
Helaena’s visions were more impressive than ever in House of the Dragon season 2’s finale, to the point she broke some non-written dragon dream rules.
Helaena & Aegon Will Never See Each Other Again In House Of The Dragon
Helaena Dies Before Aegon Sees His Victory
While Helaena sees Aegon in her visions, the two siblings and husband/wife never physically see each other again inHouse of the Dragon. Thelast time Helaena and Aegon interacted face-to-face was likely when they silently stopped on the steps together after Prince Jaehaerys’ death. According toFire & Blood,Helaena Targaryen tragically diesby suicide approximately six months into Rhaenyra’s rule at King’s Landing, with Aegon having remained at Dragonstone that entire time.
Aegon and Helaena seemingly have some affection for each other, even if they’re not able to express it. Indeed, Helaena’s visions actually speak to this, as the way she talks about Aemond trying to kill Aegon, and that the king will see victory, almost feels like she’s defending him (especially as she tells Aemond he himself will die). Aegon certainly hasn’t been a good husband, but that they never reunite after all their shared tragedies is a sad reality.
Helaena’s Prophecy About Aemond Will Also Come True
She Foreshadows Aemond’s Death In House Of The Dragon
As well as predicting King Aegon’s victory at Dragonstone and, subsequently, his wooden throne, Helaena also foretells ofAemond’s death inHouse of the Dragon. She tells him that he will be dead, and that he was"swallowed up in the God’s Eye.“The God’s Eye is a lake in the riverlands, on the north shore of which sits Harrenhal. And, as Helaena predicts,it is where Aemond is destined to die, as per Martin’sFire & Blood.
Daemon goes out searching for [Aemond] and, eventually, it leads to the pair meeting in the sky near Harrenhal, in what’s known as the Battle Above the God’s Eye.
While Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing, Aemond takes back control of Harrenhal, before he and Vhagar go on a rampage through the riverlands, burning town after town and village after village. Daemon goes out searching for him and, eventually, it leads to the pair meeting in the sky near Harrenhal, in what’s known as the Battle Above the God’s Eye. It’s an epic clash as dragon fights dragon, and likely to be one of the most incredible spectacles the TV show has to offer.
How Every Main Character In House Of The Dragon Dies In The Books
Fire & Blood explores the rise and fall of the Targaryen. Here is how every main House of the Dragon character dies according to Westerosi history.
It’s a brutal, visceral fight between two of Westeros' most fierce warriors and their ferocious dragons, and the end result is death, death, and more death.Daemon leaps from Caraxes onto Vhagar, stabbing Aemond through his empty eye socketwith Dark Sister, his Valyrian steel sword. However, both dragons and combatants are sent crashing down into the lake, and nobody survives. Helaena is absolutely right when she tells Aemond what will happen to him and that it can’t be changed, though it remains to be seen if it happens inHouse of the Dragonseason 3.
House of the Dragonseason 3 isn’t expected to release until 2026 on HBO and Max.
Helaena Is Becoming Increasingly Powerful In House Of The Dragon
Her Dreaming Abilities Are Getting Stronger
Helaena’s prophecies about Aemond in the God’s Eye and Aegon’s"wooden throne"don’t just foreshadow future events, but highlight how much more powerful she herself is becoming inHouse of the Dragon.Helaena’s dreams and vision powershave been loosely defined, and while she has made prophecies, they’ve typically been vague utterances that even she herself doesn’t seem to fully understand, and certainly not the people she’s speaking to.
Helaena may well be aware of everything that’s going to happen, even her own death, which works to not only make her stronger, but even more tragic.
That’s very different inHouse of the Dragonseason 2’s finale. Helaena appears to have a greater understanding of and control over her abilities. That she was inDaemon’s vision of Daenerys Targaryen, Rhaenyra, a White Walker, and more is also telling. It’s not clear how she did it, but it suggests she’s a more powerful dreamer than we’ve seen previously. Helaena may well be aware of everything that’s going to happen, even her own death, which works to not only make her stronger, but even more tragic.
House of the Dragon
Cast
House of the Dragon is a 2022 fantasy drama set in the world of Westeros, chronicling the Targaryen dynasty at its height. The story revolves around King Viserys’s controversial decision to name his daughter Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne, sparking tensions and divisions within the realm.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is a multimedia franchise created by George R.R. Martin. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is the basis for the award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones, which lasted for eight seasons. After the incredibly divisive final season of Game of Thrones, the series was followed up by the prequel series House of the Dragon, which also received critical acclaim.
