'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 2: How small folk's sympathy for Helaena foreshadows Rhaenyra's fate
Contains Spoilers
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 2 aired on June 23, 2024, on HBO. The thrilling continuation of the action-adventure series had some high-octane action moments and cerebral political trickery but it also had an emotional moment that broke many hearts.
Princess Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) had to accompany Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) on a procession that was carried out in honor of her dead son Jaehaerys Targaryen. Helaena who just wanted some time alone to cope with the loss had to hold fort in front of the small folk of King's Landing at the orders of Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans).
She kept a grip on her emotions until finally panicking among people and crying her heart out when a mob of people surrounded her sympathizing with the young princess.
Why do the small folk call Rhaenyra Targaryen cruel?
Ser Otto Hightower stays calm in the face of adversity and chalks out a plan to gain sympathy for Helaena and hatred for Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D' Arcy). They paint a picture of Rhaenyra as a monster that killed the young prince Jaehaerys.
The trump card here is Helaena being at the procession as the small folk gravitate towards her sympathizing with her loss and trying to console her. This helped the Greens gain the support of people at King's Landing and nurture hatred for Rhaenyra Targaryen.
The support for Greens did not last long though as Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) hanged all ratcatchers looking for the killers of his child. Apart from Aegon's actions, King's Landing is suffering from the economic cost of war with scarce resources turning them against the Greens. The support for Helaena though will continue and have major repercussions in the coming seasons.
Helaena Targaryen's death sparks a revolt against Rhaenyra Targaryen
If 'Fire and Blood' events are adapted as they occur in the book. Rhaenyra will eventually win the Dance of the Dragons to take King's Landing and be the Queen. However, she will not be a popular Queen in King's Landing.
The small folk will lead a mutiny against Rhaenyra and force her out of King's Landing. The trigger point for the revolt is the death of Helaena Targaryen who slips deep into depression and eventually kills herself.
In the book, Helaena is shown to have a strong connection to the small folk in King's Landing, and her death is blamed on Rhaenyra Targaryen who in their mind has caused Helaena grief.
Rhaenyra however takes strong exception to what happened to Helaena and says she would never have done this to her. She has a major argument with Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) about the event.
How to stream 'House of the Dragon' Season 2?
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 premiered on HBO Max on Sunday, June 16, 2024, with new episodes dropping every Sunday. To watch the series, you will need a Max Subscription.
The streaming platform typically offers three packages that you can choose from depending on your budget.
The low-cost plan that supports advertising costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually. The second package, which does not support advertising, costs $15.99 per month or $149.99 annually.
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 trailer
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 premiered on HBO Max on Sunday, June 16, 2024.