How does Helaena die in 'House of the Dragon'? Phia Saban breaks down character's devastating decision
Helaena met her end in the Season 3 finale of 'House of the Dragon.' After months of mental harassment coupled with depression, Helaena fell to her death from a window at the Red Keep. The episode saw Helaena in tears during her designated time outside the Red Keep. During her walk back to her room, she comes across the recently fired Mysaria. "Do not trust the Queen. Aegon has returned. His Dragon lives. Your unborn child is a hostage, a prize by which she can hold power over her enemies. She will never release you," the former Mistress of Whisperers informed Helaena. The update was likely heartbreaking for Helaena, who desired nothing more than peace and freedom, both of which were now out of the picture.
Rhaenyra then visited Helaena's chamber to get her to eat something. It was important for her image that Helaena did not die in her custody. The Queen assured Aegon's wife that she would not be harmed. Helaena then stated that she desired much more from life than not being dead. "Our father would hate you for this," Helaena continued, criticizing the cruelty with which Rhaenyra handled things. Rhaenyra defended herself, saying she had no choice, and Viserys' philosophy did not align with the needs of the present. "All the things you care about are ugly. This place is ugly. You, yourself ugly," Helaena answered Rhaenyra after realizing that all she cared about was winning the war and nothing else. Rhaenyra finally lost patience and force-fed Helaena. The sequence was brutal as men dragged Helaena and forced food into her mouth.
In her final moments of the episode, Helaena stopped sewing her tapestry and walked towards the window. Next, Rhaenyra entered Helaena's chamber, but could not seem to find her anywhere. She then discovered the tapestry hanging from the window. Alicent was next seen surrounded by blue butterflies, symbolizing Helaena's departure from the world. Her death was confirmed in the next shot, where Helaena was seen impaled on spikes. Many fans were confused about whether Helaena took her life or not. Earlier in the season, Helaena refused to leave King's Landing because she did not want to abandon Jaehaera. This turn of events leaves her daughter all alone at the mercy of her family's enemies.
The tapestry clarified the confusion. It is long known that the tapestry showcases the future. There, Helaena was seen falling to her death. This more or less confirmed that she jumped from the window. Additionally, Phia Saban, who plays Helaena, in her interview with Variety claimed that the character was slowly losing her will to live. “It’s a tragedy. That’s definitely the arc of Helaena’s story,” Saban shared. “But I think, as she says earlier, ‘This is my body, and this is my baby — and both of those things have been forsaken as long as I’ve lived.’ And she doesn’t want to live the way she’s living anymore, and she feels that she wants to protect the children that she does have. She’s just trying her best.”
Saban also clarified Mysaria's role in Helaena's ultimate fate. "I don’t think it wouldn’t have happened if Mysaria didn’t say it, but I do think it’s just another addition to the descent. There’s a confirmation of what Helaena already feels, which is that she is never going to live a life again in which she feels alive. And that’s kind of what Helaena says to Rhaenyra. She’s like, 'There’s more to life than not just not being dead. Like, the bar is on the floor. I have higher dreams and hopes and feelings for the world than that.' In a sense, maybe some might say that she takes power from what she does. That she can, rather than being killed by a vision, she can choose that for herself," the actress shared. To find out how Helaena's death impacts the Targaryen Civil War, viewers will need to tune in to 'House of the Dragon' Season 4, when it airs on HBO.
