#something about this has convinced me that this helaena will see a different fate than her book counterpart

[whitegownsandflowercrowns]

So I’ve already seen some criticism of Helaena appearing in Daemon’s visions, all “why is she helping the guy that murdered her son?” And while I can understand that criticism, that’s not how I read the scene, and I think it actually reveals a lot more to us about Helaena as a character and how her dreams have affected her life.

Because, while Alys and Helaena did show Daemon a vision of Daenerys, they neglected to mention one teeny tiny barely important little detail. When the dead arrive, their ruler is slain by a Stark while a Lannister sits the Iron Throne. Then, the final male Targaryen kills the final female Targaryen, her dragon burns the Iron Throne, and he goes Beyond the Wall, probably never to have children. In short, Aegon’s Dream is all for nothing.

Presuming that Helaena can see everything the way that this episode implies, she is fully aware of this. And yet, Daemon still needs to play his part. All of their parts are inevitable, everything has always occurred exactly the way that it will. She tells Aemond point-blank that even if he kills her, he will still die in God’s Eye and Aegon will still outlive him. So Blood & Cheese or no, Daemon’s line will still inherit the Iron Throne, and he will still kill Aemond. But in order to do those things, his part involves accepting Aegon’s Dream to be (somewhat) true and standing behind Rhaenyra for good. Helaena is here to help shuffle that along.

I also think that this lends a new weight to her words in 2x03: “I’m sad about Jaehaerys. But I don’t think I should be.”

I’m sad about my son’s death, but I don’t think I should be because I saw this happen over and over in my dreams. Because I know that in the grand scheme of the Song of Ice and Fire, in the story of Westeros and all the lands beyond, he had a minuscule role to play. Because it’s all a story and he was only ever meant to be a minor tragedy in that story. Because I’ve known all of this since I was born, but I’m still human, I’m not just a prophetess or a visionary or a dreamer, I’m still human and I’m still a mother and I’m still sad about my son’s death.