Helaena's Weird Reaction to Blood and Cheese in House of the Dragon, Explained

It’s been a while since House of the Dragon ’s season 2 officially kicked it off with the premiere episode which some fans are not over to this day, but another ambiguous detail also still has some of the show’s lovers coming up with numerous theories.

Episode 1 titled A Son for a Son catches a duo of assassins nicknamed Blood and Cheese sneaking into the Greens’ castle to fulfill Rhaenyra’s wish and kill Aemond Targaryen, though things don’t go according to their plan and instead of his uncle young Prince Jaehaerys falls victim before his mother Helaena’s very eyes.

The plot twist was an utter shock even for those who were familiar with the course of events suggested by George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood, but the way Helaena eventually reacted to the innocent toddler’s death was almost as controversial as the Blood and Cheese incident itself.

Upon the episode’s release back in June, fans were quick to take to social media expressing their concerns about the showrunners’ decision to completely snub Helaena as a character without even letting her react to her son’s murder in the way she initially was supposed to.

Many claimed that Helaena’s quiet acceptance of Jaehaerys’ fate was quite far from being natural and, on top of that, the creators’ general indifference towards the character is unfair to Helaena’s actress Phia Saban, who so far proved to be everyone’s favorite even with a pretty much limited number of lines.

One Redditor expressed their concern about Helaena’s weird behavior right after her son was murdered, claiming that “the whole scene just felt muted and flat. I understand that they wanted to portray Helaena as autistic but considering how big this scene is supposed to be they should’ve gone for a larger reaction from her rather than a shut down/dissociation.”

On top of that, Helaena’s behavior on that night seems to be even weirder when reminded that she didn’t even make an attempt to identify Blood and Cheese whose faces she would surely recognise years later, let alone several hours.

However, others suggested that her being muted during Jaehaerys’ murder scene would probably have something to do with a psychological aspect of her behavior since she might have been just too shocked to be capable of pronouncing a single word. Ironically, this version does make a lot of sense given the circumstances, even though it feels unnatural anyway.

What May Happen to Helaena After Blood and Cheese?

Giving Helaena yet another reason to get closer to a depression she was suffering in the original book might be turned into a completely different take on the character in the show.

Another Redditor pondered the idea that everything Helaena had been through at this point might actually be good for the story and push her to action.

“Maybe the reason why Dreamfyre hasn't been shown except for that one scene with Aemond is that she hasn't been claimed. Maybe this incident will motivate Helaena to take action and she will go down to the Dragonpit's basement or whatever that was, and end up claiming Dreamfyre,” suggested Redditor Venomm737.

However, this is a possibility that may come as something delusional at least for Fire & Blood readers. Should the show indeed follow George R.R. Martin’s book letting House of the Dragon’s Helaena go down the same road that she originally did in the novel, she will most likely remain in the same position in the Greens’ camp than before.

Additionally, she may even become more estranged from her entire family, having no desire to visit Aegon and eventually taking her own life with no real meaningful role in the Dance of the Dragons.

Source: Reddit