Wild Fan Theory Gives The Game of Thrones Family Tree a Royal Shakeup
Fan theories continue to abound when it comes to Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. And one rumour doing the rounds is that the father of Helaena Targaryen's children is not in fact, Aegon – the brother she was forced to marry by her mother – but Aemond.
Now, with Aemond also being Helaena's brother, this theory takes away none of the weirdness from the whole situation. But, if true, it does shake up the entire Targaryen family tree.
And it's not completely implausible.
We know that her marriage to Aegon was not one that Helaena entered into willingly – and it's also indicated that her brother-husband sexually assaults her when he's drunk. For most of the time, though, Aegon shows little interest in Helaena. While Aemond seems more than a little taken with his sister.
So, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that Helaena got her own back on Aegon by having sex with their brother – or that she simply fell for Aemond in a way that she found impossible with Aegon.
In episode 7, while Aegon makes fun of Helaena (who he is not yet actually married to) because of her affection for insects, Aemond says that were he betrothed to her, he would "do his duty" to bolster the Targaryen dynasty.
Later, in episode 9, Aemond enters Helaena's chamber in a way that can only be described as familiar. Possibly because he's her brother – but could there be more to it than that?
And how about the way he toasts his "strong nephews" after Jacaerys invites Helaena to dance? Or the way in which Helaena places a hand on Aemond's arm during Aegon's coronation?
Ok, so none of this is what we can call proof, but it all adds weight to the theory. And as long as any affair was going on behind closed doors and away from prying eyes, it would have done nothing to rock the boat.
After all, her marriage was nothing more than a way of shoring up the Green's legitimacy as rulers and preventing Helaena from marrying Jacaerys – son of Rhaenyra.
Once Aegon was seated on the Iron Throne, (with Helaena and Aemond looking on while standing very close to one another) Helaena was Queen and their (well, at least her) children became the rightful heirs.
And there's one more thing that might indicate there is some truth in this theory. Shortly after the heroic death of Aemond, Helaena takes her own life. Once again, this doesn't prove that she was in any kind of romantic relationship with this particular brother. But it does fan the flames of the rumour.