If there’s one thing House of the Dragon fans have learned by now, it’s that the series has no problem venturing away from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood source material. That’s the main reason why Martin himself has criticized the show, even as co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal maintains that sometimes, adaptations have no choice but to make changes.
The character at the center of that original Martin complaint, Helaena Targaryen—she of the gruesome “Blood and Cheese” affair in season two—had a memorable season three, and actor Phia Saban recently spoke about what it was like bringing Helaena from the page to the screen. First things first: in both the book and in House of the Dragon, Helaena dies after leaping from her window in the Red Keep. In Fire & Blood, she’s despondent over losing her younger son, Maelor, not long after her older son, Jaehaerys, was assassinated by Blood and Cheese. But Maelor doesn’t appear in House of the Dragon. In season three, we find out Helaena is pregnant, but she makes her fatal jump before the baby is born. However, the show still provides her with plenty of misery material, including the realization that Rhaenyra, her half-sister, will almost certainly never let her go free—especially if she gives birth to a boy who could potentially threaten the queen’s reign.
