Criticism surrounds House of the Dragon creator’s portrayal of Helaena

Fans of House of the Dragon are convinced that creator Ryan Condal did not read the show’s source material after he made a puzzling statement about Helaena Targaryen.

House of the Dragon features a multitude of character moments in its second season, although some viewers have expressed a desire for more development of Helaena Targaryen’s character.

Despite the sympathy towards Helaena following the loss of her and Aegon’s son and the fascination with her potential as the Three-Eyed Raven, there were some viewers who felt that the show failed to capture the essential traits of her character as depicted in the book.

This theory was validated by Condal’s statement to journalists: “We were always intrigued by Helaena because she was portrayed as a blank slate in the book. When we found Phia Saban, a talented actress, we were captivated by her performance and became deeply interested in the character’s identity.”

Phia Saban as Helaena in House of the Dragon Season 2, wearing a veil and looking up — HBO

“Tabula rasa”is a Latin expression meaning “smooth or erased tablet.”In other words, it is similar to the English phrase “blank slate,”used to describe someone with no preconceived notions or biases.

Essentially, the team of Condal and the writers viewed Helaena as a vessel for the story’s themes and concepts, rather than developing a more personalized narrative for her like they did for Alicent and Aemond.

Despite claims that this is the way Helaena is portrayed in the source material, many readers of Fire & Blood, the book House of the Dragon is based on, disagree with this interpretation of her character.

Helaena is depicted as a committed mother and skilled dragon rider in the book, using her voice to persuade Aegon to refrain from causing excessive destruction during the Dance of the Dragons.

Despite this, the show’s focus shifted towards portraying her as a weaker character following the events of Blood & Cheese, which was met with disapproval by some.

One fan expressed their disappointment on the show’s subreddit, stating that while they understand there isn’t much information about her in the books, they were disappointed that the show chose to ignore the one thing we did know about her – her love for flying.

“Someone else observed, “I can’t believe how captivating Halaena is in the show. Despite not having much character development, she still manages to intrigue me. She’s just present, but still manages to hold her own as a character.”

One viewer also commented, “I really liked Halaena in Season 1. But in Season 2, they completely changed her character into someone like Bran. The book version of her story is much more tragic and captivating compared to what they presented to us.”

The complete second season of House of the Dragon is now available to stream, with the third season currently in production. While waiting, be sure to explore these 5 similar shows and don’t forget to read our breakdown of the Season 2 finale.