Foreshadowing in House of the Dragon: The beast beneath the boards

Helaena Targaryen: the gift that keeps on giving. This past week, at the height of one of the more intense and emotional episodes not just of House of the Dragon but of the entire Game of Thrones franchise, our favorite foreshadower was at it again. Beware SPOILERS below as we pick apart what it all could mean.

“Beware the beast beneath the boards,” Helaena said under her breath during a strained family dinner in “The Lord of the Tides.” Much can be made of Princess Helaena’s newest creepy prophecy. It likely has multiple meanings. She could be talking about rats, worms, and other insects that crawl beneath the boards of the Red Keep. Kings Landing’s high castle sits atop a labyrinth of tunnels that cunning characters at court maneuver to gather secrets they then trade to get power. An example of this occurred later in the episode, when one of Alicent’s handmaidens snuck off to report to Lady Mysaria, who’s become a powerful information broker in the city since she and Daemon split up years ago.

Mysaria is known as the White Worm, which could be the “beast” Helaena is referring to. Larys Strong, another spymaster, is also associated with bugs; note the insect symbol on his cane and the pin those who work for him wear. Several times, we’ve seen Helaena handle many-legged creepy-crawly critters. Perhaps she senses the dangers posed by these human beasts even if other people don’t.

SPOILERS ahead: Blood and Cheese, fire in the sky

As it happens, Mysaria is involved in a tragic moment in Helaena’s life. In Fire & Blood, Daemon Targaryen eventually contacts his old flame Mysaria and asks her to do something horrible for him. She finds two men known to history only as “Blood” and “Cheese.” Using secret ways, these men steal into the castle and hold Helaena’s children hostage in front of her. They make her pick which one will die and which will live, and then kill the one she doesn’t choose. While everyone at the table seems concerned with dragons, beasts of the sky, the true danger, as Helaena foreshadows here, is beneath their feet.

Daemon orders the murder of Helaena’s children in retaliation for another killing. Throughout Episode 8 of House of the Dragon, future rivalries are set up in small glances between characters. Aemond and Daemon have a standoff at the end of the dinner scene, foreshadowing a battle they will eventually have later in the story. Aemond and Lucerys also come face to face.

Putting my predictions cap on for a moment, I’d wager that this season will end with the first dragon-on-dragon battle between Aemond on Vhagar and Lucerys on Arrax. As one might guess, this is not much of a fight for the large and fearsome Vhagar. Aemond is a vicious, violent person eager for combat, with a specific grudge and the tenacity to carry it out in full. He’s as much a beast as anyone.

Helaena’s first prophecy about Aemond having to “close an eye” came true after just one episode. We’ll see how this newest one shakes out when “The Green Council” airs this Sunday. Unfortunately, none of the other characters seem to pay any attention to Helaena’s warnings, and the result will surely be entertaining for us and disastrous for them.

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