House of the Dragon regularly discusses the inherent power of the Targaryen bloodline. Most notably and commonly, this involves a connection with dragons, leading to season 2's storyline involving finding Targaryen bastards to become dragonseeds, Rhaena's (Phoebe Campbell) plot with Sheepstealer, and the dramatic reunion of Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his thought to be deceased dragon, Sunfyre.
However, power over dragons is not the only way in which Targaryen blood manifests its power. Occasionally, members of House Targaryen will instead become dreamers, the sporadic recipients of prophetic visions called dragon dreams. The most recent episode of House of the Dragon, "The Dragon in Winter," deals with dragon dreams, establishing a connection between two of this series' main characters and a key figure from the recent A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1.
Helaena and Aemond's dragon dreams
Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) is a noted dreamer, described as such repeatedly throughout House of the Dragon's source material, George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood. However, poor Helaena feels more cursed by her dreams than gifted, often feeling isolated because of them.
In "The Dragon in Winter," Helaena sees multiple visions, including a dream featuring a pale mare, one where she gives birth to her child, one where she rides atop Dreamfyre, and one where she watches her children playing in a farm before everything turns to snow. The later dream ties back into her desire to raise chickens instead of rule the Seven Kingdoms, as stated earlier in the season.
Her brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), meanwhile, is not known to be a dreamer. However, due to his time at the cursed Harrenhal, or with the witch Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), he has begun to delve into dreamer territory, much like his uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) during his similar story arc last season.
As such, Aemond is shown dreaming an incredibly disturbing dream during "The Dragon in Winter." He sees his mother, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), arriving at Harrenhal, before the dream devolves into an incestuous, sexual nature. Whether this dream is a result of his Targaryen heritage or his connection to Harrenhal or Alys, it partially comes true by the end of the episode, foreshadowing Alicent's actual arrival at Harrenhal.
Daeron the Drunkard is Daeron the Dreamer
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 introduces audiences to Daeron Targaryen (Henry Ashton), not to be confused with Benjamin Evan Ainsworth's House of the Dragon character of the same name. Called "Daeron the Drunkard," Daeron turns to alcohol as a way to mitigate his prophetic dreams, which are driving him mad.
In Daeron's first appearance in the pilot of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, "The Hedge Knight," he encounters series protagonist Ser Duncan the Tall, aka "Dunk" (Peter Claffey), at an inn. Daeron recognizes Dunk from a dream, drunkenly telling him as much. While audiences don't yet know the significance of this character, upon developing him further, it becomes clear that Daeron is not some drunken mad man but a prophet, genuinely telling Dunk of their previous encounter in his visions.
Daeron later describers his dream in more detail, saying he has seen Dunk with a fallen dragon. This dream tragically comes true in full, with the deceased dragon representing Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvell), who dies at Dunk's side during the Trial of Seven. Once again, Daeron is able to predict events that soon come to pass.
The Dreamers spell doom for Helaena
Daeron's storyline in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms indicates the validity of Targaryen dreamers' prophecies. Along with Heleana's dreams in past seasons, and brief teases of this ability from Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in Game of Thrones, dragon dreams are now firmly established in the franchise's lore for audience members to recognize.
As such, this recent emphasis on dragon dreams marks bad news for poor Heleana. Her dreams play such a heavy role in her storyline this episode, and Aemond's plot reminds viewers of how accurate these visions can be. If this is the case, then one of Helaena's dreams could mean her time on the show is about to come to an end.
This all implies that Helaena's most notable dragon dream of the episode, which involves her ideal future disappearing before her eyes, is likely to come to pass soon. This abstract vision most likely refers to Helaena's death, as the life she most wants is shown never coming to fruition. In Fire & Blood, Heleana ultimately dies by suicide during her captivity in the Red Keep. Given her current location and mindset, Helaena's demise is now almost certainly imminent, especially given her most recent dragon dream, and with Daeron reminding viewers earlier this year that Targaryen visions often come true. With one more episode remaining, it is likely that Heleana won't survive until the final credits roll on House of the Dragon season 3.
For more from the world of Westeros, make sure to catch the House of the Dragon season 3 finale, airing on Sunday, August 9 on HBO Max.
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