In the most recent episode of House of the Dragon, "Rhaenyra the Cruel," Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her daughter Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) must accompany the body of little Jaehaerys Targaryen, Helaena's son, as it is paraded through the streets of King's Landing. Prince Jaehaerys was killed by assassins sent by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), whose wife Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) is contesting Helaena's husband King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) for the Iron Throne. The struggle between these sides is growing bloody, and Hand of the King Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) hopes that a funeral procession for the dead prince will help get the people of the city on their side, and turn them against "Rhaenyra the Cruel."
The procession is hard on Alicent and especially Helaena, who is in a state of shock after the murder of her son. The commoners are sympathetic, but Helaena is clearly upset; she wants to be alone to grieve, not an object of fascination for thousands of strangers who stare and reach out to her when she's in no position to respond. It looks like she has something like a panic attack as the procession goes on, but she makes it to the end. The episode cuts away from the procession partway through, and the next time we see Helaena, she's back in the Red Keep.
But it looks like HBO may have cut something out of this scene. In the "Weeks Ahead" trailer they dropped after the premiere episode aired, there's a quick shot of Alicent and Helaena running through the streets of King's Landing as a crowd watches on. So far as I can tell, they're wearing the exact same green gowns and mourning veils as they're wearing during the funeral procession in the second episode. Here's the shot:
In the actual episode, they never disembark from the carriage. So what gives?
What happened to this dramatic Alicent-Helaena scene from House of the Dragon?
First up, it's possible that this shot is pulled from a later scene in the season, not the funeral procession scene. It's true that, in our breakdown of the "Weeks Ahead" trailer, there do seem to be shots from another crowd scene on the streets of King's Landing. So maybe Alicent and Helaena make another trip through the streets of King's Landing later in the season, and this time things get hairy and they have to make a run for it?
Well, I doubt it, because again, they look to be wearing the same outfits in the trailer as they're wearing in "Rhaenyra the Cruel." I could be wrong, but I don't think they're going to wear those exact same gowns for a repeat performance.
I think it more likely that in the original version of the scene, Helaena's panic gets the better of her and she bolts from the carriage, perhaps trying to run back to the Red Keep rather than face the crowd. Alicent runs after her trying to calm her down. Maybe that footage exists, but in editing the producers decided to cut this moment, perhaps thinking it too melodramatic or over-the-top.
Or maybe this really is a moment from later in the season and I'll be proven wrong. We'll keep watching. in the meantime, what do you make of it?
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