House of the Dragon: Helaena's prophecy to Aemond explained, including the Gods Eye and more

The House of the Dragon season 2 finale is here, and while it might not be the perfect way to conclude the season, it still gives us several strong moments. One of which is a conversation between Aemond and Helaena Targaryen in which Aemond desperately tries to plead with his sister to fly with him to Harrenhal to join the war. Ewan Mitchell and Phia Saban give great performances here, making me wish they had more screen time together throughout the season.

WARNING: Major spoilers for the House of the Dragon season 2 finale and Fire & Blood follow below.

House of the Dragon has made it clear since the first season that Helaena has the power of foresight, though the specifics of these abilities are unclear. This element is new to the story from the book and adds a layer of complexity to the character which keeps things interesting. Not only did Helaena somehow know that something would happen to Aemond's eye, but she also referenced "the beast beneath the boards" ahead of Rhaenys crashing Aegon's coronation on Meleys. Whether Helaena has full-on premonitions or something else, we know we can trust what she's seen. The same goes for the season 2 finale when she tells Aemond what will happen to him and his brother.

Helaena sees Aemond's death at the Gods Eye and Aegon's victory

Making his second attempt to get Helaena to fly with him to Harrenhal on her dragon Dreamfyre, Aemond finds his sister outside. But Helaena sees right through him, telling him that she saw him burn Aegon and allow him to fall to the ground. She's referring to the Battle at Rook's Rest, of course, where Aemond seemingly tries to kill his brother. Aemond is visibly disturbed to hear this, but that's not all Helaena has to say. She tells him what else she's seen: his and Aegon's fates. And for Aemond, it's not pretty:

"Aegon will be king again; he’s yet to see victory. He sits on a wooden throne, and you... you’ll be dead. You are swallowed up by the Gods Eye and you are never seen again."

- Helaena Targaryen

So what is Helaena talking about here? Does Aegon actually end up on a wooden throne and does Aemond actually die because of something called the Gods Eye? Well, yes! For once, Helaena is not speaking in riddles; she's literally revealing what's ahead.

Similar to what happens in the season 2 finale, Larys manages to sneak Aegon out of King's Landing in the book, though they don't go to Braavos. Eventually, Aegon is able to defeat Rhaenyra and ultimately returns to King's Landing, where a wooden throne is made for him to sit comfortably. After all of his injuries, he's unable to walk up the steps of the Iron Throne.

Though Aegon does see victory, it's not for long. As for Aemond, his life is cut short before his brother's death, just as Helaena says. He dies in a one-on-one fight that's later known as the Battle Above the Gods Eye lake, when he takes on Daemon Targaryen near Harrenhal. With Aemond on Vhagar and Daemon on Caraxes, the two battle it out in an epic scene that's sure to be amazing to see depicted onscreen. As the story goes, Daemon supposedly stabs Dark Sister through Aemond's sapphire eye, though there isn't a winner in this battle. Neither Daemon nor Aemond are seen again.

When I first watched the season 2 finale, I wasn't sure about this conversation between Helaena and Aemond only because she's being so explicit about what will happen. But after thinking about it more, non-book readers probably have no idea what she's talking about unless they do some digging, so is it even really a spoiler? And even for us book readers, it's entirely possible the show will make changes to Aemond and Aegon's trajectories — they've already changed a lot! At this point, it's hard to predict where House of the Dragon is going, but I guess that makes it fun?

Despite some issues throughout House of the Dragon season 2, Mitchell and Saban are standouts for me, and I hope we get more of them in season 3!

All eight episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 are streaming on Max.

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