These become the last words Queen Helaena Targaryen ever hears.
In the final episode of House of the Dragon season three, a recently dismissed Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) gives a clear warning to the newly imprisoned Helaena (Phia Saban), who takes that message to heart and uses it as a weapon: first, by speaking harsh truths directly to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and then, finally, by standing near an open window in the Red Keep.Just as King Tommen once fell from that same place in Game of Thrones, so too has Helaena fallen.The season ends with Rhaenyra finding Helaena’s empty room, while the queen lies on the ground below, stuck on spikes.
It’s a heartbreaking image, especially fitting for Helaena, a character who has dealt with nightmares and dreams.
It also serves as a key turning point for the rest of the series, according to those involved.In a press event before the season finale, D’Arcy talked about Helaena’s death and its implications for the show: "Helaena is sort of the moral heart of the show.She’s the only character who is close to power but remains pure.So, her death sort of condemns Rhaenyra to the path she has chosen.I think there’s no way back after that."
If there is a way back, it lies far beyond the fallen Helaena.
Below, Phia Saban chats with The Hollywood Reporter about the final moments of the dream-seeing queen.
*
How much did you know about Helaena’s fate in advance?
When I got the job, I spent a lot of time Googling and checking the Wikis, so I always knew this was coming.
Plus, there are so many fans around, and I know a lot of people who knew and would tell me what was going to happen to me.
When it’s a show this big with a character whose fate is so important, is it almost impossible to avoid spoilers?
Totally.
It was never an option not to know.I’m just happy I made it through three seasons!
You’ve had a lot of time to think about her death.
What are your first thoughts when you think about the character now that her story ends this way?
Objectively, it’s very sad.
The story is sad.I love Helaena.I feel for her.I try to find hope by thinking she felt like she had already been killed in many ways, but… it’s still very sad.But for me?It’s kind of a bucket list thing: I got to die on TV!(Laughs.) I got to do the thing where you keep your eyes open… everyone wants to do that!
How was that experience?
The prosthetics were amazing.
It made me want to do a whole project in prosthetics.It was so genius, working with the most talented people on House of the Dragon.I could talk about every department right now, but the people I hadn’t worked with before were the prosthetics team, and it was amazing.I sat there while they made my neck, which had this incredible spike, and they painted it on me in a way that felt so real.It was so fun.
What went into the force-feeding scene?
It involved a few weeks of what we called "gruel meetings." I tried all these different slops, and they would say, "Choose the one you want to get force-fed." The one we picked was dal with low spice.
It was okay!
Before that happens, you have one final scene with Emma.
What do you remember about it?
I really loved it because it came from a conversation I had with the executive producers about it.
I felt a lot of ownership over Helaena and have loved building that character.I felt it was important to get across some of the things that I always had as Helaena’s mantras in my mind during that moment.I felt like that was the justice for Helaena.We spoke a lot about Joan of Arc and the idea that there’s more to life than not being dead.I found it really delicious that Helaena could say, "There are things in the world you’ll never know how beautiful they are, and they’re not even beautiful." That’s truly what she wants to get back to: having a relationship with the world and not being kept and silenced and used.
That links up with the scene in the courtyard when Helaena looks out at all the birds in cages being taken away.
Is there a shot of her holding something in her hand?
If not, what might be some context is that when we shot that scene, I was holding a dead caterpillar.To me, that moment became more about her relationship with nature, mourning her freedom and how strongly she feels for her creatures — and exactly as you say, how it strikes her that to see something that won’t live and fly again.I think to me, that’s what that was about, but they might have done some clever editing and just not got me holding it.
What was your last day on set like?"
