House of the Dragon’s Bran Stark replacement has shocked me, as I was not expecting the show to go as deep as it did into weird, spiritual elements. House of the Dragon season 2’s ending is receiving some criticism, and while I disagree with a lot of it, the second outing would have benefitted from 10 episodes. Regardless, the finale of season 2 introduced some intriguing elements tied to several members of House of the Dragon’s cast. The bulk of those intriguing, downright strange aspects are tied to the character of Daemon Targaryen.
I am one who has been disappointed with Daemon’s Harrenhal vision storyline in House of the Dragon season 2, as I found the plot to be somewhat spinning its wheels, unsure of what to do with the character. That said, the ending of the Harrenhal plotline was undoubtedly intriguing, from the connections to Game of Thrones to Daemon finally vowing to serve Rhaenyra. Even more interesting than these aspects, however, was House of the Dragon’s Bran Stark replacement, with the show delving fully into the weird and wonderful world of Westeros.
Helaena Has Turned Into House Of The Dragon’s Version Of Bran Stark
Helaena’s Visions Took Her To A Whole New Level
The character in question is Helaena Targaryen, who seems to be House of the Dragon’s version of Bran Stark from Game of Thrones. The former has always been slightly strange, from the pointed lines that seemingly tell the future to the visions and dreams she has been hinted at having. However, House of the Dragon season 2’s finale painted her more like Bran Stark than the show ever has.
This unknowable, weird power has drawn a connection between Helaena and Bran, making the former even more interesting…
Toward the end of Game of Thrones, Bran Stark was often an unknowable figure. He would rarely be concerned with the present and instead be looking into the past and future using his Three-Eyed Raven powers. This made him seem stranger than he used to be, with House of the Dragon season 2’s finale doing the same for Helaena. She was shown as connected to Daemon Targaryen’s vision, meaning she was present physically but not mindfully in King’s Landing. This unknowable, weird power has drawn a connection between Helaena and Bran, making the former even more interesting.
How Helaena’s Powers Compare To Bran Stark’s
The Two Have Similar Powers, Though From Different Sources
After House of the Dragon season 2’s finale, the burning question will be how Helaena’s dreams and Bran Stark’s powers connect. In the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, Helaena is what is called a dreamer, or dragon-dreamer. These powers are similar in concept to those of the Three-Eyed Raven but are limited solely to Targaryens. Aegon the Conqueror was retconned to be a dragon-dreamer in House of the Dragon, and other important Targaryens have been listed as so in history.
These dreams are often imprecise and give vague hints of the future, which Helaena was shown to suffer in House of the Dragon season 1 and earlier in season 2. However, her dreams became much more powerful in House of the Dragon’s finale, drawing comparisons to Bran Stark. Bran is not a dreamer, but a greenseer. Greenseers have much more precise visions than dreamers and stem from the blood of the old gods and the first men, rather than Targaryen or Valyrian blood. Helaena seems to be the most powerful dreamer in the ASOIAF universe, but even then is not on a similar level to Bran Stark.
House Of The Dragon Season 3 Needs To Avoid Helaena Being Too Much Like Bran
Helaena Needs To Be A Sympathetic Character
Despite the similarities between Helaena and Bran Stark being drawn regarding their powers, House of the Dragon needs to avoid making the former too much like the latter from a personality standpoint. In the latter seasons of Game of Thrones, Bran Stark was simply too detached and removed from his emotions to be sympathetic. Granted, this was likely the point given his newfound omnipotence and impersonal powers. However, it remains the case that it negatively impacted his character, factoring into the poor reception to Game of Thrones’ ending.
Where Helaena is concerned, House of the Dragon needs to avoid this. She cannot become too detached from her personality, which makes her the sweet, sympathetic character she has been for much of the show thus far. This is because of her eventual death by suicide, driven by the grief of Blood and Cheese and the Targaryen Civil War. If Helaena becomes detached and cold due to her powers like Bran did, her eventual death in House of the Dragon will not be as impactful.