I'm still so mad that they made Helaena this incredibly emotionless, cryptic, robot with no thoughts or feelings of her own. Apparently she no longer has any problem with Jaehaerys death, has no problem with Daemon or Rhaenyra despite their actions causing his gruesome death. Doesn't seem to mind anything going on around her. She doesn't like riding her own dragon "has no taste for it". And never once thought about politics to help her family out or perform her queenly duties. No instead they made her a caricature of autistic stereotypes. And as someone who is actually on the spectrum I find the whole thing to be very insulting.
If the show wanted to portray her as being neurodivergent and with experiencing dragon dreams that would be totally fine! It could have made for an interesting character if they actually did her right. She could be all of that and STILL be somewhat faithful to the book. Make her a woman beloved by the smallfolk. A woman who loved riding her dragon. A woman who gave Aegon some advice on how to deal with the council. Etc. They could have done all of that if they didn't make her into a stupid stereotype. I'm sick of shows or movies portraying us neurodivergents as people with no feelings and no intelligence.
@cleverelaena90 Yup! The problem is not that she is neurodivergent โ itโs that the show seems to use her neurodivergence as a substitute for giving her a complete personality.
A neurodivergent character can still have anger, grief, opinions, ambitions, fears, attachments, and contradictions.
Being autistic or having a different way of processing the world does not mean being emotionless, detached, or incapable of caring.
Neurodivergence is not a personality by itself. It can shape how someone experiences the world, but it does not tell us who they are as a person. We know very little about Helaena beyond a few isolated details: that she likes insects, that she has prophetic abilities and that she has a strained relationship with Alicent. Nevertheless, these are not enough to build a full personality. A character should be more than their traits, their suffering, or how they function within another characterโs storyline โ Helaena needs her own desires, opinions, relationships, interests, and conflicts beyond being portrayed as the "gentle, innocent, tragic" member of the Greens.
Otherwise, her neurodivergence risks becoming a narrative shortcut rather than a meaningful part of a fully developed character.
The other problem with Helaenaโs prophecy storyline is that it feels like it exists more to remind the audience of things they already know rather than giving Helaena agency within the story.
I think the comparison to Cassandra is interesting because Cassandraโs tragedy comes from her being cursed to know the truth but never being believed. However, Cassandra is still an active character โ she tries to warn people, she reacts to events, and her knowledge creates conflict because she is constantly fighting against a fate she understands. With Helaena, the show seems to want the audience to see her as a tragic prophet figure, but it doesnโt give her the same level of involvement. Her visions rarely become something she actively uses to influence events or protect the people around her. Instead, she remains a passive observer who simply delivers cryptic lines.
The show tell us that "Helaena does not ride, she has no taste for itโ, yet sheโs bonded to Dreamfyre a fully grown dragon that wasnโt hatched with her. That means she wouldโve had to seek out Dreamfyre and successfully claim her at some point. If Helaena truly had no interest in dragonriding, then show us how or why she claimed Dreamfyre in the first place. Instead, the show just throws out contradictory characterization.
In the show, Rhaenyra barely treats Helaena as a political or military threat, even though sheโs a dragonrider while in the books she was considered to be a threat to them. If Helaena truly had โno tasteโ for riding dragons, why would anyone in the book consider her and Dreamfyre a military threat? The Blacks clearly treated Dreamfyre as part of the Greensโ dragon strength. You donโt see them going, โOh, donโt worry about Helaena, she doesnโt like riding.โ The show wants us to believe Helaena has no interest in dragonriding while also expecting us to forget she successfully claimed an adult dragon that wasnโt hatched with her.
Helaena probably never felt the need to publicly declare she wouldnโt use Dreamfyre because neither she nor the Greens seemed to view her as an active military commander. That doesnโt mean Dreamfyre wasnโt a strategic asset - it just means Helaena herself wasnโt insisting on going to war. It also fits with her trying to calm Aegon during the Green Council and supporting Orwyleโs attempt at negotiation. That suggests she preferred a peaceful resolution if one was still possible. Wanting peace, however, isnโt the same as being politically irrelevant. Helaena was still a dragonrider whose existence strengthened the Green faction, even if she personally had little desire to fight.
We couldโve actually seen her political views, how she understood the conflict, and how much influence she had behind the scenes. Instead of just making her a mysterious dreamer who stays mostly removed from politics, the show couldโve explored her as a member of the Green council, a dragonrider, a princess, etc.
A character can be gentle and still be politically aware. It wouldโve added so much more depth to her character instead of reducing her to tragedy and prophecies.
Her being loved by the smallfolk is actually a really important part of her book character, but the show barely does anything with it. Bk!Helaena is popular with the smallfolk, and her suffering after Blood and Cheese has a huge emotional impact on Kingโs Landing. That popularity matters because it shapes how the people react to the war and to Rhaenyraโs rule.
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