'House of the Dragon': The Significance Of Dragon Dreamers In Targaryen History

WARNING! SPOILERS for House of the Dragon 2x08, 'The Queen Who Ever Was'.

After two seasons of her subtle, cryptic warnings towards coming events going unheeded, Queen Helaena Targaryen earned a new legion of fans when she silenced her younger brother, the Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen, by informing him she knew he was responsible for King Aegon's injuries. She also foreshadows the nature of Aemond's death.

For many fans, the scene confirms a fact that has been hinted at throughout the series so far: Helaena is a Dragon Dreamer, and a powerful one at that. This probably makes her more important to the story than anyone initially expected.

What are Dragon Dreams/Dragon Dreamers?

Dragon Dreams are prophetic or otherwise meaningful dreams said to affect those lucky enough to carry the blood of the dragon, ie, members of House Targaryen, and later their Bastard ofshoot, House Blackfyre. Sometimes they can be triggered by outside influences. For example, the series of visions experienced by Daemon Targaryen during his time in the possibly haunted castle of Harrenhal are believed by many fans to be Dragon Dreams induced by his Weirwood bed, and the potions offered to him by Alys Rivers.

Those who naturally experience a higher number of Dragon Dreams, or a more innate ability to understand and interpret what they see within them, are dubbed more officially as Dragon Dreamers. Let's look at a few of the most important ones.

Daenys 'The Dreamer' Targaryen

As all fans know, House Targaryen originally hailed from Old Valyria. Though they were Dragon Riders, the Targaryens were considered one of the lower Valyrian noble Houses. Things began to change when Daenys Targaryen was born into the family. Daenys revealed herself from an early age as a Dragon Dreamer, so much so that she earned the nickname 'The Dreamer'. Daenys was also the first rider of Balerion, the dragon who would become known as the Black Dread a few generations later when Aegon I rode him in his conquest of Westeros. At the time he was claimed by Daenys, however, Balerion was a young dragon, barely the size of a horse.

Shortly after claiming Balerion, Daenys, still a young maiden, experienced a dragon dream foretelling the Doom of Valyria. Despite her youth, Daenys's Father, Lord Aenar Targaryen, trusted her visions, and arranged for his family to relocate to Westeros. Many of the other Dragon Lords sneered at Aenar's decision to flee, but House Targaryen had the last laugh twelve years later, when the Doom occurred just as Daenys foresaw, the other Dragon Lords were killed, and the Targaryens avoided the brutal power struggles of the following Century of Blood.

Aegon the Conqueror

The Targaryens eventually settled on Dragonstone, which offered the most hospitable environment for their Dragons, and for a number of generations lived in relative peace with the other noble houses of the seven then self-contained and separately ruled Kingdoms that made up Westeros. This eventually changed when Lord Aegon Targaryen, who had claimed the by then much larger Balerion as his own, decided to conquer Westeros and rule over all seven Kingdoms as their one true King, Aegon I. He was aided in this endeavour by his Sister-Wives, Visenya, the first rider of Vhagar, and Rhaenys, who rode Meraxes.

The decision to conquer Westeros was not made on a whim. Season one of House of the Dragon revealed that Aegon experienced a Dragon Dream, in which he foresaw the arrival of the Night King and Army of the Dead as depicted in Game of Thrones, as well as a prophecy that one born of his bloodline would unite the realm to face the threat. Aegon's decision to become the Conqueror was a pre-emptive action to place House Targaryen in a ruling and unifying position before the events of the prophecy, passed down through his heirs, came to pass.

Helaena Targaryen

King Viserys I Targaryen had what he believed to be a Dragon Dream, which for a time, led him to believe that a son of his would be the Promised Prince of Aegon I's prophecy. However, it seems the true Dragon Dreamer in Viserys's family was his third-born child and second daughter, Helaena. Throughout season one of House of the Dragon, Helaena makes various cryptic comments, unnoticed by others, that predict certain events, such as Aemond losing his eye before claiming Vhagar, or Princess Rhaenys crashing through the Sept floor aboard Meleys during Aegon II's coronation. In a blink and you'll miss it moment in season two's opening episode, Helaena also appears to foresee the death of her own son, Jaehaerys.

By the season two finale, it seems Helaena has given up her more cryptic warnings. She appears to briefly infiltrate Daemon Targaryen's final vision at Harrenhal to nudge him onto the right path, and, as mentioned earlier, she does not mince words with Aemond when informing him of his eventual death.

Sometimes, it seems the more prominent Dragon Dreamers exist to keep history on the right path, as Daenys did by ensuring House Targaryen left Valyria before The Doom. Helaena appears to be doing the same, subtly influencing Daemon's fate, though Aemond's seems set in stone.

Helaena's ability as a Dragon Dreamer is not present in Fire and Blood, the book of Targaryen history on which House of the Dragon is based, most likely because those who wrote the accounts of the Dance of Dragons were not aware of it.

This change will make seeing how Helaena's story unfolds in the show's final two seasons especially interesting.