Warning: major spoilers ahead for the Fire & Blood book and potential spoilers for House of the Dragon.
When watching Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, many fans know to keep a watchful eye over sneaky clues that could hint towards future plotlines.
However, some may have missed a brief moment in episode 4 that appeared to foreshadow a character’s death years before it takes place… non book readers, you have been warned.
At the point of the latest episode of the show, the Queen, Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) has two children with her husband, King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) – Aegon Targaryen and baby Helaena Targaryen.
The first time we see Helaena, Alicent is holding the baby in front of a window.
As people who’ve read George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood novel will be aware, this is likely not a coincidence (final warning, anyone who wants to avoid spoilers, to look away now).
In the book, the first volume of which was released in 2018, Helaena ends up marrying her older brother, Aegon, when she’s in her early teens.
A year after their wedding, she gives birth for the first time to twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, with the couple eventually also sharing a third child together, named Maelor.
After King Viserys’ death, despite him previously naming his daughter and eldest child Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen his heir, Aegon is crowned the new king.
This sparks an all-out war between the two sides of the family with many casualties, including Helaena.
At one point, Helaena is forced to make an unimaginably cruel decision by assassins sent by Prince Daemon Targaryen, when they make her choose between saving one out of her two sons.
After being denied the chance to offer her own life instead, Helaena chooses her youngest son to be killed – but her eldest is the one who loses his life.
Sinking into a terrible depression, Helaena eventually decides to end her life, jumping from a window and dying at 21 years old… which is why her first appearance in front of a window is so on the nose.
Several people familiar with what happens in the book couldn’t believe the morbid reference.
‘Ohhh noooo the foreshadowing,’ one person tweeted, while another wrote: ‘Not Helaena Targaryen’s first scene being in front of a window.’
‘This is so foul,’ someone else said, while another praised the writing of the show for being ‘just too good’.
‘The amount of foreshadowing that last episode was unreal,’ one fan commented, after the episode also hinted at another death that’s set to take place in the years to come.
House of the Dragon knows just how to hit the mark when toying with our emotions.
House of the Dragon next airs on Monday at 2am on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
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