With all the focus on Daeron Targaryen, House of the Dragon probably thought it was being sneaky by implying that Helaena Targaryen might be pregnant. In Episode 4 of Season 3, “Tumbleton”, a concerned look from Alicent opened a whole can of worms, since if Helaena is carrying her third child, that might mean some substantial narrative gymnastics to include the assumed-missing Prince Maelor.
We must be careful, of course, since the pregnancy is only implied, and even then, anything involving Maelor is only a theory. Either way, the show’s version of events would have to be substantially different from those depicted in Fire & Blood, even if they build to the same inevitable conclusion. But the signs are there, fans are buzzy with speculation, and book fans might get to have their cake and eat it if the show contrives a way to right one of the adaptation’s most notable wrongs.
Course Correction
In Fire & Blood, Maelor is the third child of Aegon II Targaryen and Helaena Targaryen. Famously, he was written out of the show entirely, something lamented by George R. R. Martin himself. Maelor isn’t an especially important character, plot-wise, but he is adjacent to a number of significant developments. He was also integral to the infamous Blood and Cheese storyline from Season 2, which had a slightly different texture thanks to not giving Helaena the Sophie’s Choice moment that haunted her throughout the rest of the story.
In the original version, Blood and Cheese forced her to choose which of her sons would die, and she chose Maelor. Jaehaerys was killed anyway, but Maelor knew she was willing to sacrifice his life, fundamentally altering the texture of their relationship. It also underpinned Helaena’s eventual suicide, something that is supposedly still on the cards, simply for less compelling reasons.
If House of the Dragon is going to have Maelor make a late appearance, it’s going to require some gymnastics plot-wise to make sense.
The Evidence Is Compelling
Fans have been speculating about Helaena potentially being pregnant since earlier in the season, when an errant line about a caterpillar seemed to be a hint of something else. But the most explicit tease came in House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 4, when Alicent seemed to notice some changes in Helaena’s appearance that she promptly covered up.
Alicent’s face is the giveaway, certainly when coupled with Helaena’s secrecy. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a civil war on, so this is arguably the worst time to have a child. Or, perhaps, it’s the best, since a boy would also be a claimant to the Iron Throne, throwing an already muddy line of succession even further into disarray.
Changes to the Timeline
All of Helaena’s children were fathered by Aegon, which becomes tricky given the timing of this pregnancy. Either the show is implying that someone else is the father, which would seem like a pretty needless complication, or it has simply shifted the timeline so that Helaena conceived some time after the Blood and Cheese incident, but prior to the Battle of Rook’s Rest, where Aegon got all messed up and became unable to sire children.
There’s a chance – probably a good one, given the timing – that the show is trying to have its cake and eat it, in a sense, by introducing the idea of Maelor but still using him to fulfil the same function as in the book. In other words, Maelor’s introduction has to, in one way or another, lead to Helaena’s death. And he doesn’t have to be born to do that.
Maelor does eventually die in Fire & Blood, too, so the outcome would be the same for him. If the show is cutting out the events involving Maelor, particularly Bitterbridge, then it’s likely that Helaena could have a miscarriage or that he might die as a babe in one horrifying scenario or another. It’s a very on-brand thing to kill off a newborn, and the trauma of that could easily drive Helaena to suicide.
A Peace Offering
Any high-profile adaptation is always going to be subject to criticism of how it adapts the original text, and House of the Dragon has come in for flak here multiple times. The absence of Maelor was especially noteworthy because of George R. R. Martin’s personal involvement and HBO’s efforts to excuse the excision, which seemed fair enough to me but did little to quell the backlash.
To many, this rework – if indeed that’s what it is – seems to be throwing Martin a bone, but it also feels a bit conciliatory to me and is unlikely to be received well either way. Unlike the considered approach the show is taking with Daeron, which is in itself a risky move, this feels a bit more off-the-cuff and angled towards appeasement.
Still, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – this show, and especially this season, has accumulated enough goodwill for us to put our trust in the showrunners. For now, anyway.
