“Aemond’s only acts of compassion of the season are tied to his sister, for whom he may have deeper feelings.”
— Geeta Patel on Helaemond in season two.
“The relationship with Helaena and Aemond, I don’t wanna spoil too much of it, but you see in this moment that maybe Aemond is starting to cotton on, he started to cotton on to this prophetic kind of power that she possesses.”
— Ewan Mitchell for Esquire
“There’s definitely a few times in series two, where me and Phia Saban […] we looked at each other and we were like ‘are we serving up Helaemond in this scene?’ And we were like ‘yeah.’”
— Ewan Mitchell when asked about the Helaemond child theory for Serieously
“The unspoken agreement of the family is that Helaena will do things to make it easier for Alicent. She’ll marry Aegon, a brother who sh- she doesn’t even think likes her. […] Does she want the path that her mother’s endured?”
— Phia on Helaena being used politically for TVLine
Aemond doesn't leave King's Landing at the end of episode 8. So, with Alicent and Aegon gone, Helaena and Aemond (+ Jaehaera) are the last ones left in the castle.
This means they'll likely be in scenes together early next season. I wonder what will happen?
#HOTDS2
“Helaena was the one person that Aemond felt connected to, that could actually tame the beast that was Aemond […] the scene where he’s arguing with Alicent and then leaves [..] he left because he saw that he hurt Helaena.”
— Geeta Patel on the Helaemond arm grab in 2x08.
PS: “But does she have a choice? I don’t know. Do we all have a choice? Do any of us have a choice?”
EM: “Destiny… and all that.”
PS: “Destiny is all!”
— Phia Saban and Ewan Mitchell for Blavity TV
Aemond reaches out a quivering hand to Helaena’s forearm, just brushing her dress.
This is the antithesis of his earlier mistreatment, a thing he deeply regrets.
The first real remorse we see from Aemond this season, a man who burns innocents, and it is with Helaena.
#HOTD
“With this whole incest stuff, I think it could be very, very, um, possible. […] We’ll have to ask Helaena.”
— Harry Collett on the Helaemond children theory for Serieously
“She knows him, and she loves him. That is what keeps the family together, is knowing each other and loving each other, even when it gets complicated.”
— Phia Saban for Variety 🎤
“That [Aemond fathering Helaena’s kids] would be really interesting. […] Ooh that would be messy. Ooh that’d be a hell of an episode!”
— Matthew Needham for Serieously
"Helaena can say whatever she wants to him and it actually goes through his armor somehow [...] and gets to his heart."
–– Geeta Patel, Director of 2x08.
A nameless blonde girl dances in the brothel whilst Aemond is in a private room. (2x02)
The actress originally auditioned for Helaena and looks quite similar to her. This was a passing appearance, but as she was in the trailer, she'll likely reoccur and be more relevant soon.
“Aemond is with Helaena again, at the end, you ask yourself, why isn’t he slapping her? Why isn’t he throwing her off the ledge?”
“She’s saying all these things because she can. […] she has a power that nobody else has over him.”
— Geeta Patel for TV Insider
PS: “That [Aemond being support for Helaena] would be nice, wouldn’t it?”
EM: “I think Aemond’s capable of that love.”
— Phia Saban and Ewan Mitchell for TV Insider 🎥
“Obviously there’s a whole emotional world, [Phia turns to Ewan and touches him] which I’ll also be mysterious and leave it up,”
Phia Saban talking about Helaena’s perfect world for TVLine.
"Sister. We share the same blood, you and I."
Aemond does not speak of their siblings when he says this. It is just them, together. As it always has been.
“That foresight, that power that she possesses. If Aemond […] is able to harness that power to see blows coming before they land, that would be quite dangerous. So going into Season 3, I cannot wait to explore that even further.”
— Ewan Mitchell for Decider.
“They can theorise what they like, and I know all the answers…”
Ewan Mitchell talking about Aemond’s ultimate desire (if he wants power, war, etc) in a TVLine interview.
Aemond and Helaena in the background at the coronation in 1x09.
Helaena's head is turned towards Aemond and she fidgets, unable to look at the crowd and Aegon.
Aemond and Helaena as Aegon waves his sword at the coronation in 1x09.
Helaena is poised towards Aemond and partly hiding behind him by this point. Perhaps Helaena senses the danger, and fears what their brother might become.
(Episode 1 spoilers)
“I wanna make things easy for the people that I love. […] this is why I married my brother, […] is the cost too much? And I think the cost is too much.”
“What’s my place in this family if I don’t accept the cost anymore?”
— Phia Saban for Blavity TV
T: “This pisses me off […] he loves them so much.”
P: “He’s [Aegon] not been the best” she seems to hold back a bit. “He loves the kids, but what about the baby maker?”
T: “Less so.”
P: “Yep!” and then she addresses at the camera with a look.
— Tom and Phia for Serieously
PS: “Grief […] is that lonely. […] It’s, like, so ungrounding. […] those kids, she loves them, but also they’re literally a part of her routine.” “I don’t even know what I’d say to her about it.”
EM: “I don’t know what to say to Aemond,”
— Phia and Ewan for TVLine.
Helaena's gaze is a detached sadness, with a single tear in her eye.
Aemond's malice is nothing. She sees his desperation as he battles the gods and his destiny. But she is calm, grounded in her fate.
Her eyes briefly drift, lingering on Aemond's features, maybe even his lips.
E: “Quite possible.”
S: “Yeah that’s quite possible […] Actually no, the one thing Aegon has done […] is shag people. […] I don’t think so actually but that’s because of what comes later on in season two.”
— Steve Toussaint & Eve Best on Helaemond child theory for Serieously
“In season two, you are gonna see more shades to Aemond. […] Maybe you might even have a different perspective on him. Maybe you’ll be like ‘Oh, I like that character now.’”
— Ewan Mitchell for Blavity TV
“We definitely sprinkled in a little bit of that [Helaemond], me and Phia, in some of the scenes that we share. […] “‘Shall we serve up the Helaemond fans in this take?’”
— Ewan Mitchell
"Come with me... to Harrenhal."
A teary-eyed Aemond pleads with Helaena to join him on his path, despite knowing she won’t. The gentle and inviting words contrast his previous aggression, displaying his guilt/regret.
A decayed bond won't stop his craving for her companionship.
“Helaena is the only person that can really get to Aemond’s heart. He cares about her in a way that breaks through his armour. And he doesn’t have that with anyone else.”
“Helaena is the only person that can keep him as Aemond.”
— Geeta Patel, 2x08 director
#HOTDS2
#Helaemond
“Aemond ironically is one of the people that Helaena feels she can communicate with a little bit better. They have this sort of affinity.”
— Phia Saban on the Helaemond balcony scene for Entertainment Weekly.
Alicent could not get through to Aemond, but Helaena did. Made him cry, even.
She is the only person who is capable of doing so - to slip past that emotional armour and touch his heart.
“I think maybe that’s the only way that you can beat Aemond. Is with love.”
#HOTD
“Aemond's increasingly volatile rage, sexual violence doesn't align with how he's purged that anger […] Aegon is the documented rapist […] the brothers are diametrically opposed in almost every way.”
Maelor’s conception would logically be consensual.
“Her [Helaena’s] words just cut him in half. He always has this idea of where and how things will pan out. She just challenges that, and it breaks him a little bit.”
— Ewan Mitchell for Polygon
"The three of us got together before that [2x08 balcony] scene and talked about it and they delivered. They [Phia Saban and Ewan Mitchell] are outstanding actors and I was also feeling incredibly surprised by how deeply it hit Ewan."
–– Geeta Patel.
“Ewan and I, Aemond, we had something that felt like more of an affinity. And that wasn’t in the script at all,”
— Phia Saban for Still Watching podcast
this account is called ‘helaemondtheory’ because i post theories on here. by no means are these canon, and most are just fun little theories and silly bits of speculation.
please stop taking everything so seriously. if my account bothers you so much, the block button is calling.
“Ryan [Condal, showrunner] and Sara [Hess, writer/executive producer] emphasized when we started shooting this episode was that Helaena was the one person that Aemond felt connected to, that could actually tame the beast that was Aemond,”
— Geeta Patel for TV Insider
“And so the scene where he’s arguing with Alicent and that leaves the room, what was happening — and I don’t know if it reads, it was all kind of between the lines — is that he left because he saw that he hurt Helaena.”
— Geeta Patel for TV Insider
“Aemond is rebuked and Helaena divulges knowledge that, on one hand could make Aemond an enemy, or on the other hand, actually in a way, make Helaena a very valuable ally.”
— Ewan Mitchell for Decider on the balcony scene in 2x08.
“He’s in love with his sister Helaena.”
A leak from way back before season one premiered. This person took down their posts due to copyright, but they got a lot of things correct and were known as reliable.
Apparently their sources read Aemond’s characters sheet. 👀
Aemond’s desperation and thirst for power hurts the person he cares for the most. This war is destroying him, and his purest relationship. Helaena remains angry, and rightfully so.
This tenderness he shows is a rarity, and speaks volumes how easily his mask comes off around her.
Aemond reaches out a quivering hand to Helaena’s forearm, just brushing her dress.
This is the antithesis of his earlier mistreatment, a thing he deeply regrets.
The first real remorse we see from Aemond this season, a man who burns innocents, and it is with Helaena.
#HOTD
“Everything that coin represents very much lives in Aemond's head rent-free. The idea that Daemon got this close, and ultimately Aemond's nephew paid the ultimate price, that's something that does haunt Aemond.”
— Ewan Mitchell for Business Insider
“she’s so powerful and scary to Aemond and Aemond feels that big. [Pinches fingers together to show how small Aemond actually feels.]”
— Ewan Mitchell for Decider on the 2x08 balcony scene.