Helaena's "Wooden Throne" Prophecy & Meaning For Aegon In House Of The Dragon Addressed By Tom Glynn-Carney

Aegon would have a strong response to Helaena's prophecy about him ruling from a "wooden throne" in House of the Dragon.

In House of the Dragon season 2's ending, the dragon-dreaming Queen Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) reveals the prophesied fates of her brothers Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). While she tells Aemond that he will die being "swallowed up in the Gods Eye... never seen again," Helaena also tells him that Aegon will be king again, and will "sit on a wooden throne." However, since Aegon was fleeing King's Landing with Larys at that time, he has yet to be told of Helaena's vision of his future.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Liam Crowley for House of the Dragon season 3, King Aegon II Targaryen actor Tom Glynn-Carney revealed how his character would react to Helaena's vision, and whether he would believe it. While Viserys and Alicent's eldest son tended to ignore Helaena's prophecies prior to the war, Glynn-Carney believes this specific prophecy of him being king and ruling again would give Aegon much-needed "hope" and "momentum" in a time of deep desperation:

ScreenRant: At the end of season 2, Heleana told Aemond about her vision that Aegon would eventually rule from a wooden throne. If Heleana had ever told Aegon about that vision, do you think he would even believe it or take stock in the idea that it legitimizes him more, or does Aegon just completely ignore Helaena's prophecies?

Tom Glynn-Carney: "I don't know. He'd probably have questions about the wood. 'Why wood?' would probably be the first question. I think if he'd known that, I think Aegon would probably lean into that a little bit. And at the point where he's got no hope at all, any glimmer of hope would be useful to keep him going, keep some momentum and put fuel in the tank. So yeah, I think he'd find that pretty positive and encouraging."

Considering the Iron Throne is made of hundreds of melted swords, hearing that Aegon would rule from a throne made of wood would raise numerous questions. Aegon might wonder if the Iron Throne is destroyed and replaced with a wooden seat, if he's ruling as king from somewhere other than King's Landing, or if there's another more worrying reason why his return to power would come with a wooden throne.

Regardless of the peculiar throne description, Glynn-Carney states that if Aegon had learned about Helaena's prophecy, it would have been the fuel that he needed to further inflame his vengeance against both Aemond and Rhaenyra. Knowing nothing about this vision in reality, Aegon has little hope for his reign heading into season 3, with Aemond trying to kill and replace him as king within Team Green while Rhaenyra and Team Black seek to kill him on the other side.

As House of the Dragon season 3's trailers have teased, the burned and severely injured Aegon will still be fighting for his life on the road as he travels with Larys. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra and Daemon are seen at King's Landing as Aemond Targaryen appears at Harrenhal, the ruined castle located on the shores of the Gods Eye, the lake where Helaena envisioned he would die.

With showrunner Ryan Condal revealing that House of the Dragon season 4 will be the hit Game of Thrones prequel's final outing, there isn't much more time remaining before the series reveals whether Helaena's prophecies about Aemond and Aegon's fates will come true. HBO currently has season 4 slated for a 2028 release, approximately two years after House of the Dragon season 3's eight-episode arc comes to an end this summer.

Release Date August 21, 2022

Network HBO

Directors Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel

Writers Gabe Fonseca

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  Fabien Frankel

  Ser Criston Cole