{"id":256872,"date":"2026-08-11T10:34:55","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/house-of-the-dragons-phia-saban-addresses-helaena-book-to-screen-changes-roll-with-the-punches\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T10:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T10:34:55","slug":"house-of-the-dragons-phia-saban-addresses-helaena-book-to-screen-changes-roll-with-the-punches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/house-of-the-dragons-phia-saban-addresses-helaena-book-to-screen-changes-roll-with-the-punches\/","title":{"rendered":"House of the Dragon\u2019s Phia Saban Addresses Helaena Book-to-Screen Changes: \u2018Roll With the Punches\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"


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House of the Dragon<\/em><\/a> star Phia Saban is weighing in on the significant changes made to her character, Helaena Targaryen, in the HBO adaptation of George R.R. Martin<\/strong>\u2019s Fire & Blood<\/em> book.<\/p>\n

In the season 3 finale<\/a>, a pregnant Helaena, who was being held captive by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen \u2014 played by Emma D\u2019Arcy<\/strong> \u2014 died by suicide upon realizing she and her unborn child would likely never be freed but used as pawns in the battle for the Iron Throne.<\/p>\n

In Martin\u2019s Fire & Blood<\/em>, Helaena is not pregnant when she throws herself from a window and impales herself on the spikes below. She is, instead, mourning the death of her third child, son Maelor, who is brutally killed in the ongoing Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. (Presumably, in the show, Helaena is pregnant with Maelor when she dies.)<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you can only play the story that you\u2019re telling,\u201d Saban said of the changes to Helaena in an interview with Variety<\/em><\/a> on Sunday. \u201cSo really it\u2019s the character that I built, and the story that [cocreator] Ryan<\/strong> [Condal<\/strong>] and [writer\/producer] Sara [Hess]<\/strong> and all the writers were creating, that was really all that felt relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>The Most Brutal ‘House of the Dragon’ Deaths So Far: Rhaenys and More<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tHBO Game of Thrones was no stranger to seeing some characters meet pretty gruesome fates, and its prequel, House of the Dragon, is following in a similar vein. The first two seasons of the HBO series have featured many onscreen deaths, from major characters to side players and other citizens of Westeros. Fans of the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

She continued, \u201cBut I know that there are differences in the stories, and I think that some of those differences are really cool. And I don\u2019t think that Helaena would have been maybe such a juicy part for me personally to play if there weren\u2019t some of the differences that have been made. So you kind of just roll with the punches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helaena, the only daughter of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke<\/strong>) and King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine<\/strong>), was considered the most genteel and innocent of Alicent\u2019s children, and her tragic death in Sunday\u2019s season 3 finale comes as a gut-punch for viewers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tragedy,\u201d Saban agreed in her interview with Variety<\/em>. \u201cThat\u2019s definitely the arc of Helaena\u2019s story.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think, as she says earlier, \u2018This is my body, and this is my baby \u2014 and both of those things have been forsaken as long as I\u2019ve lived,\u2019\u201d the actress explained. \u201cAnd she doesn\u2019t want to live the way she\u2019s living anymore, and she feels that she wants to protect the children that she does have. She\u2019s just trying her best.\u201d<\/p>\n

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