Helaena Targaryen has struck again: Even as a teenager (Evie Allen), the daughter of Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Viserys (Paddy Considine) accurately predicted that her brother Aemond would lose an eye but in return gain a dragon, as well as the civil war prophesies what ‘House In The Dragon’ is about. And in episode 9, as an adult woman (Phia Saban) the end predicted, in which Rhaenys (Eva Best) breaks through the floor of the dragon pit on her dragon Meleys.
Interestingly enough, this prophecy was even heard in episode 8 (!). At the big Targaryen-Velaryon family dinner, where it seems for a moment as if the impending ‘Dance of the Dragons’ can be avoided after all, she says shortly before her toast: ‘Beware of the beast under the planks.’
At the time, those who knew George RR Martin’s book ‘Fire and Blood’ understood this at least as a hint at a terrible event in Helaena’s own future – keyword blood and cheese. A “beast under the planks” could also be a rat, and many of these little critters have already meaningfully run through the image in “House Of The Dragon”. You can read more about this in this article (warning, spoilers!):
In episode 9, the phrase “Beware of the beast under the planks” is uttered again – and after the finale of “House of the Dragon“with Rhaenys and Meleys has a completely different (possible) meaning: Because there is actually a beast (= Meleys) under the planks (= the floor) that those present must be careful of.
True, the floor of the dragon’s den is not covered with boards (by the way, in the English original she also says “boards”), but because Helaena repeats her prophecy in connection with the death of her father and the dispute over the throne, her comment is at least ambiguous.
When two people argue…
And speaking of arguments: there is of course another prophecy from Helaena in episode 9, where “It seems to be our fate that we always long for what others have. If one person has something, another will take it from him.” is already very clear compared to her cryptic statement about beasts and planks.
What is of course meant is the dispute over the Iron Throne or the succession to the thronewhich the two factions of House Targaryen want to steal from each other.