Tons of House of the Dragon fans consider Helaena Targaryen to be the sleeper fan favorite on the show.

The widespread love for her has been unexpected, but thousands of viewers have banded together to hype her up as a character.

Helaena has been through a lot on House of the Dragon, and the actress who brings her to life is named Phia Saban.

Does Phia feel connected to the character of Helaena in the slightest? Here’s what you should know.

When Vulture asked Phia if Helaena was truly magical or merely insane, Phia responded by saying, “My take is that she’s an extremely sensitive person and hasn’t been nurtured by her family dynamic. I see her magic as an extremely intense form of intuition. That intuition is very real, but the general rumble of anxiety in her life and this feeling of not being heard or understood clouds the precision of her intuition. Because it’s never been validated, it seems more vague and people take it as madness.”

The magic versus insanity question stems from the fact that Helaena’s character is a dreamer who receives hints about what’s to come in the future.

According to Decider, Phia also described Helaena as being “neurodivergent.”

There have been a lot of conversations about whether Helaena is a special needs individual or not.

Some are under the impression that she isn’t special needs, but she’s constantly overwhelmed with magical thoughts that no one else understands or relates to and that’s the only reason she comes across as so incredibly awkward and strange.

So, to answer the question of whether or not Phia relates to the character of Helaena, it seems that she has a soft spot in her heart for Helaena since she knows the character is unfairly critiqued and judged by just about everyone around her.

She knows Helaena doesn’t feel like she fits in with her family based on the different way her mind works.

If you’re curious to know where else you might recognize Phia from, she also starred on a show called The Last Kingdom that aired for five seasons between 2015 and 2022.

If you’re curious to know more about Phia in the real world outside of her time playing Helaena on House of the Dragon, she currently has a little more than 200,000 followers on Instagram.

Her IG feed is full of images that display what her life is like when she isn’t busy filming.

She seems to be a super social young woman who enjoys hanging out with her friends whenever she has the opportunity.

What do you think of Phia‘s connection to Helaena on House of the Dragon? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.