helaena is not a character in her own right

she doesn't really exist if not as a means of redemption for alicent, who might've agreed to her sons being killed, but is at least trying to save her daughter

we rarely see her, and when we do it's always with alicent in a scene that has nothing to do with helaena, and all to do with whatever inner conflict alicent is dealing with at that moment

ex. helaena grieving jaehaerys, but the scene is actually about alicent's conflict regarding the funeral (and the whole criston thing, which i'm sorry i still find it so fucking deranged that alicent decided that that was something she should bring up in that moment)

ex. helaena still grieving and it very clearly having taken a physical toll on her, but the scene is actually about alicent debating whether the war she helped start is worth it (and the whole "i was happier before i was queen" was purely inserted so people could make sad edits of alicent, and you'll have to pry this truth away from my cold dead hands)

i understand that she didn't do much in the book, but 1. in the book it's made 100% clear that it's because she lost herself to her grief after blood and cheese, and whilst i don't want to claim that show!helaena isn't grieving, she isn't like locked up in her rooms crying, so she could do something and 2. since when do the writers gaf about the book?

i'm not saying she should've gone fighting or disappeared into the sunset on dreamfyre (the fact that we've never seen them together is a criminal offence btw), but just give me a scene of her existing outside of being a mirror of alicent's innocence and regrets

for good or bad (mostly bad), we've seen other characters grow and know who they are outside of each other - the same can not be said for her, and i think it's annoying (and lowkey starting to get boring for me - it's been a season and a half of her just existing in the background making little comments here and there - the one scene she had that was genuinely hers was blood and cheese, but after that the writers just don't seem that interested in developing her as a character)

even her dreams are never about her - she's in dreamland talking to daemon of all people, telling him that they're characters in a story and telling aemond he's going to die - tormenting second sons, we love to see it, but let's also see helaena without using her for other characters' storylines

"there's no time... there are too many characters", the voices say - ok, simple solution: take out quite literally half of last season, since it was purely filler, take out the unnecessary sa scene this episode, take out the 30 minutes it took for aemond to kiss his own mother, take out alicent wandering in the wilderness, take out hugh's family (i'm sorry if this sounds mean but i can't even explain how little i care), take out the larys foot scene (matter of fact, just take that one out, doesn't have anything to do with helaena)