I sometimes feel bad for her. Things could have been so different.

There has to be a character death, otherwise they're just being kept around and defying the main plot of the show. Either they die or get killed, someone has to get the ax at some point but anyone would still cause quite a stir among fans. For me, if Helena goes, I wouldn't be too heart broken because she was the one who was recently 'won over' for me, the others I loved much quicker so...