©2009-2010 ~ABCreatiefABHelga is something of a tomboy, as evidenced by her interest in playing contact sports alongside her male classmates, blatant lack of femininity, and disregard, to near dislike, for stereotypical female behavior, as seen in the episode "Helga's Makeover". She can also be very sarcastic, cynical and bossy, bullying her fourth-grade classmates with an iron fist, and often taking advantage of her best friend, Phoebe. However, Helga also has a much softer side, which becomes apparent mostly when she is alone and in her school work. She is heavily emotional, and as such, able to comprehend spectrum emotions such as love and hate. Occasionally Helga has acted in a more selfless manner the biggest examples being when Helga blackmailed Olga's boyfriend into leaving, knowing Olga would be miserable with him, and when she helped in finding Mr Hyunh's daughter. During both these events Helga made sure she was able to cover up her involvement. This emotional extremity is a running joke throughout the series; although Helga is seen as a "tough girl" by her classmates, she is frequently the first to go into hysterics in times of crisis. Helga is extremely intelligent. In the episode "The Aptitude Test", in which the class takes a standardized exam, it is eventually revealed that she achieved a perfect score on the test and the most outstanding result since her perfectionist sister, Olga Pataki, took the test. Presumably, however, the types of grades she receives on an average basis in school vary from low to high—in the episode "Quantity Time," Helga tells her parents that she failed another math test at school, though in "A Day In The Life Of A Classroom", her teacher Mr. Simmons encourages Helga to help Harold because she received excellent scores on the past two math exams. Her bad grades are most likely caused by her lack of motivation, attention (from both her family and Arnold), and academic concern. Helga appears to excel academically in literature classes, as evidenced by Mr. Simmons's constant praise of her literary work though always withholds her name possibly out of respect as she gets embarrassed from when he reads them aloud. Helga displays a remarkable gift for poetry, creating dramatic soliloquies expressing a situation or feeling with a generous use of vocabulary, especially for someone her age. These instances were more simple in the earlier episodes, but as the series progressed, grew in their intensity. Aside from poetry, Helga exhibits further aspects of cultural experience, being able to identify the work of Edward Hopper and make reference to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four in "Helga on the Couch".
Helga is regarded by most of her peers as a bully. She makes rude remarks and does not hesitate to use or threaten physical force to get her way, which intimidates many of her classmates. She even gave her fists names: Ol' Betsy and the Five Avengers.
Helga is secretly in love with Arnold, despite the fact that she is constantly teasing him and calling him names (usually 'Football Head', in reference to his rather oddly shaped head). Various episodes have her going to the extreme to prevent her secret from being exposed. One such example is the episode “Helga Blabs it All” in which, under the influence of Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) from a dental filling, she leaves a love declaration on Arnold’s answering machine. After beating up and taking the clothes of a “Campfire Lass” (equivalent to Girl Scouts of the USA), she pretends to be selling cookies in order to gain entry to Arnold's house and steal the tape before he can hear it. In one of the show's most noteworthy episodes, "Helga on the Couch", she actually discusses her obsession with the school psychiatrist (voiced by Kathy Baker). Herein it is revealed her limerence towards Arnold is the result of transference; where her family relationships were weak, Helga subsequently transferred all feelings of love towards the one person who fulfilled her idea of care, Arnold. This is revealed by a flashback in which during Helga's first day of pre-school, her family seemed to completely ignore her existence, forcing her to make the trek to school alone in the rain and mud. Upon arriving at school, it is Arnold who offers her a helping hand and true kindness. Helga confesses her love after being caught helping Arnold, by Arnold, in Hey Arnold!: The Movie though the two both agree afterward that it was in the heat of the moment. It is also sometimes hinted in the series Arnold has strong feelings for Helga. Events in episodes like "Married", with Arnold's nightmare of married life climaxing with a heartfelt attempt by the dream Helga to express her love, also implies he has as much trouble as Helga has coming to terms with how deep his feelings are. The show's producer, Craig Bartlett, revealed during an Internet chat that had the second movie, The Jungle Movie (which was planned but never produced), been made, Arnold would have realized he and Helga were meant for each other, and finally reciprocated her feelings. Although Helga has acknowledged her feelings regarding Arnold, she opts to keep them private by publicly denying and rejecting Arnold through displays of verbal abuse. It is suggested in various episodes that Helga treats Arnold as such due to her fear that revealing her true feelings would cause her embarrassment and humiliation. In "Helga On The Couch," Helga also expresses her fear of being rejected by Arnold.
source: WIKI
