It's very common in the heroic poems that the characters have only two choice and both of them are usually bad. It doesn't really matter how clever the hero is, for instance in Helgakvida Helgi had to kill the father and brother of his love.

The theme in Helgakvida is Helgi's and Sigrun's relationship and their love. Trouble arises very early in the poems and the situation of two choices and both bad comes up. In the end comes Sigrun's grief and how she copes with it.

Helgakvida is a very dramatic poem about love and death, where the story keeps you interested all the time.