The Old King, Jaehaerys I Targaryen was succeeded by his grandson, Viserys to the Iron Throne. Both kings maintained peace in the realm and kept it united against threats. Viserys I Targaryen’s reign was peaceful, by and large, but issues in the form of the conflict in the Stepstones, the question of his successor, his defiant daughter, remarriage, and an unnamed illness arose. The king spent his life dealing with these problems, and there was a gradual decline in his physical health as well. At the beginning ofHouse of the Dragonseason 1, episode 1, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” Viserys was slumped over in a chair as maesters examined his back for a wound that produced pus and grew slightly. “It’s a small cut from sitting the throne. It’s nothing,” he scoffed while his Hand, Otto ordered the Grand Maester to keep the king’s affliction under wraps.
At the end ofHouse of the Dragon’s pilot episode, Viserys looked down and saw he’d cut his little finger from sitting the Iron Throne. InHouse of the Dragonseason 1, episode 2, “The Rogue Prince,” he was asked to dip his hand in a bowl of maggots to stop the infection, or as the Grand Maester called it “the Rot” from advancing. By House of the Dragon season 1, episode 3 “Second of His Name,” Viserys' had lost two of his fingers. Furthermore, the time jumps betweenHouse of the Dragonepisodes 2 and 3 marked a decline in Viserys' health and the episodes pointed to the fact that he suffered from a slow-moving, and degenerative illness.
RELATED:House Of The Dragon: Meleys' Death & Battle At Rook’s Rest, Explained
Viserys' Rot Spreads
Paddy Considine who portrayed Viserys I TargaryeninHouse of the Dragonrevealed that his character was “…suffering from a form of leprosy” in a podcast interview (perEntertainment Weekly). The actor also reflected on the mental and emotional toll of Viserys' illness, saying, “It becomes a metaphor for being king, and the stress and strain that it puts on you, and what it does to you physically, what it does to you mentally.” In another interview, Considine mapped his character’s physical deterioration, saying, “There was certain amount of, like, in Episode 2, he’s got half a finger. Episode 3, his fingers are starting to go. By 4, he’s lost half of his arm. That had to be worked out because of the VFX work for missing digits and things like that. The only thing that changed was how bad he got in Episode 8.” (perVariety)
The truth of the matter is that Viserys kept suffering in secret. This can simply be attributed to the ableism in the Middle Ages. Becausethe Targaryen kingwholeheartedly believed in the Conqueror’s dream, which in his words needed a strong king to unite the realm, he had no choice but to keep it hidden from the public for as long as he could. There came a time in his life when every man woman and child in the Seven Kingdoms knew of his illness. InHouse of the Dragonseason 1, episode 5, “We Light the Way,” Viserys got seasick when he set sail to High Tide and fainted while stepping out of his carriage in King’s Landing. As he collapsed to the ground, “Fetch the Maester! Get Mellos! Prepare the crucible… We’ll need leeches!” yelled out his attendees.
While Grand Maester Mellos continued the leech therapy, time revealed its futility. The attending maester, Orwyle prepared a fresh set of “herbal poultices” that he felt could prove to be more effective, but he was shot down. No matter how hard the maesters tried, the king’s left arm was beyond salvage. At this point, the dispirited Viserys wondered how the histories would remember him, as he never fought nor conquered but merely maintained peace. ByHouse of the Dragonseason 1, episode 6 “The Princess and the Queen,” the king had lost his left arm to the rot and in episode 7 “Driftmark” even Daemon was forced to remark that the gods had been especially cruel to his brother.
The End Of Viserys' Reign
House of the Dragonseason 1, episode 8 “The Lord of the Tides” is remembered for Viserys' memorable throne room entrance. The six-year time jump between episode 7 and 8 revealed he no longer presided over the council meetings, but Alicent and Otto saw to the day-to-day affairs of the realm. Viserys had multiple maesters dressing his lesions, and he looked like a ghost of his former self. He moaned in pain, hid his face behind a gold mask, and needed assistance climbing the stairs to the throne. Because he was indisposed, his Hand, the cunning Otto sat the throne in his stead. However, when Viserys' grandsons andRhaenyra’s sons, Lucerysand Jacaerys' legitimacy was called into question, and Vaemond laid claim to Driftmark, the king left his deathbed to hear the petition himself. He shocked every attendee in the throne room when he arrived to save his daughter.
Viserys' last happy memorywas that of the whole of his family gathered at supper in Red Keep. He took off his gold mask to reveal he’d lost half of his face, including his right eye to the rot. “My own face is no longer a handsome one if indeed it ever was. But tonight, I wish you to see me as I am. Not just a king but your father, your brother, your husband, and your grandsire who may not, it seems, walk for much longer among you. Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts. The crown cannot stand strong if the house of the dragon is divided. Set aside your grievances. If not for the sake of the crown then for the sake of this old man who loves you all so dearly,” he made an earnest plea to his kin.
Viserys passed away in his chambers inHouse of the Dragonepisode 8. He died deliriously, mistook Alicent for Rhaenyra, andrelayed Aegon’s dream to her, leading her to believe he chose Aegon as his successor. As for the numerous cuts he got from sitting the throne, it symbolized the royal chair rejecting him as an unworthy monarch. Viserys maintained superficial peace while the threat of a civil war loomed over the realm. He acted oblivious to the complexities of Rhaenyra’s first marriage, the paternity of her children, and the complexities of her succession. He married the wrong person (Alicent) and trusted the wrong man (Otto). While kind, he was, Viserys was a terrible leader.
MORE:Game Of Thrones: Every Queen Who Has Ruled The Seven Kingdoms, Explained
