House of the Dragon – Things you may have thought wrong about Viserys Targaryen
Viserys has more to hide than you think.
House of the Dragon has said goodbye to many actors, such as the original cast of the series. The actors who have remained attached to the film from the beginning are Paddy Considine and his character King Viserys. But whatever must come must come, death officially begins the deadly dance between this king’s Targaryen dragons and this episode 8 will be the last episode we get to see Considine portray the character. Viserys.
As a character who has hardly changed from the beginning until now, Viserys has left many impressions. If you pay close attention, it turns out that this king also has many hidden interesting points. It’s clear that House of the Dragon is portraying a Viserys that is both similar and different from the original. Here’s what you might have misunderstood about Viserys the First.
1. Viserys is not a Dragon Rider
Surprise? Viserys is a dragon rider! Dragons are the glorious symbol of House Targaryen and the house has had its share of famous knights – like Aegon the Conqueror. Although hardly mentioned in the film, die-hard fans of the original House of the Dragon will know that Viserys is also a dragon rider and that his dragon is the greatest figure in the family’s history – Balerion the Black Dread.
Living from a time when this family did not yet rule Westeros, Balerion was a war dragon lucky enough to die old. After many battles, it died during the reign of Jaehaerys I, during which time the dragon bonded with a young and healthy Viserys. The two planned to fly back to the Valyrian ruins like their ancestors, but Balerion was too old to make such a long journey. Then, it breathed its last. The connection between the two is perhaps the most profound. When Balerion died, Viserys refused to bond with any more dragons – something we all knew could happen when we saw Vhagar accept Aemond in episode 7.
Many historians of the kingdom saw it as a sign that the Targaryens had entered an age where their greatness was receding. It seems that this omen was correct as Viserys’s death set in motion events that would weaken the family until Daenerys’s generation. She and Aegon VI (Jon Snow) are the last descendants of the Valeria dragonrider bloodline
2. Viserys was a bad king
Not a warrior or possessing supernatural abilities as predicted, nor appearing on a dragon’s back, tormented by a mysterious illness, and often being teased by his younger brother, that is a common image. seen in Viserys. So it’s no wonder viewers often misunderstand Viserys as a weak king. However, moments in House of the Dragon show the opposite, such as when he forces his daughter to marry to keep the kingdom intact.
It is true that Viserys ascended the throne during a time when the kingdom was still prosperous, but not everyone could maintain that prosperity. Just look at Aegon I’s descendants struggling during the years of their reign. Viserys repeatedly acted wisely in the face of pirates’ provocations and was tough with Daemon in private, as well as proving that he did not just listen to his courtiers in remarrying or appointing heirs.
Among the Targaryens, Viserys was one of the few who was able to rule the kingdom without causing any civil war for 26 years, during which he maintained his position as heir to Rhaenyra for 24 years. The council always wanted to replace her with a prince. The reign of Viserys I was peaceful and prosperous, despite his own shortcomings, with a gentle, benevolent and loving personality, the king was very popular with both commoners and nobles.
3. The relationship between Viserys and Alicent
In a cruel world like The House of the Dragon and, more broadly, Game of Thrones, where children can kill their fathers, husbands and wives plot against each other behind glass doors, find a little romance or happy endings. Queen is always a comfort to fans, so after witnessing Viserys’s first marriage and its similarities to the marriage between Ned Stark and Catelyn Stark, we are once again devastated. And suddenly, some fans wanted to believe that the marriage between Alicent and Viserys had some love, or at least that Viserys had feelings for Alicent.
This is not correct. Viserys did not want to choose to marry his niece because he would have to wait a few years for her to be of childbearing age, and he was aware of his own health situation. The need of the hour was for a male descendant to strengthen the Targaryen line in the eyes of loyal houses. And Alicent ticks all the boxes. Alicent also did not love Viserys, this marriage was an obligation. However, both respect each other. In the world of House of the Dragon, that’s the second best thing.
4. Viserys is a progressive man
Today’s series always have progressive “messages” hidden somewhere in the plot. And in the context of Fantasy series like The Rings of Power, it’s a disaster. Luckily, House of the Dragon doesn’t suffer from this. Viserys is not a model of progress or something “woke”.
As mentioned above, the king did not choose to marry Alicent because he did not want to marry a child, but because Alicent was closer to childbearing age than his cousin, and the king was aware of his health over the years. this month. He simply couldn’t wait until Laena was an adult.
Setting up his adult daughter as his successor does not mean he is against the gender discrimination that characterizes House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones. It is true that Viserys believed that Rhaenyra was the best incarnation of him and his first wife Aemma and believed that it was better for the kingdom than to appoint an heir simply because the position required a prince. Compared to other nobles in Westeros, Viserys is a bit more advanced but not the light of progress that an age awaits. In fact, the king cannot go beyond his duty and obligation and he is aware of this.
5. Viserys is too soft on Daemons
Every family will have children and grandchildren who are different from others. In Viserys’s family, that person was Daemon, the embodiment of his troubles and headaches as brother and king. An opinion that often appears is that Viserys was too soft on Daemon, causing his needy younger brother to want to sit on his head. However, this king has his reasons.
Daemon has a guard force extremely loyal to him, a dragon and a warrior, and more importantly, Daemon is family. Viserys never corrected Daemon’s actions in public, but he did so in private. Because if outsiders witness the brothers’ discord, the kingship will appear divided and that means the Targaryen family is vulnerable. However, if you think Viserys loves this younger brother, you are right! It’s ironic that in the House of the Dragon universe, the Targaryen family during Viserys’s time has many similarities to the Stark family in Game of Thrones.
6. Just a helpless father
The Game of Thrones universe has very few great fathers, and this short list includes one more named Viserys. Although Rhaneyra and Viserys’s scenes are few, and they often begin with a bout of rebellion on his part, these are the moments in which he teaches his daughter valuable lessons about rule, duty, and tradition. tradition, the importance of compromise and flexibility, the fragility of kingship, as well as reminding her where the family’s true strength comes from. Besides, he always tries his best to protect her position as heir against thousands of people who are trying to gain money from the king’s throne. But these details only made Rhaenyra’s fate more tragic, because they could not save her from herself.
However, if we talk about Viserys, he did everything for his descendants, even trying to ease the discord between them. That alone makes him better than all the “father of the year, I wish he wasn’t my dad” bunch here.
