Since the premiere of House of the Dragon, we’ve been seeing Viserys get cut by the Iron Throne in different places. At first, it was a wound on his back. Later, he got his finger cut by one of the swords on the throne.
In episode 3, we see that Viserys fingers are rotting, and two of them have been chopped. So, why is the Iron Throne cutting Viserys so deeply and often? Moreover, in episodes 5 and 6, we see his health deteriorating at a frightening pace. Does it all have a deeper significance?
Viserys is suffering from a rare form of leprosy. His body, bones, and overall health are deteriorating despite his relatively young age. The wounds caused by the Iron Throne affect his physical body, but leprosy is the main reason behind his frail health.
Who built the Iron Throne? What was its purpose?
The Iron Throne was forged using 1000 battle swords by King Aegon I. He had designed the throne in such a way that any person sitting on it would have to sit in the proper position and be alert.
This was symbolic of how the King of the Seven Kingdoms must rule. So if a person wasn’t careful enough, lethargic, or aloof of his hands and legs at all times, he would suffer from a cut or wound by the Iron Throne.
One particular story that stands testament to this is that of King Maegor the Cruel. He suffered a mysterious death, out of which the superstition about the Iron Throne was born.
How did King Maegor Targaryen die?
Maegor the Cruel was a tyrant, as the name suggests. One night he was sitting on the Iron Throne without anyone’s presence. In the morning, his wife, Elinor, found him dead.
One of the swords from the Iron Throne had pierced through his neck, and both his arms had fresh slash wounds. To date, nobody knows who the murderer was. This incident went on to become significantly important for upcoming generations.
It gave rise to a superstitious belief. People believed the Iron Throne killed the King for being an unjust and oppressive ruler. This meant that the Iron Throne chose its own ruler.
Whether this is superstition or not, there have been numerous kings who the Iron Throne has cut, and their fate hasn’t been good. A few of those men are Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King, Joffrey Baratheon, and of course, Viserys I. So what could this mean?
How is the Iron Throne affecting King Viserys? Will it kill him?
Every wound caused by the Iron Throne seems to be incurable. King Viserys’ fingers being chopped could point to the omen about the throne. Viserys hasn’t been the best king, and I doubt he’ll ever be.
He ascended the throne in relatively more peaceful times. As a result, he’s become complacent. His focus lies too much on the fun and frolic than matters of the state. For instance, he could’ve solved the problem of the Triarchy for Lord Corlys but didn’t do so.
While Viserys isn’t a tyrant, it’s not the standard one should live by. King Viserys is the opposite of everything the Iron Throne and the myth signify. He’s neither aware nor alert. A simple instance of this could be his marriage to Otto Hightower’s daughter, Alicent.
Otto asked Alicent to give the King company when he was still grieving. It was these emotions that Alicent exploited. This led to her marrying King Viserys and having a son with her.
In an earlier episode, we see him being conflicted about the throne’s heir and Rhaenyra’s marriage. In fact, he even admitted to his daughter that he thought of announcing Aegon as the heir at one moment.
While episode 5 ends with Viserys fainting, in episode 6, we see his health declining, and he has become merely a shell of the man he used to be.
If you look at him in episode 7, you’ll see that he is showing symptoms of dementia which usually happens to people in their old age. However, since he suffers from leprosy, the disease is taking a heavy toll on his body. His mind and body are not the same as they used to be.
In fact, if you look at his younger brother Daemon, he still looks young and energetic. However, the same cannot be said for the King, despite him being only slightly older than the Prince.
In the books, King Viserys dies peacefully in his sleep at 52. This death might very well be due to the infection caused by the Iron Throne.
Thus, subtly, the creators of House of the Dragon foreshadowed the death of King Viserys I right from Episode 1. This is an important event because only after this, the feud between the supporters of Aegon and Rhaenyra gets dirty and leads to the civil war.
About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
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