In “Game Of Thrones: House Of The Dragon” we experience King Viserys Targaryen not only worn out by the political intrigues and personal blows of fate, but also not in particularly good physical condition. The injuries he repeatedly sustained on the Iron Throne healed poorly or not at all – requiring an amputation of two fingers. He also has sores on his back that won’t heal. Overall, the good man doesn’t look particularly fit…
We have already explained in detail in another article what the constant injuries to the Iron Throne are about: This often happened to the Targaryens, the throne essentially “eats” bad rulers. But why do the king’s wounds heal so poorly? And why doesn’t he seem to be in particularly good physical condition overall? For example, he wasn’t in great shape during the hunt in episode 3 and seems to be in pain? Viserys actor Paddy Considine explained this on the ‘Game Of Thrones’ podcast West of Westeros by .
“Viserys suffers from a form of leprosy. His body is falling apart, his bones are crumbling. Actually, he’s not old. He’s still a young man here. Unfortunately, this thing just took over his body. It will a metaphor for what it means to be king, the stress and tension that entails and what it does to you physically and mentally.”said Considine.
So while the cuts to the throne speak to the fact that Viserys is not a capable king, his health shows that his office is under strain and that he is in danger of collapsing under the burden – his body is already doing so.
Does Viserys die from his illness?
It should be no secret that Viserys will eventually die in ‘House Of The Dragon’ – after all, the series is mainly about the question of his succession to the throne and the civil war ‘Dance of the Dragons’ that it will later unleash.
While Viserys, after giving up hope of a male heir, has named his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) as his heir, many within and outside the royal court are demanding that Viserys’ now-born son Aegon become the next king. So Rhaenyra and Aegon will fight for the throne in the future. But will Viserys die from his illness? Warning, spoilers follow!
George RR Martin does not mention a clear cause of death for the Targaryen King in the original series “Fire and Blood”. He doesn’t suffer from any illness in the bookthis was created for the series to make Viserys’ suffering more vivid – but the injuries to the throne are also present in the book and they are even more serious than in the series.
Whether Viserys’ death is related remains up in the air, but his condition worsens after the cuts begin to pile up as he ages. In the original book, Viserys dies in her sleep; the exact reasons remain unknown.
“House Of The Dragon” is currently celebrating its free TV premiere on ProSieben. Today, January 22, 2024, episodes 5 and 6 can be seen there from 8:15 PM. The next two episodes can now be viewed on Joyn’s streaming service. The latter is probably the better option, as TV broadcast cuts are sometimes quite significant due to early airtime: