In his final moments, “House of the Dragon’s” King Viserys was not quite himself. Weakened and riddled with disease, his final words were spoken in an empty, darkened room.
But those final moments are shaping not only the show’s second season — as two battling great houses head toward civil war — but the entire future of Westeros.
“House of the Dragon” is an incredible series that revolves around one decision: Who should succeed King Viserys Targaryen and take the Iron Throne?
While this was always said to be Rhaenyra, Alicent Hightower is convinced that her husband changed his mind.
Despite Alicent Hightower’s best intentions, or attempts to convince herself otherwise, Viserys Targaryen did not change his mind as he always wanted Rhaenyra to succeed him and take the Iron Throne after his death. The Aegon that the late king had been referring to with his final words was The Conqueror, not his son. Nonetheless, Alicent, who was not aware of the Prince Who Was Promised story, could not understand this and differentiate between the two.
Rhaenyra talked to him the night before about the prophecy and asked him why he named her heir. Viserys thought he was talking to Rhaenyra and basically answering her questions from the previous night which lead to a lot of confusion.
“Aegon. His dream. It is true.” – Viserys is talking about Aegon the Conqueror’s dream, but Alicent thinks he’s talking about his own dream of seeing his son (Aegon) on the Iron Throne (the one he talked about in episode 3).
There is a lot of things that Alicent doesn’t understand in between, but she probably chalks it up to Viserys having drunk milk of the poppy (“The Song of Ice and Fire; What he saw in the North.”)
“The Prince that was Promised.” – Viserys is talking about the prophecy. Alicent thinks he’s talking about prince Aegon.
“To unite the realm against the dark. It is you.” – Viserys is telling Rhaenyra that he thinks she is the prince that was promised; Alicent thinks it’s Viserys’ words to Aegon (or perhaps to her, that she should guide everybody to Aegon as his last wish).
He also didn’t say “I want Aegon to be king”. That was Alicent’s interpretation of the murmurs that he said. What he said was, “You asked if I believed in Aegon’s Dream— the song of ice and fire— and it is your heir [that must sit the iron throne], it is you.”
It’s easy to understand why Alicent could take that as “Aegon is the new heir,” but it was meant for his daughter. So now the Greens are not only usurping the throne but throwing the future of the realm into question.
So a whole lot of confusion on Alicent’s and Viserys’ part. By seeing his first wife Aemma — and not Alicent — it seems much clearer that Viserys was thinking of her, as well as their daughter Rhaenyra by association. His mention of “Aegon” was almost certainly in relation to the dream and, so, Aegon I.
That means Viserys didn’t change his mind in his final moments, no matter what Alicent wanted to think.
In his rambling, sick state, Viserys thought he had been talking to his daughter about Aegon The Conquerer when he was speaking to his wife, and this confusion ultimately started one of the most important wars in the history of Westeros.
During his years of life, King Viserys made it very clear he wanted Rhaenyra to succeed him despite the pressures of his team and even some of his family. This decision never wavered, and as such, Rhaenyra is the true rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
We all know by now how Alicent interpreted what Viserys said: She took it as a mandate to put their son, Aegon II, on the throne — despite Viserys’ publicly stated intent to place his daughter Rhaenyra in charge once he was gone.
A combination of “we’ve never had a queen on the Iron Throne” misogyny, mixed with the fact that Aegon II was the first son of Viserys’ who lived, plus the murky words of the king made things pretty easy once Viserys wasn’t around to change things back. And so, in Season One, Episode Nine, Aegon II is crowned — and Queen Rhaenyra is out Dragonstone, fomenting her takeover.
According to Viserys, the dream indicated that the world of men will end starting with a long winter that begins in the North. Darkness will follow and destroy the world of the living — and Westeros can only survive if a Targaryen is on the Iron Throne.
This prophecy was engraved on a dagger that belonged to Aegon I, which Viserys shows to Rhaenyra:
“From my blood come the prince that was promised and his will be the song of ice and fire.”
King Viserys never changed his opinion, however, you can’t blame Alicent too much for thinking that he had. Alongside the confused conversation they shared, Otto Hightower, Alicent’s father, fanned the flames that pushed her to pursue Aegon’s position as the head of the family.
So, In The House of the Dragon, you can be sure that Rhaenyra should be the leader of the Realm, not her brother. It remains to be seen how this battle will play out as the show progresses and what new information could come to light that would change the perception of the decision to do battle on both sides.
So, did Viserys’ last words make sense to you, or do you think they could have been clearer?
Recent Comments