Man, Game of Thrones is a weird franchise. After four amazing seasons of television, it just disappeared off the face of the earth. Then, bam! A prequel spin-off. Maybe one day they’ll go back and finish the original. Who knows?
House of the Dragon is a refreshing return to everything that made Game of Thrones so good. Gone are the constant cock jokes, the mindless action, and brain-dead plot twists. Now, we’re back to the things that really matter: good dialogue and complex characters.
We’ve got a whole royal family to choose from. It’s only natural that we start with the king: Viserys Targaryen.
Oh, and of course: spoilers ahead. Obviously.
The Want: The Prince and the Iron Crown
Viserys was a peaceful king in a peaceful time. If the game of thrones had difficulty options, he’d be playing on easy mode. Threats to his rule and the Seven Kingdoms were minimal, and only one remained a thorn in his side for more than a few years. Most of his difficulties came from keeping his family from killing each other.
Most people would love to rule in such easy times. But Viserys had his worries. Would he be remembered as a good king, despite never proving himself by overcoming hardship? His people loved him, but would the histories do the same?
Maybe it was this fear that made him so determined to believe the dream. A simple dream, in which his son would unify the Seven Kingdoms completely and bring upon it a golden age of glory and peace with an iron crown on his head. Thus, he determined to have a male heir and make the dream reality.
A desire, unfortunately, that led him to make the worst mistake of his life.
The Wound: A Gruesome Choice
One problem: Viserys’ first wife suffered from more than a few complications with birth. At the show’s beginning, we see the last time. Once this final child is born, she’d bear no more children.
Unfortunately, there were once again problems with the birth. Both mother and child would die. Or… they could save one at the cost of the other.
So it was that Viserys made a terrible choice. His wife for his son. It was a gruesome act, nothing short of bloody, torturous, agonizing murder. But when it was done, the king finally had his prince.
For one day.
The Lie: The Perfect Family
After the deaths of his wife and son, Viserys became fiercely protective of his family. His new wife, his firstborn daughter, all the sons and daughters and grandchildren to come. Even his brother, ever the thorn in his side.
One might even say he loved them to a fault. He never recognized their shortcomings. Never punished them for their mistakes. Only when they began to nip at each other did he act, and by then, it was too little too late. He spoiled them.
And one does not spoil dragons without consequences.
The Need: The Strength to Unify
Viserys was a weak king. So he believed. So he feared. He ruled his kingdom and his family alike with a gentle hand.
Yet a king without strength cannot rule. Daemon believed this, and took it upon himself to act as his brother’s hand of power, much to Viserys’ chagrin. Though Daemon went much too far, he did have a point. He just had a more twisted way of going about it.
Ironically, it was when Viserys was at his weakest that he found his strength to rule. When his house threatened to split in two, the near-dead Viserys rose up to his throne one last time. More importantly: when it came time for the family dinner, he managed to get them all to get along. In his final days, he became a pillar that held the House of the Dragon together.
Unfortunately, he was the only pillar. One that would not last much longer.
Conclusion
Right from his introduction, I found Viserys to be a fascinating character. While he seemed weak, and in many ways he was, he had a certain power to him. Like a jolly uncle that you can’t bring yourself to hate, who keeps the peace at family gatherings.
I’m sad he won’t be returning in season two. But his story in the first season was remarkably solid. Come what may for House of the Dragon, Viserys will stand as one of the show’s best characters even ’till the end.
So, this is what it looks like when a good man wins the game of thrones.
Shame that good men stopped playing after he was gone.
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