The first season of “House of the Dragon” has already begun to lay the groundwork for its largest looming demise. As it immediately creates a line of succession between the wise father and the heir—even if one is intended to rule on the Iron Throne and the other would establish a kingdom of their own—the prequel series is borrowing a page from Game of Thrones. It is not anticipated that he will survive the first season of “House of the Dragon,” just as Ned Stark, the primary character in the first season of Game of Thrones, unexpectedly passed away after only nine episodes.
The majority of the most significant fatalities in the series have already been revealed because “House of the Dragon“ is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, a “fake history” book about House Targaryen’s hegemony in Westeros. “House of the Dragon” season 1 may include even more funerals than Game of Thrones’ first season, even if many of them won’t happen until the Targaryen civil war, also known as the Dance of the Dragons, starts later in the series. The horrific deaths of Queen Aemma Arryn and the infant Prince Baelon Targaryen were already depicted in “House of the Dragon” episode 1, and another tragic death would soon befall the Targaryen family.
King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), who is teased to pass away before the end of “House of the Dragon” season 1, would not come as a surprise given that the series is highlighted by the Targaryen family fighting among itself to be the heir to the Iron Throne. In truth, the king’s impossibly weakened state from diseases and injuries sustained on the Iron Throne was alluded to in the “House of the Dragon” series premiere. In the first episode of “House of the Dragon,” Viserys is seen receiving treatment for back sores that he attributes to sitting on the perilous Iron Throne. Later, after reprimanding his brother Daemon Targaryen, he cuts his hand on the seat by mistake. In “House of the Dragon’s” season 1-time leap, if Viserys’s fall is adapted from the book, he would lose two fingers after inadvertently cutting his hand to the bone on the Iron Throne, severely weakening him and signaling the character’s demise. Only two years later, King Viserys passes away while sleeping, sparking the disastrous Dance of the Dragons.
Why King Viserys Must Perish in Season 1 of “House of the Dragon”
Given that the first season of “House of the Dragon” has only 10 episodes, it must begin the main fight by episode 9 in order to be comparable to Game of Thrones. There will not be any big conflicts or war until the Dance of the Dragon gets going, despite the fact that “House of the Dragon” season 1 establishes discord within House Targaryen in both the past and the present. To do this sooner, “House of the Dragon” season 1 must depict the stunning developments that occur when King Viserys I Targaryen passes away, and the realm abandons his succession plan. Men would rather destroy the land than have a woman sit on the Iron Throne, as Rhaenys Targaryen cautions Viserys’s daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen.
The same will be true of Viserys’s death in Season 1 of “House of the Dragon” as it was with Ned Stark in Season 1 of Game of Thrones. At the rate “House of the Dragon” is moving, the majority of the intense battles are probably not going to be shown until season 3. Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” would heighten the suspense by showing the Targaryen greens and blacks persuading various noble houses and areas to back their claims, much like Game of Thrones season 2 was primarily about strategy and forging alliances in the War of the Five Kings. Even though King Viserys Targaryen already has a tragic backstory similar to Ned Stark’s, the impending catastrophe of his death is required to test the central tension between Rhaenyra and Alicent.
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