House of the Dragon is a new spin-off prequel to Game of Thrones. The HBO series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and follows House Targaryen and his struggle to find the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Featuring the talents of Milly Alcock, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy and Paddy Considine, just to name a few, House of the Dragon has received much acclaim, with special reference to the performances by Smith and Considine. The series was, of course, renewed for a second season less than a week after its premiere Varietywatched by more than 10 million viewers, breaking HBO’s record as the biggest premiere of all time.
In House of the Dragon, we are faced with a series of hierarchies and dynasties, including the existence of the monarchy. Historically, the monarchs who ruled the Iron Throne were in no way fantastic. With the arrival of a new series comes a new monarch, King Viserys, played by Considine. While not at the center of the story or conflict, he plays a vital role in the goings-on of Westeros. Of all the monarchs we know in the Game of Thrones universe, it’s arguable that King Viserys was on the better side, considering how he behaved as a person. However, as we saw throughout Season 1, Westeros’ peacetime came to an end during the reign of Viserys. So the question is, was he a good king?
Previous Targaryen rulers
Before Viserys was crowned king in House of the Dragon, there were a total of 17 monarchs who retained their place on the Iron Throne. With nearly 20 monarchs to choose from, you’d think one of them would be considered a good king, but the reality of Targaryen rulers is pretty awful. Take, for example, the dispute between the brothers Aenys I and Maegor I that nearly ended the Targaryen line (via The digital solution). The argument for the best king in the Targaryen family tree could be made for the fourth king Jaehaerys, who managed to keep the house in one piece while undertaking a massive reconstruction. Considering that there are only four rulers who preceded Viserys, he doesn’t have much competition when it comes to the best king, and while he isn’t the worst compared to some of the others, he’s certainly not the best.
Trying to keep a peaceful kingdom
Viserys may well be an inactive king. During his time on House of the Dragon, he never did anything that actively shook his kingdom, essentially maintaining the status quo. While this is generally a good thing for House Targaryen, the argument could be made that it’s the bare minimum and just avoids conflict altogether rather than actually doing good for the people. Viserys was lucky to have the kingdom in good shape when he took over the kingship, because all he had to do was maintain it. That said, the argument could be made that the actions he has committed in the last decade or so of his reign — from marrying Alicent to naming Rhaenyra as his heir — while not necessarily brokering violence or insurgency, the ball in the direction of division and civil war.
Dance of the dragons
One of the pivotal events in the coming seasons of House of the Dragon is the Dance of the Dragons, the civil war between divided sects of House Targaryen. Unfortunately for Viserys, this is what he will be most known for, as it effectively happened under his rule. While he may not have been directly guilty of the Dance of Dragons, he couldn’t prevent it from turning into one of the bloodiest battles in Westeros history, forever affecting many noble homes in Westeros, most notably House Targaryen. While the fall of House Targaryen isn’t just Viserys’ fault, its downfall started with him.
Is Viserys a bad king?
Considering all this, is Viserys a bad king? Yes. While some would classify his pronunciation as unhappier than most, he still didn’t deliver the best. Of all the kings sitting on the Iron Throne, King Viserys falls somewhere in the middle of that list, possibly somewhere in the top half of the kings. His personal actions, as husband, husband and father, ultimately caused division and unrest within House Targaryen. As we saw in the penultimate episode of House of the DragonOtto Hightower and members of the Small Council hatched an active plan to usurp the throne behind Viserys’ back. In the end, King Viserys may have reigned in a time of peace, but he could not secure it for his successor.