Spoiler Warning: House of the Dragon Season 1Game of Thrones changed modern television. Very few shows had such a hold on audiences that the premiere of the new episode had to be worldwide at the same time, independent of the country’s time zone. That way there wouldn’t be a single person who knew what happened in Westeros before the others. With the controversial ending, fans were happy to know it wouldn’t be the last time they see these families with the prequel series House of the Dragon announcement.
With such a vast and meticulously crafted world created by George RR Martin, fans of the books and series were happy to know that the legacy of the Targaryens and their fall from power to nearly the end of their bloodline would be adapted to the small screen . Following on from characters like King Viserys (Paddy Considine), his bloodthirsty brother Daemon (Matt Smith) and his daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), the Game of Thrones is being played again – and this time there are dragons.
The person on the Iron Throne, 200 years before Game of Thrones, is King Viserys. He has been suffering from a debilitating illness since the first episodes. Here’s what he was sick of and how it affected the story and seasons to come.
Diseases in Westeros
As shown in Game of Thrones and continued inside House of the Dragon, the world of the show is brutal. It’s violent, political, and a reimagining of a world still in the medieval historical moment, where dragons and magic are real. Therefore, there are many ways to die and be injured in this story, and with the lack of basic hygiene (leading to amputations and gangrene) and a nod to near-perfect world-building, illness is also part of it.
One thing the show does from the start is make the audience expect the unexpected. Some characters have grander and epic deaths, and some are more realistic and simple – creating a level of believability in their viewers and a sense of unpredictability that many highlight as one of this story’s best features.
In the last seasons of Game of Thronesgets Jorah (Iain Glen). an infectious disease called Greyscale. In a mission heading south, he contracts the disease that makes human skin resemble rocks and even resembles reptilian skin. The procedure to delay the development of the disease is disgusting and often not an effective cure for it. The disease is transmitted by touch, and Jorah wasn’t the first to get it; the daughter of the Baratheons, Shireen (Kerry Ingram), got it from a doll. The little girl didn’t die because her father, Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), brought the best healers to try and cure her, and they were successful even though she still had marks on her face.
Illness of King Viserys
In the first season of House of the Dragon, Viserys is the king and ruler of Westeros. There are many dangers to being king. However, the king’s death stems from a relatively simple and conflict-free situation: an illness. By episode eight, when the character dies, he has slowly deteriorated to the point of severe physical consequences. However, they never explicitly say what caused the disease, not even its name, and only showed the king in great pain and losing body parts, including an eye.
The answer came from the actor in one podcast interview with Entertainment Weekly. “He’s actually suffering from a form of leprosy. His body is deteriorating, his bones are deteriorating.” There was no cure for leprosy in the Middle Ages, as the show is set at a similar time; not even the king could escape death. Also, while the disease had quite a display on the show, the Leprosy mission clarified that some elements were exaggerated, such as losing an eye and part of a cheek. Nevertheless, this palace in King’s Landing is still full of dragons and witchcraft, so it fits the top elements quite well and makes sense with the overall themes of the show – since even the most powerful man on the continent isn’t invincible.
The aftermath of the king’s death
With the King gone, the moment fans have been waiting to see happen is upon us. The heirloom battle that had already begun as his health began to decline came full steam ahead. Rhaenyra, the one her father chose to rule in her stead, will face Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), who wants her children on the throne with the king, as well as some outside sources who say she has a legitimate claim to the throne. have throne. Crown. An internal war threatens the Targaryen dynasty on the Iron Throne and the survival of the house. And while the show takes place centuries earlier Game of Thronesthe lust to be the ruler is no less intense.
The battle for the throne continues in Season 2, which is expected to release in late 2024. There’s a lot of anticipation about how the show will continue this story in such a beloved world. As seen in the latest episode, one thing is certain, while they tried to avoid war, now there is no turning back. Dragons, fire and blood will mark the map of Westeros and there can only be one ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.