What starts as a small cut on the back and hand in episode 1 of “House Of The Dragon” really degenerates in the second episode: Because the wounds on the body and limbs of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) just don’t heal, the grand maester orders him a maggot bath to remove the dead tissue.
Since these scenes were already seen in the first two episodes of House Of The Dragon, it’s no big spoiler that the injury issue will continue through the following episodes of the Game Of Thrones series. However, we do not want to reveal more at this point.
But what are series creators Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik trying to tell us about Viserys’ constant injuries? Our YouTube moderator Sebastian provides the explanation in the above video from minute 2:43. Or you can take a look at the books of “Game Of Thrones” guru George RR Martin, who is also heavily involved in the series:
In addition to Viserys, there are a handful of other Targaryen rulers in the Game Of Thrones books who injured themselves on the throne – or allegedly even killed by him in the case of Maegor I, who was given the nickname “The Cruel” because of his deeds and his bloodlust. Whether he was really killed by the throne itself or just found murdered there is not revealed in Martin’s books.
» “Fire & Blood”: The book template for “House Of The Dragon” at Amazon*
Besides, there is Aerys II, known as the “Mad King”, who towards the end of his reign kept cutting himself on the throne, which consisted of numerous still-sharp swords, and was covered with scabbed and half-healed wonders. And in the book template for “House Of The Dragon” it is mentioned that also Rhaenyra (in the series: Milly Alcock/Emma D’Arcy) is said to have violated the throne.
What do all these Targaryens have in common? Maegor, Aerys and Viserys were or are bad kings or (like Rhaenyra) are considered by many to be unsuitable. So Condal, Sapochnik and Martin use the injuries to the throne to underline that Viserys is a good man but a bad king.
That’s how the character was positioned in marketing, and most “House Of The Dragon” fans will have already gotten that through Viserys’ actions in the series. Despite it the wounds are a good visual metaphor for how unfit Viserys is for the throne.
“House Of The Dragon” Episode 3 will be released on September 5, 2022 on Sky and WOW (formerly Sky Ticket)
