In the brutal Game of Thrones universe, having your character killed off is almost an inevitability. The best you can hope for is that they at least go out in a memorable way.
In Season 1 of House of the Dragon, we've pretty much known that King Viserys (Paddy Considine) was dying right from the start. In the end, he lasted way longer than any of us thought he would, and he also hit the jackpot: He was given two perfect death scenes for the price of one.
Let's break down exactly what happened, and how King Viserys produced two of the show's most memorably moving moments so far...
King Viserys almost died before the time jump.
The king's first death scene (which turned out not to be a death scene after all) came in two parts in episode 5: his sudden collapse at his daughter's nuptials, which was the final, brutal blow in a predictably violent Westerosi wedding; and a scene that came earlier in the episode, in which Viserys discussed his legacy with his Hand at the time, Lord Lyonel Strong.
Their conversation is worth recapping purely because it's such a brilliantly written exchange that says so much about Viserys' struggle as a ruler:
"Will I be remembered as a good king, Lyonel? What will they say of me, when the histories are written? I have never fought, nor conquered, nor suffered any great defeat."
"Some might call that good fortune."
"But it hardly makes a good song, does it? To be sung at feasts in a hundred years. Five hundred."
"You have carried King Jaehaerys' legacy and kept the realm strong. Is it not better to live in peace than to have songs sung after you are dead?"
Viserys' arm is being treated at the time, and he appears to be gravely ill. Although he ultimately goes on to live for another 16 years, his questions feel like those of a man coming to terms with his own mortality.
The dialogue is moving in a subtle way, while also emphasising the weight he feels as king — Viserys wants to be a balanced ruler, and keep the peace, but he's also concerned with legacy. He wants to leave his mark on the history books.
King Viserys' actual death was the show's most poignant moment so far.
After making a series of decisions that inadvertently threatened the entire realm — marrying for love, naming his daughter heir, all that — King Viserys finally stepped up in episode 8 in an attempt to smooth things over. He almost managed it, too. And while it was moving to see him struggling into the throne room to protect his daughter before delivering an impassioned dinner speech encouraging his family to stop hating each other, things got even more poignant right at the end.
Lying in bed, delirious once again from milk of the poppy, Viserys' wandering attention tries to grasp onto the thing that has obsessed him for so many years: legacy. In this case, he wants to focus on the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy (you know, the whole Prince that was Promised thing) that he told Rhaenyra about in episode 1. Viserys thinks he's talking to his daughter, but really he's talking to Alicent, and in mentioning Aegon the Conqueror's name, he inadvertently makes her think he's naming their son heir. It's the final, tragic blow in a life marred by trying and failing to do the right thing.
The real poignant moment, though, happens after she's left the room. Viserys, moaning in pain, reaches up into the air above the bed and says, "No more." Then, after the screen has cut to black, we hear him utter his final words: "My love."
At the time I thought he was still talking to Rhaenyra, but actor Paddy Considine's Instagram farewell to his character suggests the words were actually aimed at Viserys' wife, Queen Aemma Arryn. In episode 1 she died during childbirth, after Viserys was made to choose between her and his unborn son.
"I want to give massive love and respect to @brooke.sian [Queen Aemma Arryn] who came in for only a few days, but changed the course of my character with her brilliant performance and commitment to the work," Considine wrote. "The impact stayed with me until my final improvised words. She unlocked the missing piece of the puzzle for me, and allowed my story to come full circle.
"From the moment she dies, so does Viserys. It was a love story. That’s the secret I carried with me. As sick as he gets, he never, himself, demands any cure. He quietly accepts his suffering, never forgiving himself for putting his beloved wife through such torture in her final moments."
New House of the Dragon episodes are available every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
