‘House of the Dragon’ Director Confirms [SPOILER’s] Death
House of the Dragon has been inching ever closer to a major character’s death and the start of the Dance of the Dragons. The Targaryen civil war was only ever mentioned in Game of Thrones, but its effects had consequences that lasted for centuries. House of the Dragon director Geeta Patel confirms that this character died in episode 8 and the Dance of the Dragons is about to begin.
Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Episode 8.]
Viserys is sick with a terrible disease throughout ‘House of the Dragon’
King Viserys has been suffering from a terrible disease throughout House of the Dragon. During an episode of Entertainment Weekly’s West of Westeros podcast, Paddy Considine confirmed that Viserys is sick with a “form of leprosy.” The disease has progressively worsened, and by House of the Dragon episode 8, Viserys is mostly bedridden. He has lost an eye, and his skin is worn to the bone in some places.
Rhaenyra comes to Viserys in the night to ask him about the Song of Ice and Fire, a prophecy from Aegon the Conquerer, which Viserys told his daughter about more than a decade ago. Viserys, however, is too ill to speak about it.
King Viserys attempts to discuss the prophecy with Rhaenyra in ‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 8
At the end of episode 8, Alicent tends to Viserys, who begins to speak about the prophecy, seemingly thinking he is talking to Rhaenyra. “He wakes up in the middle of the night trying to have this unfinished conversation that he had with Rhaenyra, not realizing that the woman sitting at his side is not Rhaenyra but Alicent,” co-showrunner Ryan Condal said in a featurette.
“Alicent picks out words like ‘Aegon’ and ‘Prince who was Promised’ and ‘prophecy’ and whatever and doesn’t understand all the context going back into it because she never heard the Song of Ice and Fire and because she was never his heir,” Condal continued.
Since Alicent doesn’t understand the context, she takes Viserys’ words to mean he wants their son Aegon II on the throne. “Don’t take milk of the poppy and then impart really important information just before you die,” co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik added. “That’s the learning curve on that one.”
‘House of the Dragon’ director confirms Viserys’ death
When Alicent leaves the room, Viserys breathing becomes labored. He utters the final words, “My love…” as the screen cuts to black. Episode 8 director Geeta Patel confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that this moment marks Viserys’ death.
“I think the last scene of this episode was always a litmus test. Every time we’d watch or think it through when we got to that last scene, did we feel what we wanted to feel there?” Patel told the outlet.
“Did we feel the loss? Did we feel that Viserys has told his story? Did we feel that he loved his wife, who passed away? Did he love Alicent? Did he love Rhaenyra? Did he regret anything? All the complicated layers of Viserys, did we feel it for better or worse?”
“It was genuinely touching watching Paddy die multiple times from multiple different angles,” Sapochnik said in the featurette. Already, Paddy Considine’s acting in House of the Dragon has received praise from fans and critics alike, though sadly, his time on the show is at an end.
House of the Dragon airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
