‘House of the Dragon’: Does Viserys Have a Dragon? Why Fans Never See Him Ride One
House of the Dragon begins in the middle of King Viserys Targaryen’s reign. Though he is a Targaryen, in the series, he is never shown bonding with or riding a dragon. Though not every Targaryen has a dragon, Viserys was once a Dragonrider. Here’s why fans don’t see him ride a dragon in the series.
Viserys’ dragon Balerion died of old age before ‘House of the Dragon’
In the year 93 AC, Viserys claimed a dragon named Balerion. At one point, Balerion was one of the mightiest and largest dragons around. He was known as the “Black Dread” due to the color of his scales, wings, and even his fire.
Balerion had many previous riders, including Aegon the Conqueror, Maegor the Cruel, and Princess Aerea. However, by the time Viserys claimed Balerion, he had grown old and struggled to fly any great distance. Balerion died of old age less than a year after Viserys claimed him.
After that, Viserys chose not to bond with a new dragon. In fact, we don’t really have proof that this would even be possible. House of the Dragon has shown that a dragon can bond with a new rider if the previous one has died.
According to Popsugar, “Technically speaking, a Dragonrider who outlives their dragon could attempt to bond with a new dragon, but no one in history has ever actually attempted it.” Bonding with a dragon is no easy task, and it’s not surprising that Viserys decided not to try it again after Balerion’s death.
Not every descendant of Valyria has a dragon
House of the Dragon takes place 200 years before Game of Thrones. “At this point in history, there have never been as many dragons in the world since the time of old Valyria when there were a thousand dragons alive,” Ryan Condal said of the prequel series in a behind-the-scenes video.
Still, it appears that there aren’t enough dragons for every descendant of Valyria to have one. Laena Valyrian points out in episode 6 that only about half of all dragon eggs hatch.
This leaves some, like her daughter Rhaena and Viserys’ son Aemond, without a dragon in their younger years. However, both Rhaena and Aemond eventually bond with dragons later in life. A lack of available dragons could be another reason Viserys never tried to bond with a new one, though as the King, if he really wanted one, he likely could have made it happen.
King Viserys is ill in ‘House of the Dragon’
House of the Dragon changed some details about King Viserys from George R.R. Martin’s novels. For example, the series shows his wasting away from a disease that causes sores all over his body — yet another reason he probably wouldn’t want to be riding a dragon nowadays.
In the books, Viserys does not have the same illness. However, he is described as stout and plump, which causes him health problems later in life, such as gout, aching joints, back pain, and respiratory issues.
House of the Dragon airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
