How Viserys’ Iron Throne cuts predicted his fate in House of the Dragon

War is looming in House of the Dragon, and King Viserys Targaryen is doing every little thing he can to maintain the kingdom of Westeros collectively amid escalating tensions between his spouse, Alicent Hightower, and his daughter and inheritor, Rhaenyra Targaryen. But one of the largest threats to Viserys’ reign has largely performed out in the background — till now.

[Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood.]

In the collection premiere, we be taught that Viserys has a small wound on his again from sitting on the Iron Throne. As the maesters tending to Viserys word, the minimize mysteriously refuses to heal. In reality, it’s spreading. Viserys receives a second minimize from the throne in the similar episode, which equally turns into contaminated and results in the amputation of two of his fingers. In the years since, Viserys’ well being has solely worsened, with the fifth episode exhibiting him coughing up blood and finally collapsing at the (already fairly eventful) wedding ceremony feast.

There are rather a lot of issues plaguing Viserys at this level that might be contributing to this flip for the worse — his outdated age, the stress over Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship, and the worry of warfare if Rhaenyra stays his inheritor. But Viserys’ well being issues all started with a nick possible no bigger than a paper minimize.

The motive Viserys’ wounds by no means healed is extra symbolic than something as routine as bacterial an infection. The significance of being minimize by the Iron Throne really has deep roots in Targaryen historical past and Game of Thrones lore, relationship all the approach again to the throne’s creation.

What does it imply to be minimize by the Iron Throne?

Image: HBO

Viserys’ ancestor Aegon I Targaryen constructed the Iron Throne out of a thousand damaged blades he had taken from his enemies. The “ironwork monstrosity,” as George R.R. Martin referred to it in Game of Thrones, was constructed with the intention of inflicting excessive discomfort. “A king should never sit easy,” Aegon the Conqueror defined in the first A Song of Ice and Fire e-book.

Aegon’s son Aenys succeeded his father, however was finally killed by his brother, the usurper Maegor Targaryen. Six years into Maegor’s infamously merciless reign, his nephew Jaehaerys Targaryen raised banners towards him. After only a few homes got here to Maegor’s help, he selected to spend the night time brooding alone on the Iron Throne. The subsequent morning, one of Maegor’s many wives, Elinor, discovered him useless in the seat with one of the throne’s blades impaled by means of his neck and his forearms slashed open by a number of different spikes.

There are a number of theories about Maegor’s dying, together with that he took his personal life or that Elinor murdered him. But many consider that the Iron Throne itself is what killed Maegor. This is what originated the well-liked superstition that the throne chooses who’s worthy or not of ruling Westeros, and that those that are deemed undeserving undergo damage by its blades.

Does everybody who will get minimize on the Iron Throne die?

Image: HBO

No — or at the very least not as a direct end result of their wounds.

Maegor and Viserys should not the solely two individuals to have been minimize by the Iron Throne. Daenerys Targaryen’s paranoid father Aerys II Targaryen was generally often called The Mad King, however as a result of he minimize himself so usually on the Iron Throne he was additionally dubbed King Scab. However, the Mad King wasn’t discovered useless on the throne nor of an an infection from one of his many cuts. Rather, his dying got here at the finish of Jaime Lannister’s sword.

So, whereas being minimize by the Iron Throne might symbolize the unworthiness of a king or queen, the Iron Throne isn’t a supernatural choose, jury, and executioner that disposes of the ruler itself. That being stated, anybody who sits on the throne is already at a better than common probability of dying. If they’re on the throne and never a match ruler, these odds go up exponentially.

What does Viserys being minimize by the Iron Throne imply?

Image: HBO

It doesn’t take Viserys being minimize by the Iron Throne to make it clear he isn’t a terrific king. Having ascended throughout peaceable occasions, Viserys is pushed by a want to please and prefers to keep away from points quite than confront them head on, equivalent to his dismissal of the risk the Crabfeeder and Triarchy pose. When Viserys does make daring choices — like naming Rhaenyra as his successor or deciding to wed Alicent — these selections solely sow extra dissent towards him.

Viserys’ first minimize from the Iron Throne occurred at an unknown time, however the timing of his second damage is of explicit significance, coming instantly following his choice to take away Daemon from the line of succession. This ruling is one of the key choices that finally results in the first Targaryen civil warfare, which appears to be quick approaching now that the Westeros noble homes have begun selecting sides in the battle for succession between Rhaenyra and Aegon, Alicent’s son.

The second minimize might be a sign that Viserys’ poor judgment will solely result in spoil — for himself, his household, and his kingdom. It might additionally simply be one other option to reinforce what Daemon instructed his brother — that Viserys is a weak king who isn’t as much as bearing the burden of his personal energy. Either approach, they have been a really unhealthy omen for Viserys’ future.

Viserys has already misplaced two fingers from his cuts from the Iron Throne. Only time will inform the true price he’ll pay for his failings as king, and when fate will gather its due.