![]() Forced to be the one to give the command to burn the remains of her mother and brother, it’s clear that Rhaenyra’s childhood has come to an end. Rhaenyra, already at a slight emotional distance due to her father’s open longing for a boy (though the two do have a loving relationship), is understandably heartbroken over the loss of her mother. However, once Aemma and baby Baelon are dead, it appears Daemon is now also the heir apparent based on established precedent. But after watching City Watch Commander Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) lead his men in a gruesome maiming spree under the guise of law enforcement, what’s an ax to the face? Though he’s a rapscallion, Daemon knows he’s shielded from any real consequence on account of him being Viserys’ brother. Interspersed throughout the torturous labor are the various jousts and skirmishes occurring at the tournament, which serves as a convenient means of introducing even more characters from houses GoT viewers will quickly recognize, as well as an opportunity to display more violence on top of an already bloody series premiere (pretty sure they blew through their colored corn syrup and prop severed limbs budget in this episode alone). As expected the (needlessly protracted) Cesarean results in Aemma’s death from blood loss, though the baby boy-Viserys’ prediction comes true after all-only lives for a few hours, making her unwilling sacrifice even more tragic. I’m sure it shocked exactly no one when things go wrong during labor, though few could anticipate just how brutal it would get. Now towards the end of her seventh pregnancy, Viserys is so pleased by the arrival of what he is sure to be his long-awaited male heir that he organizes a grand tournament, as though it isn’t an inauspicious display of putting the cart before the horse. Despite Viserys’ wife, Queen Aemma’s (Sian Brooke), many attempts to give her husband children, only one has survived, the independent, dragon-riding Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock). Though Rhaenys is the older of the two, she’s passed over in favor of a male ruler.Ī mere decade later and a king must yet again fret over who next will sit on the throne. Before the Great Council at Harrenhal, still in partial ruin from Aegon’s initial siege a century earlier, the matter of succession was debated, though only two options were truly considered: Jaehaerys’ granddaughter Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) or his grandson, Prince Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine). But as Jaehaerys enters his old age without an heir apparent, it seems prudent to declare one in order to maintain the peace that has reigned for so long. One hundred years into their reign, begun by Aegon the Conqueror who, as the name suggests, conquered most of the Seven Kingdoms, and his grandson, King Jaehaerys (Michael Carter) comfortably rules the throne. Set 172 years before the events in Game of Thrones, HBO’s latest fantasy entry follows House Targaryen at the peak of their rule and, presumably, provides insight into their distant fall. Martin fictional historical account, Fire & Blood. So, does history remember Viserys as a good king? Frankly, the answer to that question may very well depend on how you define that adjective, but for simplicity’s sake, we can safely make this assertion that Viserys was a good-natured man, but his terrible decisions changed the course of history for the worse, which at the very least implies that maybe he shouldn’t have been given the reins in the first place.It’s been three years since the final season of Game of Thrones concluded, and despite the, let’s just say, strong feelings felt by many viewers in its wake, a reported 10 million individuals (via THR) were willing to return to the Seven Kingdoms for the long-anticipated prequel series, House of the Dragon, based on the George R.R. “ had ruled for six-and-twenty years, reigning over the most prosperous era in the history of the Seven Kingdoms but seeding within it the disastrous decline of his house and the death of the last dragons.” While a lot of people will be quick to blame Rhaenyra and Alicent and their parenting for this outcome, many historians, like Maester Yandel - the author of The World of Ice & Fire - seem to think the fault ultimately lies with Viserys and his indecisiveness. ![]() The Dance of Dragons, which we’ll see depicted in earnest in HBO’s House of the Dragon, was one of the most gruesome wars in Westeros, resulting in the deaths of most of the dragons and the diminishing of House Targaryen’s strength and influence.
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