Some doubted Alicent's virtue, as rumors began circling that she had slept with King Viserys while Queen Aemma was still alive. The notorious Mushroom suggested that Alicent had been more than an aide to the late Jaehaerys. Nonetheless, Alicent was wed to Viserys.
Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower
Alicent doesn't marry Viserys because she loves him; she does it because she was raised to be married off to a powerful man so as to strengthen the position of her house. Being young, she plays her role more or less without complaint, only questioning it later in life.
Viserys Not Marrying Alicent
First, he could have stayed unmarried. That would have stopped him from having more heirs, which would be a problem, except that Rhaenyra was older than some of his potential wives. He could have married Rhaenyra to someone earlier and let her have heirs to continue the line.
Alicent leaves, and Viserys is left in his agonizing pain. In his final moments, he says, “My love,” and he's referring to his first wife, Aemma.
They are seemingly inseparable. As the daughter of the hand, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Alicent has spent much of her childhood in King's Landing along with Princess Rhaenyra. They are close in age and study with the same Septa. They joke together and discuss Rhaenyra's feelings about her father's potential new son.
In multiple interviews, Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, who portray Rhaenyra and Alicent in the first five episodes of the season, have confirmed that they played their characters as having a romantic connection, not just a close, platonic one.
Alicent and Daemon's History In The Book
In Mushroom's version of events, Daemon takes Alicent's virginity, which is why Otto, Hand of the King, hates Daemon. Mushroom also implies that Alicent slept with Old King Jaehaerys when he was sick and Viserys before Queen Aemma died.
The ring that Viserys kissed was the one Queen Aemma was wearing when she died.
Leprosy is a slow moving disease
The show has got the speed of the disease correct. King Viserys has lived with leprosy for many decades and the disease has grown very slowly.
All the way back in episode 1, King Viserys passes a family secret onto his daughter Princess Rhaenyra -- a doomsday prophecy telling of the end of men.
Viserys Targaryen: In the book, Viserys—born 77 AC—marries 18-year-old Alicent shortly before he turns 30. They are meant to be 11 years apart in age.
In a new conversation with the Game of Thrones podcast, actor Olivia Cooke, who took over the role from Emily Carey, affirms that Alicent does love Viserys however the actor isn't sure she “respects” him.
Alicent Hightower. When we first meet Alicent on the show, she is supposed to be only 14 years old. According to the book, though, she's 17 when Queen Aemma dies and 18 by the time that she marries King Viserys — and also 9 years older than her BFF, Princess Rhaenyra.
Hand of the King Otto Hightower had already been making moves to increase Alicent's favor, with Viserys eventually choosing to take her as his wife due to their familiarity and ease. Viserys' marriage to Alicent was certainly not out of a romantic love, nor did their relationship foster such deep feelings.
While Daemon and Rhaenyra never actually slept together (though she did secretly lose her virginity to Ser Criston Cole that night), the now banished Daemon Targaryen refuses to disprove the accusation.
So she assumes he's talking about their son. When Viserys tells her “it is you, you are the one, you must do this,” Alicent interprets that as she must make Aegon, their son, the king. She tells her husband that she understands before leaving the room, and we see Viserys pretty close to death.
In a recent podcast interview with Entertainment Weekly, Paddy Considine — the actor portraying Viserys — revealed that his character has a kind of leprosy. “He's actually suffering from a form of leprosy. His body is deteriorating, his bones are deteriorating.
Viserys isn't doing too well. It seems that sitting the Iron Throne isn't just stressful, it's unhealthy. He's got a yucky cut on his back, plus he apparently cut his fingers on the many swords that make up his regal chair.
Literally — his body and face were crumbling. Viserys' deterioration happened slowly. First, it was a few festering cuts from sitting on the Iron Throne, then it was some missing fingers. After the 10-year time jump in Episode 6, he lost an entire arm.
The episode ends with Alicent backing away, the camera lingering on the Catspaw Dagger that we saw Viserys wield earlier in the episode, and the king finally dying, reaching out one more time and seemingly speaking to his dead wife, Aemma, when he says, "My love."
Corr continued: "For an audience to believe us, we have to show all shades of the character. So we spoke about that in great detail and Miguel and Ryan also made it paramount that Harwin very much loves Rhaenyra. He lives his life in service of this love and of his family."
The jagged edges are likely causing cuts that are then becoming infected, possibly leading to a condition (at least in the case of his finger) called "necrotising fasciitis", which the NHS says can lead to black blotches and blisters on the skin and may require "surgery to remove the infected area." It's a condition ...
He chokes Rhaenyra after she starts telling him The Song of Ice and Fire prophecy and learning that Viserys kept secrets from him.
Daemon couldn't perform with Rhaenyra after she took control of the situation. “It's the idea that Daemon is using Rhaenyra as a way to get at her father,” showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said.
The pair very nearly committed an abominable sin, but Daemon came to his senses before he deflowered the heir to the Iron Throne.