Viserys had a form of leprosy in House of the Dragon. He's still a young man in there. He's just, unfortunately, got this thing that's taken over his body. It becomes a metaphor for being king, and the stress and strain that it puts on you, and what it does to you physically, what it does to you mentally.”
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.
After all, it was forged in dragon's fire, and they're magical creatures. It's possible that the Iron Throne is judging those sitting on it in some way, and if it deems them unworthy, it may cut them to remind them of their duty.
"He's actually suffering from a form of leprosy," Considine said. "His body is deteriorating, his bones are deteriorating.
In the series premiere, we learn that Viserys has a small wound on his back from sitting on the Iron Throne. As the maesters tending to Viserys note, the cut mysteriously refuses to heal. In fact, it's spreading.
Paddy Considine, who plays Viserys, has recently explained that his character is suffering with leprosy. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly's West of Westeros podcast, he revealed: “He's actually suffering from a form of leprosy. His body is deteriorating, his bones are deteriorating.
Although Considine himself believes the scars to be a form of leprosy, which makes sense considering the progression of his scars and injuries, the decay of the king has a metaphorical symbolism as well, considering the realm is on the brink of war by the time he dies and he just doesn't know it.
Viserys' illness has been confirmed by Paddy Considine to be a fictionalized form of leprosy, slowly eating away at his body while he still lives. This illness works as symbolism for Viserys' lack of suitability as Westeros' king, but also for his crumbling family unit.
Aerys II Targaryen, also called the Mad King and King Scab, was the seventeenth and last member of the Targaryen dynasty to sit the Iron Throne, ruling from 262 AC to 283 AC. His children that lived to adulthood, by his sister-wife, Rhaella, were Rhaegar, Viserys, and Daenerys Targaryen.
In the books Dany is immune to fire one time due to a freak magical occurrence that happens when her dragons hatch. She's not immune to fire beyond that one time and suffers burns later in the story.
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.
Greyscale does affect the flesh, which is where fans may have drawn the connection between Viserys (Paddy Considine) and the illness, however that is where the similarities end. Unlike Viserys' gangrene-like symptoms, greyscale kills off the flesh by hardening and calcifying the surface of the skin.
Frankly, Viserys didn't tell Daemon about Aegon's dream because he didn't trust him with it or believe he would give it the dedication it required. It's part of why Viserys never made Daemon his Hand or his heir, as Daemon was far more concerned with personal ambition than his duty to the realm and humanity.
Viserys, moaning in pain, reaches up into the air above the bed and says, "No more." Then, after the screen has cut to black, we hear him utter his final words: "My love."
Viserys' golden mask was more than a creepy new style; it was used to cover his body's rotting away from his leprosy. Viserys' actor, Paddy Considine, confirmed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the king was indeed suffering from leprosy.
Viserys Wasn't the Oldest of Men
If the HBO prequel series matches the same timeline as the source material, Viserys was only 52 years old when he died. Despite his appearance in Episode Eight, that is no age to be bedridden and struggling to speak.
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. Let's break down what Viserys says: "Our histories... they tell us that Aegon looked across the Blackwater from Dragonstone, and saw a rich land ripe for the capture.
King Aerys II Targaryen ("The Mad King")
The final undisputed monarch of the Seven Kingdoms from House Targaryen, King Aerys II Targaryen is widely known as the "Mad King" who was usurped by King Robert I Baratheon. Aerys II is a direct descendant of King Viserys I Targaryen through his daughter Rhaenyra.
Prince Rhaegar Targaryen's eyes were dark indigo, his brother Viserys's eyes were pale lilac, and their sister Daenerys's eyes are violet. Note that not all Targaryens have purple eyes: Queen Alysanne Targaryen's eyes were clear blue, and Prince Valarr Targaryen's eyes were also blue.
As time goes by, Viserys becomes weaker and has some of his extremities removed to cope with his disease's side effects. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor behind Viserys, Paddy Considine, revealed that his mysterious ailment is actually a form of leprosy.
Daemon shows his genuine care and attention to Rhaenyra several times before the two marry. This doesn't take away from the many destructive and inappropriate parts of their relationship, but the books imply that Daemon does love Rhaenyra.
Vhagar was a she-dragon of House Targaryen. She was ridden by Queen Visenya Targaryen during Aegon's Conquest, alongside Aegon the Conqueror's Balerion and their sister Rhaenys's Meraxes. Other known riders of Vhagar are Prince Baelon Targaryen, Lady Laena Velaryon and Prince Aemond Targaryen.
Among other diseases that could have been the case of the king's troubles is greyscale – a 'Game of Thrones' illness that turns one's skin into stone and riddles it with scars. Viserys, however, did not look like someone who has greyscale – or, at least, he doesn't look like it now.
We can presume that King Viserys Targaryen lost his eye as a result of his leprosy. The virus has already eaten away at his fingers and arm, and it seems in the last few years of his life, it spread to his face.
The Night King was the first White Walker, born in 10000 BC when the Children of the Forest kidnapped one of the First Men and stabbed him with a dragon glass dagger. King Viserys was born in 77 AC, a couple of thousand years after the creation of the White Walkers. There is no way he could be the Night King.