Saying, "I thought I wanted it, but the burden is a heavy one. It's too heavy." At this point, Viserys, who is drugged on milk of the poppy only replies to Rhaenyra by calling her his only child.
Rhaenyra makes a plea to her father while he is on his deathbed, “I thought I wanted it. But the burden is a heavy one. It's too heavy.” As Viserys replies, “My only child,” Rhaenyra then asks for his support: “If you wish me to bear it, then defend me. And my children.”
It sounds like Viserys is telling Alicent she is "the one" to ensure this will happen; that the "Prince That Was Promised" comes from her line. This isn't the case, though: Viserys thought he was talking to Rhaenyra.
Aegon was named after the Conqueror while Viserys was named after Rhaenyra's father and Daemon's brother, with both paying tribute to important figures in their parents' lives and history. However, the strategic naming of Rhaenyra and Daemon's sons works on several more advantageous levels.
And last but not least, Daemon and Rhaenyra now have children together. Their first trueborn son is also named Aegon. Aegon was also named after Aegon the Conqueror, adding to some confusion about which Aegon is which.
After the assassination plot against Laenor Velaryon, which led to the widespread belief that he had been killed (though a brief scene at the end of "Driftmark" reveals that he and his romantic partner, Ser Qarl, have fled Westeros), Princess Rhaenra married her uncle Daemon, and they have had two children, Aegon III ...
Rhaenyra's three eldest sons all died fighting during the Dance of the Dragons, but her two youngest sons, the sons by her second husband, Prince Daemon, survived the civil war.
At this point, Viserys, who is drugged on milk of the poppy only replies to Rhaenyra by calling her his only child. It's a tough look considering he has three other children with Alicent, but it's clear that, in many ways, Rhaenyra has always been his favorite child and the one he is closest with.
His legendary ancestor, King Aegon the Conqueror, had a vision that the world of men would fall, and understood that only his family of Aryan inbreds could save it. Viserys tells his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, that Aegon “foresaw the end of the world of men.
Putting Rhaenyra as his heir is his penance for what happened. After the graphic House of the Dragon episode 1 birth scene, Hess' comments prove that Viserys is desperate to make up for his hand in his wife's demise, which may be a small comfort to viewers.
Daemon strangled Rhaenyra because he felt betrayed by Viserys. “It's a moment that I think is surprising and shocking for Daemon as a character, but I also think it's one of those things that's been set up over the course of the entire season.
Rhaenyra and Daemon's Marriage
Soon after being widowed, Daemon and Rhaenyra marry each other in secret when he is 39 years old, and she is 23. Their marriage causes a huge scandal at court and another rift between Daemon and Viserys, but it is eventually accepted. The couple has two sons together, Aegon and Viserys.
Daemon, Rhaenyra and Alicent have 11 kids among them by the eighth episode, which is set about six years after the "Driftmark" episode.
In the trailer for episode 9, which confirms Viserys' death, Alicent says it out loud: "He told me he wished for Aegon to be king."
Rhaego is son of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo. He was named after his late uncle, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen.
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."
Previously, Paddy Considine, who played Viserys, spoke to EW on the nature of Viserys' condition, which he said is "...a form of leprosy." He continued, saying that his illness "... becomes a metaphor for being king, and the stress and strain that it puts on you."
Though Viserys is actually referring to Rhaenyra's duty to rule Westeros and carry and pass on the burden of Aegon's dream, Alicent tragically mistakes his message as a command for her to place their son on the Iron Throne and to disinherit Rhaenyra.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actor Paddy Considine (who played Viserys), revealed his character had a form of leprosy. In the podcast he explains, “He is not actually old. He's still a young man in there. He's just, unfortunately, got this thing that's taken over his body.
Alas, the baby did not survive and while it wasn't shown very well on camera, there were debates among fans whether the baby was normal-looking or deformed.
Prince Aemond Targaryen, also known as Aemond One-Eye and Aemond the Kinslayer, was a member of House Targaryen. He was the second son of King Viserys I Targaryen by his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, and the younger brother of King Aegon II Targaryen.
In the book, Visenya was described as being born with dragon-like defects, including scales, a tail, and a twisted body. Rhaenyra's baby did end up having scale-like defects and a malformed body in House of the Dragon, which aligns with the occasional reports of Targaryen women bearing dragon-like stillborn children.
Nonetheless, Rhaenyra and Daemon's youngest son becomes King Viserys II Targaryen, with the crown passing through his line. New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.
It isn't explicitly stated in the show, but because we learn after episode six that all three boys have dark brown hair — and despite Rhaenyra and Laenor's matching blond color — it has been strongly implied that they are actually the children of Ser Harwin Strong, the Lord Commander of the City Watch.
“The Princess and the Queen” opens up with Rhaenyra giving birth to her third child, another boy. Laenor decides they'll name him Joffrey after his late lover who Criston beat to death right before he and Rhaenyra wed.