*Warning: Spoilers ahead of House of the Dragon Episode 8*
His death is about to spark a brutal civil war, but House of the Dragon’s Paddy Considine says his character Viserys Targaryen has been largely misunderstood.
The eighth episode of the Game of Thrones spin-off series, which aired on Monday, saw King Viserys finally lose his battle with the disease, dying in scenes that prompted fans to call for Considine to be nominated for an Emmy. .
Now his hero has died, Considine has said that Viserys was “the only man in this kingdom who had any morals” as he tried to keep the peace.
“He’s holding it together as long as he can,” he added to GQ Hype. I thought it was a pleasure to play. He believed in duty above all else. I don’t know if people got it quite right.
Although noble and powerful, Viserys was also considered boring by some fans, a claim that Considine took issue with.
“There’s this perception that he’s weak, which I think is absolute nonsense. He’s just too compassionate for the job. I think the sense of duty is what got him,” he said.
Opinions may be divided on Viserys, but there’s plenty of support behind Considine, who also revealed that Game of Thrones creator George RR Martin gave him the best compliment about his incarnation.
“I got a text that just said, ‘Your Viserys is better than my Viserys.’ It was by George RR Martin. And I thought: this will do it. Thank you for trusting me.”
Since the start of the series, the king’s health has been failing and his final hours have seen him hallucinating from painkillers and muttering about Aegon the Conqueror’s “song of ice and fire”.
In his final moments, his wife Alicent misunderstands his wishes and believes that he is declaring that their son, Aegon II, succeeds him, not his daughter Rhaenyra.
As he takes his last breath, the episode fades to black, with fans naturally flocking to social media to express their shock at the plot twist – and the bloody battle for the crown it will spark.
Another Twitter user commented that “the civil war that killed all the dragons was caused by a misunderstanding because there are like 11 Aegons,” joking about the reuse of the name in the inbreeding Clan Targaryen.
Despite their strained relationship, Viserys’ recent wishes to see his daughter take the Iron Throne made many fans incredibly emotional as he threw his support behind her.
One wrote: “Viserys supported Rhaenyra until his last breath and she didn’t even know it.”
He may have escaped a bloody death like many of the other characters in the Game of Thrones franchise, but the end of Viserys is about to unleash a bloody succession battle that will see countless others killed.
Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.
Watch House of the Dragon on Now TV and Sky Atlantic.
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