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.
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.
In the premiere episode, Viserys reveals the hallowed knowledge to Rhaenyra for the first time after naming her his heir. He told her: “Our histories, they tell us that Aegon looked across the Blackwater from Dragonstone and saw a rich land ripe for the capture.
It is you. You are the one. You must do this. You must do this." In many ways, for Rhaenyra who has always felt the pressure of the realm preferring her younger half-brother over her, this would have been a solid confirmation that even in his last moments, Viserys does not regret naming her as his heir.
Every time he stepped up to clear Rhaenyra's name, he was protecting the only residue from his loving relationship with his first wife. Seeing his eldest daughter as his "only child" was a driving factor in his tragic death and legacy because it led him to experience even more hardships during his reign.
A confused Daemon chokes Rhaenyra and says, “Dreams didn't make us kings. Dragons did,” with Rhaenyra now realizing that Viserys never told Daemon about the Targaryen prophecy. Not only does this prove Rhaenyra's legitimacy to herself, but it also reveals more about the nature of Daemon and Viserys' relationship.
As for Rhaenyra Targaryen, she grew up believing she would rule Westeros. But when the time came, her enemies and family stole the crown from her. She answered with fire and blood and was destroyed by them. So while Rhaenyra may have been the first woman to claim the Iron Throne, she never ruled the Seven Kingdoms.
He Mistakes Alicent For Rhaenyra
Viserys put a lot of stock in Aegon the Conqueror's dream. It's this dream that he relays to his daughter, to pass on as family lore and emphasize the importance of keeping power in the family.
In one dark day, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) is informed that her father King Viserys (Paddy Considine) is dead, and also that her one-time childhood BFF Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) has usurped the throne by crowning her reprehensible son Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) as king.
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.
Nevertheless, Viserys is so confident in Rhaenyra he reveals the major family secret that is passed down from monarch to monarch: Aegon the Conqueror's apocalyptic vision of the future known as The Song of Ice and Fire.
His way was one of resolution. Rhaenys is cut from the same cloth, and would be loathe to solve this problem simply by murdering everyone before any other bloodshed has occurred. She would become a kingslayer and a kinslayer. Superstition is strong in Westeros, as it was in our own Medieval era.
After Viserys' passing, Ser Criston Cole, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, crowned Viserys's elder male son Aegon II. Rhaenyra, furious, proclaimed herself the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. This proclamation sparked the entire realm to go to war. Some supported Rhaenyra and others Aegon II.
But, while time may heal all wounds, 10 years certainly wasn't enough time for Alicent's wounds to heal over being lied to by Rhaenyra. We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
Rhaenyra Targaryen takes moon tea prepared for her by Grand Maester Mellos on the order of her father King Viserys I Targaryen. Over fifteen years later, Talya gives Dyana moon tea on the orders of Queen Alicent Hightower, after the serving girl was raped by Prince Aegon Targaryen.
Instead, the great white stag appears only to Princess Rhaenyra and Ser Criston Cole. Without reading too far into it, the hart's appearance likely symbolizes that the gods favor Princess Rhaenyra as the rightful ruler of Westeros—over her father, and even her young step-brother.
Viserys And Rhaenyra
His love for his daughter was more powerful than the love he had for any of his other children, and he seemed to truly want little more than to see her happy.
King Viserys was a young man when he lost his first wife. In order to secure Rhaenyra's position Viserys wrote his intention to have Rhaenyra succeed him on the throne as his rightful heir in his will. He never wavered from his intent and would expect his will to be honored.
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.
Joffrey Baratheon spoils Rhaenyra Targaryen's fate on Game of Thrones. As Joffrey tells us, eventually, Rhaenyra's half-brother Aegon Targaryen will feed her to his dragon Sunfyre. She dies as her son, Aegon III, watches. That's the bullet point version.
In his last moments, Viserys is under the influence of the milk of the poppy, which causes him to hallucinate, and think Alicent is Rhaenyra. He is actually referring to Rhaenyra and her kids, as the heir to the Iron Throne, confessing his regrets as a father and his love for her.
After going from best friends to enemies as teenagers, Alicent and Rhaenyra finally make genuine amends in House of the Dragon episode 8.
Some dragon-like babies are born after incredibly complicated and anger-induced births, so it's possible that the fire of the dragon being released within both Rhaenyra and Syrax during the birth somehow impacted her daughter's physical characteristics.
Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, briefly considered bending the knee to her half-brother King Aegon II in the Season 1 finale of House of the Dragon, thus sparing the citizens of Westeros years of dragon fire and bloodshed.
According to Fire & Blood (the source material for House of the Dragon by George R. R. Martin), Rhaenyra's half-brother Aegon II has her killed and eaten by his dragon.