Did King Viserys die in House of the Dragon Episode 5?
Dragon House episode 5 had a lot of important moments. Queen Alicent wore a green dress at the wedding of Princess Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon. So Ser Criston Cole brutally murdered Ser Joffrey Lonmouth. The episode was therefore quite busy, to say the least. The episode also ended with something of a cliffhanger. As Rhaenyra and Laenor are married by the Septon, King Viserys bleeds from the nose and then falls to the ground. It is still unclear if it was him who passed out or the time of his death. So we’re here to give you a bit more information on what exactly happened.
Is King Viserys dead?
For fans of the show who haven’t read the books, you’ll be happy to know that King Viserys isn’t dead yet. His health deteriorated throughout the show. While we initially thought his illness was just from the Iron Throne cuts, it turned out to be so much more than that. House of the Dragon will not kill Viserys this way because his death will be a very important moment. It will change the course of the show. His death will essentially start the Targaryen Civil War, aka the Dance of the Dragons.
It really feels like the show is planning to give it a big start. They can even give him a more painful death. In the books though, his death was quite different. This is even more apparent when you consider the fact that in the books only Queen Alicent knew of his death in the early days. In fact, she kept it a secret from everyone until she could get her to move on and bolster her son Aegon’s claim to the Iron Throne. That means he dies right in front of Rhaenyra and the others during the wedding is a very unlikely scenario.
How does King Viserys die in the book Fire and Blood?
He died long after Rhaenyra and Laenor were married. While the marriage between House Targaryen and House Velaryon took place in 114 AD. King Viserys dies in 129 AC, which means it is still very early for his death. So we will most likely see him again in House of the Dragon. In the books, he died a seemingly peaceful death. Instead of dying of a terrible disease or accident, he actually died in his sleep during an afternoon nap in the Red Keep.
Alicent hid her death from the rest of the people and the public. Instead, she asked Ser Criston Cole, who was then the Lord Commander of the Royal Guard, to summon the small council. Queen Alicent even forbade the Septons from dealing with the body of King Viserys which began to rot after his death. His death was not revealed until a week later. In the meantime, Ser Criston has apprehended all of Princess Rhaenyra’s remaining followers, otherwise known as Blacks, in court.
When will he die in House of the Dragon?
King Viserys will die in the first season of House of the dragon itself. The first season will set up the Dance of the Dragons and establish the two factions of green and black. While in the second season, the Targaryen Civil War will be in full force. Fire and Blood author George RR Martin said House of the Dragon season 1 will cover 28 years. This timeline starts from 101 AC and the Great Council. So that would mean that the first season will end in AD 129, the year King Viserys died and the Dragon Dance began. Therefore, King Viserys will most likely die in the final 9 or 10 episodes.
He will be able to watch Aegon grow up and stay alive for another decade. He will also see his marriage to Queen Alicent become strained as she walks away and chooses House Hightower over Targaryen. Considering the time jump that is about to occur in House of the Dragon, King Viserys will certainly be much closer to his death. There is even a rumor that Queen Alicent will display her sense of anger, mistrust and betrayal by having afternoon tea from King Viserys that he dies in his sleep. This keeping in mind that in the previous episode of House of the Dragon, one of the maesters prepared a special mixture of herbs to help the king sleep. Only time will tell what the show runners have put together for the king!
