In HBO's House of the Dragon, King Viserys I Targaryen is introduced as the calm and peace-loving ruler over the Seven Kingdoms. Though his placid qualities and aversion to conflict would normally be considered admirable, his placement in a medieval fantasy world with martial standards renders him ineffective much of the time.
Viserys' brother Daemon even points out his weakness and how his Small Council uses this to manipulate and control his authority. While Viserys is not a perfect king by any means, he still has many moments that prove he can be an admirable and influential ruler when it counts.
10 Viserys Prepares To Back Up Daemon Against The Crab Feeder
When the Crabfeeder causes havoc in the Stepstones, Daemon engages him in battle to end his threat. Backed by the Triarchy in Essos, the Crabfeeder habitually feeds people to the region's crabs.
It is true that Viserys takes some time to make a move about the situation. But when he realizes the Crab Feeder's relentlessness, Viserys announces his intention to join Daemon in his fight. True, it sends Daemon into a tantrum over wanting to prove himself. But Viserys shows he isn't above engaging in violence and sending battle reinforcements for a rightful cause in his position as king.
9 He Tries To Keep His Hotheaded Brother In Line
In true sibling fashion, Viserys is both fond of and exasperated by his brother. The two are complete opposites. While Viserys is calm and weak in decision-making, Daemon is fiery and stubborn to a fault. Nevertheless, Viserys continually assigns Daemon new posts at first to give his brother a purpose.
This falls apart when Daemon pulls his "Heir for a Day" stunt. Here, Viserys demonstrates his love and protectiveness for his family, even against his own family. He exiles Daemon from King's Landing, incensed at the constant disrespect. Viserys later exhibits his ability to reign Daemon in again when the latter shows suspicious interest in Rhaenyra, prompting another exile as Viserys tries to shield his daughter.
8 Viserys Dismisses Otto As Hand After Seeing His Power Grabs For What They Are
For the longest time, Viserys willfully refuses to see Otto Hightower using his position as Hand for his own gain. Daemon points it out, but for years, Viserys views him as loyal counsel instead of someone seeking to expand his own House's power.
But Viserys finally catches on after Otto overextends his reach. When Otto reports Rhaenyra's rumored escapades with Daemon, Viserys sees him for the grasping opportunist he is. He connects the dots between Otto's other actions as well, such as his maneuvering Alicent into being Viserys' second wife, and ultimately concludes Otto is stirring up trouble for his own benefit. Subsequently, Viserys dismisses Otto as Hand, temporarily relieving himself of the manipulative former Hand of the King.
7 He Makes Rhaenyra His Heir
After years of hoping for a son, which concludes with the death of his beloved Aemma, Viserys realizes his folly when a proper heir was before him all along. While men usually inherit before women in Westeros, Viserys chooses to replace Daemon with Rhaenyra as his heir, seeing his daughter as far more suitable for the responsibility.
In spite of some momentary doubts about the future, Viserys remains relatively firm in his choice. Despite support for his son Aegon by Alicent, Viserys declines to replace Rhaenyra as the heir to the Iron Throne. Furthermore, Viserys decides that Rhaenyra's firstborn will be an heir as well, regardless of gender.
6 Viserys Prioritizes The Responsibilities Of The Song Of Ice And Fire
One of the burdens that drive Viserys in his kingship is knowledge of Aegon the Conqueror's dream. In the past, Aegon dreamed of a great threat that would endanger the realm of men. Among his reasons for taking over Westeros was the belief that all men needed to be united under the Targaryen banner if they were to stand a chance against the force.
Viewers of Game of Thrones will know this threat to be the White Walkers. As he transfers the title of heir to Rhaenyra, Viserys confers on her the responsibility of being a strong ruler to protect the realm in the face of this oncoming foe.
5 He Strongly Encourages Rhaenyra To Marry So She Will Have Support
While Viserys retains Rhaenyra as his rightful heir, he makes a solid point about her marital status. When Rhaenyra doggedly refuses to marry out of a desire for freedom, Viserys backs up his own stance by saying that even he couldn't escape this tradition through his remarriage to Alicent.
Though Viserys won't replace Rhaenyra, it is considered a monarch's responsibility to have a legacy to inherit the throne. Lacking this weakens Rhaenyra's position, especially when her dissenters look for excuses to crown her brother Aegon instead as Viserys' firstborn son. That being said, Viserys is accommodating toward Rhaenyra's free will and open to her selecting her own husband until the controversy with Daemon.
4 He Attempts To Hold His Feuding Family Together
In the prelude to the Dance of the Dragons, conflict erupts over the years between the Blacks and Greens. Alicent resents Rhaenyra's ability to ignore the rules without consequence, having her affairs and passing bastard children off as legitimate heirs. In turn, Rhaenyra despises Alicent's meddling and controlling tendencies.
The enmity passes down to their children who share their parents' rivalry. Throughout, Viserys tries to keep an uneasy peace in his family. He prohibits gossip about Rhaenyra's children and ignores any push to make Aegon his heir. At their final dinner, Viserys makes an impassioned speech that momentarily eases the tension between Rhaenyra and Alicent, which is sadly undone by the Dance officially starting.
3 He Resists Adopting The Superiority Complex Of House Targaryen
One of Viserys' traits is a surprising humility toward his esteemed origins. Unlike others of House Targaryen who view themselves as superior due to their identity, Viserys is more cynical. He views the dragons as being the only element that sets the Targaryens apart from everyone else and that they are vulnerable and mundane without them.
Furthermore, he sees the dragons as a dangerous factor that the Targaryens never should have messed with and that to depend on them is a bad idea. He states that the idea they control the dragons is an illusion, an eerily prophetic insight after the events of the show's Season 1 finale.
2 He Defends Lucarys' Claim To Driftmark
When Corlys Verlaryon is injured, his brother Vaemon makes his case for his own inheritance of Driftmark. He cites the illegitimacy of Rhaenyra's children, thus making the presumed inheritor, Lucarys, unfit as heir. Rhaenyra pleads with Viserys to help endorse her children's birthright.
This culminates in Viserys hauling himself from his deathbed to sit on the Iron Throne on the day the decision is to be made. His emotional walk is one of the show's most gripping moments as Viserys musters the last of his strength for his daughter and grandson's sake, and undoes any hope of Vaemon and Otto maximizing their own power.
1 He Is Dubbed "Viserys The Peaceful" After His Passing
At the end of it all, Viserys is a ruler who hesitates to cause strife. While it does cause problems over the years due to his inaction or lack of forethought, Viserys shows numerous times that his family is what matters most. He also values the realm's stability over all else as he attempts to calm the conflict and hold everything together.
When Viserys finally passes away, he is posthumously dubbed "Viserys the Peaceful." His influence on the realm doesn't hold for long, and House Targaryen will be thrown into civil war. But there is something to be said for the fact that war doesn't break out until after Viserys' demise.