House of the Dragon is a new spin-off prequel to Game of Thrones. The HBO series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and follows House Targaryen and its struggle to find the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Featuring the talents of Milly Alcock, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, and Paddy Considine, to name a few, House of the Dragon has been subject to a great deal of praise, with special attention paid to the performances from Smith and Considine. The series was naturally renewed for a second season less than a week after its premiere, which was, per Variety, watched by over 10 million viewers, breaking HBO’s record as the largest premiere of all time.

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In House of the Dragon, we are met with an array of hierarchies and dynasties, including the existence of the monarchy. Historically speaking, the monarchs to rule the Iron Throne have not been fantastic by any means. With the arrival of a new series comes a new monarch, King Viserys, played by Considine. While he is not at the center of the story or conflict, he plays a crucial role in the goings-on of Westeros. Of all the monarchs that we know in the Game of Thrones universe, it’s arguable that King Viserys was on the better side, considering how he acted as a person. However, as we saw throughout season 1, Westeros’ time of peace reached an end during Viserys’ reign. So, the question is: was he a good king?

Previous Targaryen Rulers

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Before Viserys was crowned King in House of the Dragon, there were a total of 17 monarchs who held their place on the Iron Throne. With nearly 20 monarchs to choose from, you’d think one of them would be deemed a good King, however, the reality of Targaryen rulers is quite awful. Take, for example, the dispute between brothers Aenys I and Maegor I that nearly ended the Targaryen line (via The Digital Fix). The argument for the best king in the Targaryen family tree could be made for the fourth King Jaehaerys, who managed to keep the House whole while undertaking a massive reconstruction. Considering that there are only four rulers that came before Viserys, he doesn’t have a great deal of competition in terms of being the best King, and while compared to some of the others he is not the worst, he is certainly not the best.

Trying to Maintain a Peaceful Kingdom

Viserys is arguably an inactive king. Throughout his time on House of the Dragon, he never did anything that actively shook his kingdom, essentially maintaining the status quo. While this is a good thing for House Targaryen overall, the argument could be made that this is doing the bare minimum and merely avoiding conflict altogether rather than actually doing good for the people. Viserys was lucky enough for the kingdom to be in good shape when he took over as King as all he had to do was maintain that. That being said, the argument could be made that the actions he committed in the last decade or so of his reign — from marrying Alicent to naming Rhaenyra as his heir — while not necessarily brokering violence or uprising, did actually get the ball rolling towards division and civil war.

Dance of the Dragons

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One of the pivotal events that will be explored in future seasons of House of the Dragon is the Dance of the Dragons, the civil war between divided sects of House Targaryen. Unfortunately for Viserys, this is what he will be most known for as it effectively happened under his rule. While he may not have been directly at fault for the Dance of Dragons, he was unable to keep it from becoming one of the bloodiest battles in the history of Westeros, which would forever affect many noble houses in Westeros, chiefly House Targaryen. While the fall of the House Targaryen is not solely Viserys’ fault, the downfall did begin with him.

Is Viserys a Bad King?

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All this considered, is Viserys a bad king? Yes. While some would qualify his ruling as more unlucky than most, he still did not provide the best. Of all the kings to sit on the Iron Throne, King Viserys falls somewhere in the middle of that list, possibly somewhere among the top half of kings. His personal actions, as man, husband, and father, ultimately set into motion division and unrest within House Targaryen. As we saw in the penultimate episode of House of the Dragon, Otto Hightower and members of the Small Council actively plotted to usurp the throne behind Viserys’ back. In the end, King Viserys may have ruled during a time of peace, but he was unable to secure it for his successor.