1 Telling HotD Scene Makes It Hard to Hate Daemon and Love Viserys

Summary:

• House of The Dragon is a prequel to the HBO hit Game of Thrones, focusing on the lives of Daenerys Targaryen's predecessors.
• The storyline of the first season revolves around the reign of King Viserys Targaryen, his family, and the conflict that is tearing them apart.
• One of the contenders for the Iron Throne is Daemon Targaryen, the king's younger brother.

House of the Dragon is exactly the kind of show that illustrates how close the duties of the realm are to the family drama of monarchies. Even though these monarchies are fictional, the characters are so well written and perfectly thought out by George R.R. Martin that their motives and decisions feel real.

The scarier the setup, the more realistic the feelings are portrayed, the more the show speaks to the viewer. Driven by brilliant acting, one of the central conflicts of the show in its first season was the relationship between two brothers, King Viserys Targaryen, portrayed by Paddy Considine, and Prince Daemon Targaryen, portrayed by Matt Smith.

Who Was Better, Viserys or Daemon?

King Viserys Targaryen was known to be peaceful, which was often seen as his greatest weakness. It was an opinion that his brother supported and made sure Viserys knew of. The more passionate and aggressive Daemon was known as a ruthless warrior rather than a man of clear judgment, and his lack of patience kept him from the throne.

However, a parallel between the two brothers made fans question their own ideas of Viserys and Daemon. In the series, both were faced with an impossible choice when they had to watch their wives give birth to their children. They had to decide whether to allow the birth to continue naturally or have the masters cut open the wombs.

While Viserys' attention is focused on the condition of the child, a son promised to him in his dream, Daemon remains focused on the mother. The woman he doesn't claim to truly love, but still respects. While Viserys asks if the child would survive the procedure, Daemon wonders what would happen to his wife.

As unfortunate as it is, both scenes end in equal tragedy, with Viserys and Daemon losing both the child and the mother. It does, however, give viewers a chance to reevaluate their judgments of the characters and see the battle from a different perspective.

If you want to go ahead and freshen up your memories on House of The Dragon season 1, you can do so by streaming it on Max. Season 2 is eyeing the release in Summer 2024, so keep an eye out for more news and behind-the-scenes updates.