King Viserys' Disease in 'House of the Dragons' Confirmed
Aside from the whole throne drama, King Viserys has to deal with some health issues.
Throughout the first four episodes of 'House of the Dragon ', we notice that something is clearly wrong with King Viserys' well-being. Not only does he suffer from being constantly injured by the Iron Throne but also he has multiple inflammations on his body that look pretty infectious.
Despite using cauterization and maggots, Viserys is still suffering from a disease that has not been directly named in the show. But the actor who portrays him, Paddy Considine, has confirmed that his character is suffering from leprosy.
Considine revealed the delicate fact about Viserys during his appearance on EW's West of Westeros podcast .
"His body is deteriorating ... He is not actually old. He's still a young man in there ... It becomes a metaphor for being king, and the stress and strain that it puts on you, and what it does to you physically, what it does to you mentally," said the actor.
Fans were quick to note that Viserys was initially not fit for the role of the Westeros ruler due to his "weakness" and lack of stamina to make tough decisions.
Other fans were quite surprised to hear that Viserys is suffering from leprosy, arguing that Alicent should definitely be "missing a couple of fingers by now" given that she is in constant contact with him. However, she seems perfectly fine in the show.
Among other diseases that could have been the case of the king's troubles is greyscale – a 'Game of Thrones ' illness that turns one's skin into stone and riddles it with scars. Viserys, however, did not look like someone who has greyscale – or, at least, he doesn't look like it now.
Still, each episode has King Viserys looking worse. Episode 4 has shown us his bare spine, revealing that his body is basically decaying because of his illness. If Viserys indeed has leprosy, chances are he could probably die before the end of season 1, fans argue.