House of the Dragon: Paddy Considine talks about the fate of Viserys in the series

The actor also commented on the king’s relationship with his children!

Dragon House reached its eighth episode, bringing a tragic chapter to King Viserys. A completely cadaveric monarch played by Paddy Considine he is barely aware of what is going on around him, clearly nearing the end of his life. In an interview with Hollywood Reporterthe actor briefly commented on the end of Viserys, as well as his relationship with his family, which marks his departure from the series.

“I think the way he leaves is very noble and dignified,” Considine said. “He is terribly sick. Basically, he gets a form of leprosy that creeps up on his body, his bones begin to break down. He dies a slow, terrible death. After all, he looks like an old man. He is not! He is a young man. Just a few years older than his brother Damon. But it makes you old. And this is a metaphor for what power does to people, even if he does not use it to his advantage. He does not get drunk on power, he is responsible. But the demands of being king begin to take their toll on the physical body. So it’s interesting to interpret this decline. He’s just trying to do good. He manages to say a few words before leaving, for which I am grateful to him.

In Episode 8, Viserys is shown to be no longer able to stand, in addition to losing half of his face due to illness. In his final moments, the king tries to end the differences between his family and he sees that they are reunited and getting along even if it doesn’t last long. According to the actor, the lack of presence of his second family is one of the character’s regrets:

“I think he forgot to be a good father to his second family” Considine said. “I think he made no effort for these kids. They didn’t love him. One day I was on set and one of the actors who played one of my kids said, “You hate us.” And I answered: “What? What do you want to say? That I hate you as people – like Paddy [o ator] hate you?’ And he said, “No, Viserys hates us because you hate your children.” I thought wow, this is amazing. He said something very profound.”

The Viserys family gathers for the last supper. (Reproduction: HBO)

Continuing, the actor makes it clear that his character does not actually hate his children, although Rainier is clearly above the rest:

“Viserys doesn’t hate children” Considine explains. “He just doesn’t love them the way he loves Rainier. Because Reynira’s mother, Emma, ​​was the love of King Viserys’s life. In a way, he is responsible because he was so focused on wanting a male heir, and there were several pregnancies that didn’t work out, and he feels very responsible for pushing her so many times to have a baby. This is his great regret. That’s one of the reasons he chose Rainier as his heir – he’s a little to blame for that.”

This promises to be a death that will greatly affect the plot of the series, as it will push the issue of continuity to the limit. Although the eighth episode gave a glimpse of the possibility Alicent (Olivia cook) and his family accept Rainier (Emma D’Arcy) as queen, the series states that this will not happen, as Viserys’ consort interprets his last words as a request that Aegon be crowned king.

Dragon House receives new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.