(House of the Dragon spoilers will be found below.)
“Lord of the Tides” picks up six years after we last saw the House of the Dragon characters, and let’s just say that this week’s events did not follow the steamy, HotD tone that frequently appears on this Game of Thrones prequel. Instead, we pick up with Rhaenyra and Daemon having enjoyed a period of peace and bliss at Dragonstone. Whereas at King’s Landing, the very sad monarch has physically declined to the point where he looks — to be perfectly blunt — like a zombie. His health has never been optimal, and that’s left people guessing about why Viserys has so many ailments.
Targaryens are neither fireproof nor invincible, but they are thought to be resistant to illness. Clearly, King Viserys I is an exception to that trend. We’ve seen him dunking his hands into maggots, losing digits, and oozing from random sores. He’s essentially been rotting away, and there’s no telling whether the Iron Throne is actually making him sick (thereby rejecting him as a leader) or whether Otto Hightower has been a poison-happy bloke. Speaking of which, yeah, there was some curious stuff going on in this episode. We’ll get to that soon, but for the moment, let’s observe how people were taken aback after seeing how much Viserys’ health went downhill.
This is not happening, although the spirit is appreciated.
Viserys: I'm still kicking baby #HOTD pic.twitter.com/OhucvxKt6U
— AintItJay TV (@AintitjayTV) October 10, 2022
When Rhaenyra enters her father’s bedroom, the poor guy has got half of his face covered (and we find out why later). He’s emaciated, his teeth are rotting away, and he’s both disoriented and in severe pain. Even after what we’ve already seen from Viserys’ appearance, the drastic change hit people hard. Jaws began dropping.
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!! 😦
I did NOT expect Viserys to look like that 🫤#HouseTargaryen
#HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/kK7vGUxTOb— [Meredith Grey] (@meredithgreypo) October 10, 2022
NAW MY JAW ACTUALLY DROPPED WHEN THEY SHOWED VISERYS WHAT THE FUCK I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM #HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/7kKgbi9j8L
— carolin(g)a(y)⁷ (@_soft_bitch) October 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/whosiffy/status/1579279655433285633
WHY AM I CRYING RN poor Viserys #HouseTargaryen #HouseOfthedragon pic.twitter.com/c1yrWcCnDm
— Mena 🍃 (@crocswsocks) October 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/Chefgoldblum21/status/1579280102835486721
Somebody off Viserys and spare him from his misery he be looking real rough #hotd pic.twitter.com/RPyLEXKEtr
— DiLara † (@MediEVILwhore) October 10, 2022
Anyone else think Viserys is looking like Snoke lately…?#HouseoftheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonEp8 pic.twitter.com/0Aox4z1XrH
— HalloweenYear-Round 🎃 (@HalloweenYrRnd) October 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/susccesion/status/1579278805390458881
Viserys meeting his namesake. #HOTD pic.twitter.com/rkgAplpIIO
— Kedakins (@KedaKins) October 10, 2022
viserys hanging on by a mf thread 😭😭😭
— rhea gripley. (@NOTURSTAN) October 10, 2022
viserys is literally bones omg
— v (@roticidal) October 10, 2022
Viserys man god damn
— Antonio 飲み友達 (@TonioTheBaker) October 10, 2022
Oh Viserys is still alive then?? 💀 this poor man has suffered enough#houseofthedragon#hotd #HouseTargaryen pic.twitter.com/4CzFEXu1kk
— 🐉Erica⁵⁵🏎¹⁶ (@formulaEri) October 10, 2022
Viserys did, however, enjoy the visit from Rhaenyra and even from Daemon. He meets his youngest grandchild, also named Viserys, which he smilingly declares to be “a name fit for a king.” Let’s get to the tea talk now: Daemon sniffed the beverage that appeared to offer Viserys some pain relief. The rogue prince doesn’t remark upon his suspicions. So… has Otto been dropping poison into the tea? Some people do have suspicions.
Daemon smells something amiss in the tea. Maybe it's Earl Grey, and he knows Viserys prefers Chamomile?
Maybe it's something more sinister…
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) October 10, 2022
https://twitter.com/rebellegrrl/status/1579280867805253632
HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.
