Here's Why That Popular HOTD Theory About Viserys' Illness Is Probs Wrong
Let's look at the facts.
In the first episode, House of the Dragon revealed the current ruler of Westeros, King Viserys I Targaryen, was currently plagued by a mysterious illness. Though the Maesters did what they can, by the second episode, it was clear whatever was wrong kept coming back. It’s not looking good for the ruler of the kingdom, who only has a daughter to succeed him. As for what’s wrong with him, viewers seem convinced that Viserys suffers from Greyscale on House of the Dragon. Now, I’m not a doctor, but this diagnosis seems sus.
Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 2 follow. In the premiere, just before his wife Aemma tragically passes away in the birthing bed along with his newborn son, Viserys is revealed to be suffering from skin lesions. Precisely what he’s suffering from isn’t defined, and the Maesters seemed quite puzzled that their salves and ointments have no effect. But Viserys is the King, and he must be seen as healthy. Moreover, as the blood of the dragon, heat doesn’t bother him, so he opted to have the lesion cauterized, hoping that would put an end to it.
But by Episode 2, two years on, cauterizing was revealed to have failed. The pressure to stop whatever the disease is mounted as the King felt the need to remarry and produce a son. However, the series still doesn’t define what is wrong with Viserys, so fans have a theory: Greyscale.
As audiences will recall, Stannis’ only daughter was infected with Greyscale, and it took all the Maesters in the land to stop the disease from eating her alive. She is the only known person to have survived the infection. In that sense, Viserys having Greyscale would be logical — it ties back to the original series, and everyone knows no one in his time survived such a disease.
However, let’s consider the symptoms. Viserys’ flesh is being eaten away, but not by a hard-cracking shell growing over his skin. Greyscale gets its name because the skin becomes hard, with a grey, stone-like appearance that cracks as the victim moves, making it look like scales. Eventually, the person becomes wholly entombed within their skin. Moreover, Greyscale is passed by touch — Shireen was infected by a doll carrying the disease.
That’s nothing like what is happening to Viserys. The doctors who touch him and burn off the infected sections are not coming down with anything. What Viserys has doesn’t seem contagious; no one else has come down with it. That suggests it’s something that developed internally, that he was genetically disposed to having.
If Viserys’ lesions are a genetic issue, that suggests his illness is a side effect of inbreeding, not unlike the 19th century Tsars, who developed extreme hemophilia after generations of intermarrying. By Daenerys’ day, mental illness is recognized as having originated in the Targaryen family from their desire to keep the bloodline pure. But it seems that perhaps other, less discussed health issues have plagued the family for generations from their choice to intermarry.
House of the Dragon Season 1 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
