Viserys’ House Of The Dragon Vision Is Actually A Targaryen Obsession

House of the Dragon Episode 2 ended with Viserys submitting to getting remarried and perhaps choosing the worst possible person politically, Alicent Hightower. She fit him best, personality-wise, but her rise has given her father ideas about the Hightower line producing kings. And now that she’s successfully had a child, it seems to be spreading. However, the vision Viserys had in House of the Dragon, which made him consider naming his new child the heir, is more than just a fanciful dream.

Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 3 follow. Game of Thrones spent its first few episodes in the day-to-day minutiae of traveling from Winterfell to King’s Landing. In contrast, House of the Dragon has been like a stone skipping across the timeline. The series started with the Great Council of 101 that put Viserys on the throne. Then it hit the decision to name Rhaenyra’s Viserys’ heir; it skipped ahead to Viserys’ remarriage. For episode 3, the show picked up nearly three years later, on the second birthday of Viserys’ firstborn son by Alicent, Aegon.

Rhaenyra felt shoved to the side by her father’s new family. She realized her chances of ruling Westeros disappeared with the birth of a boy, despite her father’s promises. With Alicent pregnant again, she was waiting for the shoe to drop. And when Jason Lannister turned up, having talked to her father about marriage, she was convinced this was it.

But Viserys wavering on the subject of Rhaenyra inheriting isn’t just because he has a boy now. Like Aegon I and Daenys the Dreamer, he had a vision when Rhaenyra was a child. “A male babe, born to me, wearing the conquer’s crown,” Viserys said to Alicent, admitting he never thought he’d remarry when he named Rhaenyra. “What if I was wrong?” he asked Alicent.

So what does Viserys mean precisely when he talks about a son “wearing the conquerer’s crown”? Though he does not use the phrase, it’s obvious he means he saw the vision as “The Prince That Was Promised.” Viewers already know the prophecy, “When the red star bleeds, and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt.” (They also know that in Season 8, the actual PTWP turns out to be nothing like anyone imagined.)

No one here has mentioned the prophecy as yet. However, Viserys, established as a dreamer and a sensitive soul, was burdened by the knowledge of a coming apocalypse. At the time of his dream, he carried that secret alone. Naturally, his dreams included a son as the world’s savior, one born of anxiety and desire to know the next generation would keep the world safe.

Now that a son is here, it would be natural to wonder if this was the “Prince That Was Promised.” It’s an obsession that has been going on for generations, wanting to get it right, even when no one knows what “it” is.

That’s also a twist to Rhaenyra and Alicent’s coming showdown over the throne. It suggests by the time Viserys passes, Rhaenyra takes the throne, believing she’s keeping Westeros safe as her father wanted. Meanwhile, Alicent believes her son could be the savior of the world and will keep Westeros safe, as her husband wanted.

House of the Dragon Season 1 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.