House of the Dragon‘s fourth episode had plenty of steamy moments that made the show live up to its “HotD” abbreviation. Then there was the not-so-sexy visual of King Viserys I getting it on with his wife, (poor) Alicent, while the audience got a good bad look at the open sores on his back. Not only that, but he’s lost fingers, and it’s clear that not even maggots can help cure what ails him. Wounds from the throne are nothing novel in Westeros — King Aerys II, the Mad King, was also known as King Scab for a reason — but Viserys appears to be downright rotting away, so what gives?
Our own Jessica Toomer’s been doing a weekly wound watch, and this week, she notes Viserys’ discolored arm in addition to those missing digits and whatever’s going on with his back. It’s clear that Viserys’ body refuses to heal, and he’s simultaneously struggling to figure out how the Targaryens can hold onto the throne. By the end of the episode, he’s furious with Daemon for putting Rhaenyra’s virtue in jeopardy, a move that appears to be borne from genuine attraction but, even more so, from Daemon’s desire to set himself up for the throne. We obviously know that the Targaryens won’t remain in power, and the throne actually appears to be judging the hell out of the man who’s currently sitting in it. So is the throne, you know, killing Viserys?
Plenty of theories abound. There’s a question of whether the chair’s actually the source of all that ails the king. Sure, maybe he’s got diabetes or gout, or maybe something more magical is happening. Whatever the case, the symbolism is thick, given that the throne may have not only cost Viserys his fingers but caused also the sores on his back. It sure feels like the throne doesn’t want him to be king, and that’s doubly the case since the Targaryens are thought to be more resistant (due to dragon’s blood) to illness, including greyscale and so on. Since this king is growing so very ill, we can presume that there’s hefty foreshadowing going on for his entire house.
Whatever’s going on has led social media to indulge in speculation. One of the more interesting theories: is Otto Hightower a fan of poison, and if so, will the wounds begin to heal now that he’s out of the picture? Let the guessing game begin.
This chair be fucking Viserys UP. #HouseOfTheDragon #HOTD pic.twitter.com/yiPR5FYfSp
— monarch the great (@OneMonarchTwo) September 12, 2022
@sunnyholden i think this is the ailment source
it makes perfect sense #kingsdisease with all that binge
he’s been doing
— tanisha (@canaryyellow25) September 12, 2022
Man lost a whole 2 fingers sitting on it! No wonder the queen is upset.
— Will (@LucidOreo) September 12, 2022
Nah him getting cut up by throne is a sign that he’s not fit to be king , the throne is rejecting him
— ($)HANE (@foundxhane) September 12, 2022
When Viserys was just on top of Alicent pumpin and all those sores on his back.. And she was just dissociating.. that shit hurt my heart
— WhoGivesAFwhatSomelordthinksYouAreThe
(@ThisGrayArea) September 12, 2022
Regarding the 3rd point—maybe Otto would put poison on the tips of the iron throne swords…then every time Viserys got cut, he was poisoned a bit more and that’s also why his sores wouldn’t heal.
—
Shadowtail
(@ShadowtailCTC) September 12, 2022
Why do I think all of Viserys body sores will disappear now that Otto is gone? Maybe he was slow poisoning? Thoughts?
— LucyLamb (@LucyLamby) September 12, 2022
Nah, man’s a diabetic and it’s eating away at him.
— Babyrocko1908 (@Babyrocko1908) September 12, 2022
He has gout!!!
— lexi. (@LXIROSE) September 12, 2022
HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.