How Viserys Caused the Dance of the Dragons

[@TheCoconutKangaroo]

💯 He even called Rhaenyra his only child before he dies. His other children were just ornaments to expand the Targaryen line.

[@lilchaos9212]

He really made it obvious that having kids with Alicent was an afterthought to pleasuring himself USING Alicent. He didn't care about her or the children he forced upon her at all.

[@gabbuorellana5643]

I agree Viserys is the Villain however, it is not true he was given a choice between Aemma and Baelon II. He was told "if we kill your wife now, we MIGHT save the babe, but we need to know now or they both die.

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

yeah viserys had a choice of their both gonna die either you speed up Aemma passing and save your son or both die

[@dianadrozd175]

​@@durrangodsgrief6503 They could have given her more milk of the poppy to dull the pain or make her unconscious, but it could potentially not be safe for the baby and this was what Viserys cared about. You can see how terrified Aemma was, and he let them butcher her like an animal. He forced her to have 5 pregnancies in 10 years! And you could see she really was not taking this well mentally and physically. Then he made Rhaynera an heir (meaning he butchered Aemma for nothing). Married Alicent and forced her to have sex with him and birth more children, which he fucking ignored!

[@MI-vc9lp]

Yes but he didn’t bother to get Aemma's consent or even tell her. She didn't want to die. He caused that.

[@stevenblack3604]

The king was weak just like his brother told him him he was. Too weak to right the wrongs he created in his family. He had time and options to make this right while he was alive. Its all very sad.

[@Alex-bz8lj]

May Viserys rot in the seven hells

[@carla3693]

All the past Targaryen king wishing the same after witnessing what he caused

[@durrangodsgrief6503]

​@@carla3693nah if this man is with the other kings and kin I know jaehaerys is strangling him with maegor and aegon trying to help him as baelon tries to save his son and visenya is holding him back

[@tomcosta9507]

I generally agree, but I beg to differ in one point. Given that Viserys’s uncle Aemon (oldest male child of Jaehaerys) and father Baelon (second oldest male child of Jaehaerys) died “prematurely” in the sense that their father outlived both of them, it was not too dumb of an idea to have more heirs in case something happens to Rhaenyra. Well, since nothing happened to her, this was ofc contraproductive. But seen from Viserys’s standpoint with the trauma of losing father, mother and uncle so young, it is kind of understandable.

[@heresfrankbetches921]

I hate him

[@jjosifovic]

A terrible king, father, and husband. He deserved his fate and to be honest he is probably in contention as the worst 5 kings of the seven kingdoms.

[@laurierhebert-jodoin5716]

Good video, but that beeping sound made me think my fire alarm was out of battery 😂

[@MrAskmannen]

Yeah she gotta change those batteries. Not safe to have a dead smoke alarm

[@notdeadjustyet8136]

He's not a villain but he definitely is guilty of starting the war through inaction. Many well meaning ppl do bad things by turning the blind eye to problems, especially when their loved ones are involved in them. He was also a cold distant parent to his younger kids and obviously overprotective to R. whom he spoiled ,but failed to prepare for her role. That is a very common flaw and situation in westeros and the real world though. It makes him (a well meaning but flawed) human.

[@griffinmadison2002]

I’d say it’s entirely unfair to call him a villain. Yes his actions led to the dance of the dragons but he was the only thing keeping the realm together and his constant attempts to ensure his family got alone is constant throughout the show and his time as King. He’s certainly not the villain but he does make massive mistakes that play into other mistakes and leads into the dance.

[@alexravella7849]

It’s an interesting way to look at it. It was a big shake up to make his daughter the heir but he would have been setting a new precedence that women can rule. He definitely could not give the realm to Damon. Even though she wasn’t his first choice I think he felt better about it and came around to realize that was just society. He also grew up in a peaceful time so he did not realize what would happen.

[@Akiraspin]

Great diplomat, good man, bad father, TERRIBLE king.

[@mirandadepriest9095]

Didn't even need to watch to like. (I did watch though)

[@tyedrichill8097]

He named his daughter as Queen. The fault is with Otto Hightower, Criston Cole etc. for not accepting this and pushing Aegon to rule.

[@lilchaos9212]

The fault is with Viserys for being a full grown man and CHOOSING to remarry and have multiple legitimate sons and then acting oblivious to the fact that there was a precedent established by HIM becoming King that favoured men over women. He named Rhaenyra BEFORE he had sons and then acted as though people questioning the succession, when Viserys only confirmed it to still be Rhaenyra in private, was somehow ridiculous. He never made any attempt to publicly reaffirm and establish Rhaenyra's eventual reign.

[@tracys169]

He's what I'd call 'covert villain' LOL. They tried to make him seem honorable, etc but his actions are flawed and inactions/steps would push the next generation into the "Dance." First of all, his guilt has always been his decision to basically kill Aemma whom he actually loved. Obviously, not loved enough though. He could select to have Aemma take some milk of the poppy to ease her pain and perhaps rest to try again to get the baby out naturally, but nope, can't even do that because it'd endanger the 'son.' Viserys seemed to fancy himself some sort of a 'dreamer' (since imo, he wanted to have something 'special.') Remember, at this point in time, he's not a dragon rider. He only rode Balerion once and never again tried to claim any dragon. He's not a warrior like his brother, Daemon. He's so into history thou, so he fancied himself talented as a 'dreamer' and dreamed a 'son' of his would be on the Iron throne blablabla, hence he pushed to have Aemma cut open the way she did. Then his guilt and anger (anger that Daemon called Baelon-baby-'heir for a day') pushed him to declare Rhaenyra, his daughter, as his heir--this is only a few years after he became King because others, such as Rhaenys was overlooked due to gender base. Then...he ended up stunting Rhaenyra's growth anyway and married his daughter's friend and started popping up boys with Alicent lol. His inactions (example: Alicent was his regent, not Rhaenyra when he was ill, then after Lord Lyonel Strong died, it was Otto who was his Hand again..not Rhaenyra, why not have her as his hand? I mean, his father Baelon was King Jaehary's Hand for goodness sake, I thought ht wanted Rhaenyra to be the ruling queen?!) eventually pushed Rhaenyra aside and further away from court (as we learn now, proximity to court is very important per claiming the crown). Despite all those, he also 'nurtured' that sense of resentment from the Greens by his further inaction. Alicent already disliked Rhaenyra for not following rules at this point (plus the 3 Strong boys), but Viserys made it worse by not treating his children with Alicent like...his own kids. If anything, it felt like after he's done making the 'spares' (3 boys and a girl) he just went off and went to sleep LOL. Not parenting them, not nurturing them and creating some sort of bond between their families...not until very late anyway. That's why I am not too keen on Viserys, although overall, he didn't have bad intention, just bad executions that's all ....

[@vibecheckwithwojtek]

One small tip: the beeping sound in the back is a bit distracting, not sure what that is

[@TheCoconutKangaroo]

I checked my fire alarm too 😂

[@KleanAsmr]

Your opinions are appropriate for OUR time and OUR world. Not for THEIR time and in THEIR world lol.

[@paytonschroll5965]

He protected his daughter when Aemon lost his eye 1. If you look and listen alicent has raised them to be jealous like she is and Aemon was about to kill one of the girls with a BIG rock... HELLO 🙄 He had to defend her in that world if he let anyone say they were bastards they would kill his daughter and grandkids and then the kingdom would go to heck..! 2. Also Allison was a teenager yes in the book she was older and anyways she knew what she was doing she could have told him she didn't want to she could have said no to her father but she wanted to be Queen. See knew what she was doing when she went in his room every night and was there to comfort the king like her daddy said! She knew it seduced the king and did not tell her friend that she was doing this behind her friends back that's what no one seems to know on this site or whatever Allison acts like she's better and she's sacrificing everything but yet she did the lying first to ranerya .. she did not tell Rainier she was sneaking in her father's bedroom every night that would have hurt her best friend so she kept it to herself 3. You need to look at the way she raised her kids she let her son grape the maids .without consequences!. I'm going to stop now because I not going to my blood pressure up because if you choose to defend someone who is clearly not a good person or mother she raised murders . By the way everyone knows that in our world women died all the time trying to give their husbands a son it's sad it's wrong but you know also you were mentioning the fact that he was with his first wife she was 14 and he was 17 so don't put it that he has groomed her.

[@snowdropsinapril3045]

1. Aemond was going back to his chamber minding his own business and they attacked him 4 on 1. Rhaena pushed him first so he pushed back, Baela punched him first so he punched back. Then they all started beating the shit out of him, that is why picked a rock. Like what was he supposed to do, lay down and let them beat him up? 2. We are talking about the show, not the book. Alicent here is 14/15 years old. She seduced him really? He knew he was doing something wrong because he ORDERED her to not tell Rhaeynera. Alicent is not Rhaynera she cannot disobey orders from the king. 3. Viserys would never kill Raynera and her children. Be for real. He already allowed her to have 3 bastards with no consequences. She would just have to step down as an heir at most if it came to light she had bastard children. 4. Pretending that jealousy was the only reason for Alicent acting up in the Driftmark episode is stupid. Aemond's gauged eyeball was lying on the plate next to him and all Viserys cared about was trying to cover Rhaynera's lies. This was the moment she understood her children would be sacrificed if needed to secure Rheynera's claim to the throne and Viseris would not protect them.

[@motaman5936]

Wth?!!! The guy sacrificed his one true love for the stability of the realm and in the end he lost everything. Rheanyra and daemon are both at fault.

[@AllThingsShaunda]

It feels like some of your commentary is based on 21st century views. He chose he’s son over his wife because he believed in the song of ice and fire and keeping the realm intact.

[@_anastasiagracia_]

Things can be from previous centuries and still be objectively wrong. Viserys later questioned the reliance of prophecy after having Aegon to Alicent so even people then questioned it. A lot of GRRM is less about if the prophecy is correct but what people do with their beliefs of the prophecy. Choosing to kill your wife is still wrong even if you think it is for the greater good as she is a person.

[@johnwayne9828]

​@@_anastasiagracia_😂😂😂tell me youre a sad, lonely cat lady without saying you're a sad, lonely cat lady.

[@dariang4725]

It's not fair to say he didn't care about his wife. He believed in the song of ice and fire. He truly thought that he had to give birth to a male heir or the world would end. Intent is important, and viserys spend the later half of his life trying to prevent his family from being torn apart.

[@giuliana2571]

He never cared or looked after his other kids

[@thorntonwager6750]

Viserys also had to act quickly in that decision without any time to think it through. Him not having a male heir could cause so many problems for the kingdom and there was so much more at stake than just his wife’s life. The Dance proves that succession crises can be deadly.

[@drippinwet774]

define "care". All of those descendants; aside from bastards, had their lives pampered in comparison to the smallfolk. He did his best and thats all that matters.

[@opopad]

This is an insane take lol

[@carastone3473]

Um...NO...unless you're blaming him for marrying Alicent Hightower. Everything would've been fine if the Hightowers had not plotted to usurp the throne.

[@jjosifovic]

lol nope u put replace the hightowers with some other house they would still usurp rhaenyra. A Female heir would always be challenged and a female heir having obvious bastards would defiently be challenged giving she is creating a succession crisis.

[@hmm_1228]

If Viserys married Laena and she produced a son, you bet your ass Corlys and Rhaenys will fight for that boy to be King. It will be Blacks vs. Blues then.

[@jjosifovic]

@@hmm_1228 thank u its like people cant see that the root cause of the problem was that naming rhaenyra as heir was a big political mistake.

[@lilchaos9212]

You say that as if Viserys didn't CHOOSE to marry Alicent. People wanted him to remarry, but he didn't HAVE to. He was a weak man who crumbled under any pressure and choose to have multiple sons because he wanted to bed Alicent, despite knowing that his own reign set a precedent of male primogeniture in Westeros, and did NOTHING to re-establish Rhaenyra's succession, prepare her, or publicly remove any challenge his sons posed to her by existing. The moment Viserys chose to remarry and father more children, he made Rhaenyra's claim flimsy.

[@dianadrozd175]

@@lilchaos9212 I am sick of people trying to make Viserys the victim and absolve him of all responsibility for what has happened. "Poor man, he was forced to remarry." After Alicent had already birthed him two children before she was even 18, he just HAD TO send for her in the middle of the night to have sex with him. She sure threw herself at him when she was washing that rotting body of his earlier that evening. True vixen she.

[@pendragonsxskywalkers9518]

No, he isn't villain Stop blamig victims and excusing perpetrators.

[@_anastasiagracia_]

He is the king... the person with the most power. It is insane to say he is a victim of anything besides the consequences of own actions.

[@pendragonsxskywalkers9518]

@@_anastasiagracia_ Insane it to blame deceased person for acton of living ones. That is why I called him 'victim', he is your victims and people liketry to put blame on him which is insane. Viserys did not know exact future. Viserys did everything he could to prevent war with informations he was given. Could he do more? Sure he could, but it is easy to say fro point of view somoen who has priviledge to know future. No matter what Viserys did, Alicent, Aegon and Otto were free to choose their own path. And they chose to disrespect Viserys and stole Rhaenyra's crown.

[@hmm_1228]

@@pendragonsxskywalkers9518 He's an absolute monarch. It's like saying Aenys should not be blamed for Maegor's actions because he's deceased, when everyone knows Aenys' weakness is what tore the realm apart and ALLOWED Maegor to ascend, just as Viserys' weakness caused the Dance. Viserys doesn't know the future true, but he should know that based on the patriarchal society he lives in, that the danger of him remarrying ANYONE and producing sons will endanger Rhaenyra by default. Not knowing that is just pure ignorance and shows how naive Viserys was. And you do know that if Viserys married Laena and she has a son, Corlys will 100% back the boy as King over Rhaenyra. So it doesn't matter who he remarries, whether it's Hightower, Velaryon, Tyrell, Baratheon, Lannister, etc., Rhaenyra WILL be usurped in all instances if Viserys has a son with his second wife. It's simply that Alicent and Otto got their foot in the door first over Laena and Corlys.

[@pendragonsxskywalkers9518]

@@hmm_1228 What are you talking about? Aenys absolutely should NOT be blamed and nowhere in Fire & Blood he is blamed. Aenys was weak king, but it was Maegor's decision to usurp his npehew. None could predict this, since Maegor was supportove of Aenys, so how anyone could know he will turn against Aegon?

[@pendragonsxskywalkers9518]

@@hmm_1228 You are absolutely delusional. Aenys is NOT responsible fro Maegor's action. Aenys was weka King but he was never usurped by his brother. Maegor could chose to support his nephew but he chose to usurped him. Maegor is the only one to blame.