We all knew Viserys had it bad, but now we know the truth it’s somehow even worse (Picture: Getty/HBO)
*Warning: Contains graphic images and spoilers for House of the Dragon.*
House of the Dragon creator George RR Martin has confirmed the illness that King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) was suffering from.
The Game of Thrones prequel series, which finished its first season earlier this week, tracked the years of Viserys’ reign that resulted in a civil war.
In the very first episode, it was revealed to viewers that Viserys had developed sores from sitting on the Iron Throne before accidentally cutting his fingers on it.
Despite attempts by the maesters of King’s Landing, Viserys slowly lost two of his fingers, then the bottom half of his left arm, and then eventually his right eye.
Fans have been speculating as to what real-world illness Viserys contracted, with Considine, 49, stating that Viserys had a form of leprosy.
And now the show’s creator George RR Martin has said that it was likely an ‘infection’, and a ‘dangerous’ one at that.
Viserys was, erm, not in a good way by the time episode 8 rolled around (Picture: HBO)
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Speaking to American talkshow host Stephen Colbert, he said: ‘It is dangerous. A lot of the kings cut themselves on the Iron Throne, sometimes it gets infected.’
Martin’s most recent comments have caused fans to believe that Viserys likely suffered from a condition known as necrotising fasciitis.
According to the NHS, necrotising fasciitis is a rare, painful, life-threatening condition that eventually causes black and purple blisters to appear.
This description certainly matches what happened to Viserys.
The depiction of Viserys’ illness differs slightly from what Martin wrote in his book Fire and Blood, upon which House of the Dragon is based.
In the books, the infection takes hold quickly despite the best efforts of the king’s medical staff who attempt to stop it from spreading.
House of the Dragon’s version of events shows the king’s illness taking hold much slower – it results in a slow, agonising death for Viserys.
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Martin also confirmed in the Colbert interview that he was ‘three quarters’ of the way through writing the long-awaited next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
‘We’re going to deliver it, and it’s going to be published, and the next day I’ll get the first tweet asking, “Where’s [the next book]?”‘
House of The Dragon is available to stream on NOW.
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We knew it was grisly, but not *that* grisly. Yikes.