‘House of the Dragon’: What Is Going on With the Cuts on King Viserys’s Body?

The first episode of HBO‘s new Game of Thrones series House of the Dragon introduced us to one of the most arguably tragic Targaryen kings: Viserys I (Paddy Considine). Chosen over his cousin Rhaenys (Eve Best) by the lords of the realm to succeed his grandfather, Viserys is a king who simply wants everyone to get along. He shies away from confrontation, which only results in tensions festering even further. Also apparently festering? Viserys himself. In just a few throwaway scenes, House of the Dragon shows the doctor-esque maesters fretting over a wound that won’t heal and Viserys cutting himself on the blades of the Iron Throne.

So what’s going on with Viserys and the cuts on his body? Are they just poorly treated abrasions that are struggling to heal because of the lack of antibiotics in this era? Or is House of the Dragon saying something deeper about Viserys’s role as king?

The thing you have to understand about the Iron Throne is when characters say it’s the most dangerous seat in the realm, it’s not a metaphor. Sure, sitting on the Iron Throne places you in danger of being violently toppled by your rivals, but that’s not what they mean. Because the chair was forged from the thousands of blades surrendered to Aegon the Conqueror, the Iron Throne is basically a death trap. You have to balance yourself just so on it so as not to slice and dice yourself on the many sharp edges.

So the sore on Viserys’s back in Episode 1 of House of the Dragon is proof positive of how prickly the Iron Throne is. The question is why isn’t the cut healing? Well, there are three reasons. A very obvious logical one, a thematic one, and a potentially conspiratorial one.

First of all, it could merely be that Viserys’s wound isn’t healing because the maesters’ healing arts aren’t up to snuff. We’re talking about an injury sustained on centuries-old blades in a time before antibiotics and tetanus shots. Healing up is going to be hard. So there’s a common sense solution to this pickle.

However, within the world of House of the Dragon, superstitious types would see the cuts Viserys sustains on the Iron Throne and surmise that the chair was rejecting him as ruler. A truly powerful king (or queen) would be able to sit in the chair comfortably. Viserys, we see, does not. It could be that he’s not cut out for the responsibility of the Iron Throne. This is “medical issue as metaphor.”

Finally, are we sure Viserys should be trusting the maesters? The maesters have long been tied to House Hightower in this world and, as we know from Sam’s time there in Game of Thrones, the maesters are both anti-magic and rather incurious when it comes to medical breakthroughs. Could there be a conspiracy where the maesters are letting Viserys’s wounds fester on purpose? Or, more likely, could they be so tied to their medieval medical practices, they can’t simply treat the wounds as necessary?

Either way, Viserys keeps cutting himself on the Iron Throne. Towards the end of the premiere episode of House of the Dragon, Viserys errantly cuts his pinkie finger after angrily sending his brother away. Maybe Viserys needs the Westeros version of Neosporin?