House of the Dragon‘s King Viserys I Targaryen was the 5th king to rule over Westeros after it had been conquered by his ancestor Aegon. He has been an enjoyable character for the most part and, as he approached his end, he became a favourite among fans, especially in the moments when he stood up for his daughter. He was a good man, but that is not something that would have historians of Westeros leaning in his favour. Let’s take a look at what House of the Dragon‘s Viserys I Targaryen actually did for the people of Westeros and find out if he was actually a good king.
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Viserys vs Past Targaryen Kings
Viserys I Targaryen was not the worst king to ever sit on the Iron Throne. No, that is a title that belongs to Maegor the Cruel, who took great pleasure in the terror he wrought over the kingdom of Westeros with his mightly dragon Balerion. Viserys fell right in the middle of the kings that came before him, not as bad as Aenys I or Maegor I, but nowhere near as good of a leader as Jaehaerys (the best king in Targaryen history) and Aegon.
He was a good man and he did all he could to maintain the peace in Westeros that had been founded by his grandfather (Jaehaerys), who managed to save Westeros from falling apart after the disastrous rulings of his predecessors. During his time as king, Viserys was never truly tested, in the military sense, as there was no real major conflict in or outside of the realm until after he died.
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Maintaining the Peace
In doing everything he could to make sure he didn’t destroy his grandfather’s work, Viserys I Targaryen never really established himself or who he was as a king. Keeping the peace is a major part of governing and, while he managed to continue to build on the relationships that had been formed between other kingdoms and House Targaryen, he did nothing to grow the kingdom past the point that it was at when it was passed down to him.
Keeping the peace was not the only important aspect of his job and his insistence to not rock the boat or change anything that had been done, as well as his blind trust in the people around him, would come to bite him in the butt later on.
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Couldn’t Prevent the Civil War
The kingdom started to fall apart at the seams after Viserys’ death in what would become one of the bloodiest and most devastating conflicts in all of Westerosi history, which would lead to the Targaryen’s losing any real power or influence they had and the extinction of dragons.
It was recorded by the Measters that he didn’t do anything to prevent the conflict that was brewing between his daughter and his second wife, but he was drugged and died before he was really given the chance to make a difference in the war.
Viserys I Targaryen may not have been the worst king, and he was definitely a good man, but, at the end of the day, he wasn’t a particularly good king either.
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After watching house of the dragon for a third time I believe king Viserys was a very good king. On first watching I thought he was weak but after rewatching I thought he did a great job up until he was on his death bed. He ruled over a peaceful kingdom and everyone loved and respected him, including Daemon in the end. Only his confusion on his death bed escalated everything.