House of the Dragon: Did Viserys want Aegon to be the king? Explained

With House of the Dragon season 2 finally on its way, there are plenty of questions from the first season that need answering. The Game of Thrones spinoff kicked off with power and ended on an even higher note, combining some political delicacy with the brutality we are familiar with from Game of Thrones.

The debut season of the show about House Targaryen and Westeros' history before the era of Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) had many defining moments throughout its 10 episodes. However, the last two episodes held the most pivotal pieces of the puzzle.

One of these defining moments was King Viserys' (Paddy Considine) dying words, which convinced Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) that he wanted their son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) to be the king.

This was a huge misunderstanding as the dying Viserys actually mistook Alicent for Rhaenyra and was speaking about Aegon, The Conqueror, and his vision.

So, though Viserys did not change his opinion about making his daughter sit on the iron throne, Alicent's misunderstanding, coupled with her father's cunning mind, kickstarted the war that we will see escalating in the next season of House of Dragon.

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Did Viserys really choose Aegon over Rhaenyra?

Viserys did not really want Aegon to be the king over Rhaenyra. This was entirely a misunderstanding as he was speaking to Alicent in a trance and mistook her for his daughter.

He had spoken to Rhaenyra about the prophecy in two parts, once at the beginning of House of the Dragon, where he told her about a vision that Aegon, The Conqueror, had about the realm of men coming to an end.

He further explained how the prophecy revealed that a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne to unite all of Westeros against a common enemy (the whitewalkers in Game of Thrones).

He further told Rhaenyra:

"This secret... it's been passed from king to heir since Aegon's time. Now you must promise to carry it... and protect it."

So, when Viserys was speaking to Alicent in the ninth episode of House of the Dragon, he was not referring to their eldest son, who did not want to be the king anyway, and was instead talking about the prophecy of Aegon, The Conquerer.

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What was Viserys' prophecy about in House of the Dragon?

Viserys also had a vision of his own, as revealed in the third episode of Hosue of the Dragon. According to thevision, he saw a male heir take his throne. He said to Alicent:

"A male babe was born to me wearing the Conquerer's crown. And I so wanted it to be true, to be a dreamer myself. I sought that vision again, night after night, but it never came again. I poured all my thought and will into it. And my obsession killed Rhaenyra's mother."

It was partly because of this guilt that he made Rhaenyra his heir. However, this revelation solidified Alicent's position to push her son for the crown, starting a bloody saga in House of the Dragon.

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Why didn't Aegon want to be king?

Despite the conundrum surrounding the inheritance and birthright, Aegon II did not really want to be the king. This was because he enjoyed his lavish lifestyle and did not want to take responsibility for the kingdom. He also knew deep down that he wasn't cut out for it and could feel he was unworthy.

As Rhaenyra was always meant to take the kingdom, Aegon II wasn't even raised with such a huge responsibility in mind.

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However, with all these events combined, a terrible saga has started in House of the Dragon, and it will only spiral further in the upcoming season.