In the first episode of House of the Dragon, King Viserys went through one of the saddest and most difficult tragedies ever… losing his wife and child. In his attempt to create an heir to the throne, Viserys impregnated his wife many times.
Aemma mentioned many times how she struggled to birth children, other than their daughter Rhaenyra. Her complaints came full circle when she was in labor with their son, Baelon. He was coming out feet first, something that is incredibly dangerous to the mother and child. The doctor who was present at the time, Grand Maester Mellos, told Viserys there was something they could try that would be very risky for Aemma’s survival.
If Viserys had not agreed to the risk, Aemma would still be alive. However, he was so desperate for a son that he said yes to the unproven technique. It ultimately did not work, and Viserys lost his wife and infant son at the same time. After seeing how sad and depressed he was from their deaths, fans are wondering if Viserys will ever get married again.
Will King Viserys ever get married again?
Seeing Otto Hightower as part of King Viserys’ council should jog some of the memories on the backstory of the Targaryen house. Indeed, King Viserys will get married again, but not to a Targaryen. He will instead be married to Alicent Hightower, daughter of Otto Hightower. Interwisngly enough, this was likely always the plan on Otto’s agenda.
During the first episode, Otto pushes this narrative and has his daughter dress up in one of her mother’s gowns to go and comfort Viserys in the immediate aftermath of his wife and son passing away. He wanted his daughter to appeal to the king’s desires using her beauty and charm. At the time, it looked like Otto was attempting to get his future bloodline on the throne. King Viserys choosing to marry again (and outside of the Targaryen bloodline) is very strange, as it is customary for Targaryens to marry within their own bloodline.
The goal is to keep their line as pure as it can be. However, their incestuous bloodline is one of the reasons some of the Targaryens turn out to be vicious and evil-minded. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Rhaenyra and Alicent once the marriage happens, as they were clearly close childhood friends in the early episodes of the show.