King Aegon's Reign Ushers In a Dark Period on 'House of the Dragon'

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon.

The late King Viserys in House of the Dragon is referred to as "Viserys the Peaceful" multiple times in the Oct. 16 episode. And something tells us that's to emphasize the state of the Seven Kingdoms before his son, Aegon, has his coronation as the next ruler.

With all of the terrible deeds we have seen Aegon do, it's hard not to wonder if the king really wanted Aegon to be the next king.

You could say that the Dance of Dragons begins in the first season's penultimate episode. Alicent moves forward with crowning her son as the king, despite Viserys having named his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir decades ago. And Otto forces some of the great houses to bend the knee or face death if they refuse.

Like most of the other Targaryens, Aegon is a key part of the Dance of Dragons. And when it's all said and done, at least according to the book Fire & Blood, Aegon is among those who do not make it. His reign isn't as long as he likely expects it to be. And to be fair, he was never supposed to be king in the first place.

In Episode 8, Viserys speaks to Alicent with his final breath and mentions Aegon as king. Alicent takes this to mean that he wants their son, Aegon, to be the next ruler instead of Rhaenyra. But, as fans have agreed since the episode aired, it's clear that Viserys, under the influence of milk of the poppy at the time of his death, believes he's speaking to Rhaenyra.

And the mention of Aegon as king is really in reference to King Aegon I who prophesied the Prince who was Promised, who would unite the realm against a great evil.

It's safe to say that no, the king didn't really want Aegon to become the next king after his death. In the years since his children with Alicent were born, Viserys wavered just once on his decision to name Rhaenyra as his heir.

But he never formally changed his mind on the matter. And the fact that Aegon even says he knows his father hated him shows that Viserys never hinted to his oldest son that he wanted him to be his successor.

If House of the Dragon follows Fire & Blood, then Aegon's reign will be short-lived. In the book, he rules Westeros for two years until he's assassinated. He's poisoned and it's alleged that his own men kill him to finally put an end to the war when he refuses to admit defeat.

There's even accusations against Larys Strong in the book and Larys is one of the men executed and beheaded for the crime.

Because we'll see the war, which is called the Dance of Dragons, in the show, and Aegon's time as king isn't too long, we will also likely see his death.

And if there's one thing the Game of Thrones franchise does well with snotty kings, it's kill them off in the most satisfying way.

Watch House of the Dragon on Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on HBO and HBO Max.