House of the Dragon Reveals King Viserys' Successor on the Iron Throne

By Charlie Ridgely

From the very first episode, House of the Dragon has established that its main story is about the succession of King Viserys Targaryen. He named his daughter, Rhaenyra, as his successor, since he didn't have a son to take over for him. After marrying Alicent Hightower, however, Viserys had multiple sons and many believed he should make the oldest of them the next King, but he stuck to his ground and kept Rhaenyra as the next in line. At the end of last week's episode, Viserys died, leaving Westeros without a king. This week's episode officially put the next ruler on the Iron Throne.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for the latest episode of House of the Dragon. Continue reading at your own risk...

It was Viserys' wish for Rhaenyra to become Queen, but Alicent misunderstood the King's final words. Or, perhaps, she only heard what she wanted to hear. Either way, she clearly believes that Viserys told her he wanted their son, Aegon, on the Iron Throne. Aegon hasn't expressed any interest in becoming King, but that hasn't seemed to matter. During Sunday night's episode, with Rhaenyra away from King's Landing, Alicent and Otto crown Aegon as the next King of Westeros.

What Happens to Rhaenyra?

Rhaenyra has a right to the throne, considering she was hand-picked by her father to take over after his death. Not everyone saw it that way, however, leaving her on the outside looking in. Her half-brother is now King of Westeros, and that won't sit well with Rhaenyra. This will eventually lead to a war between members of House Targaryen known as the Dance of the Dragons.

All of Westeros will eventually become split between Rhaenyra and Aegon II, with both believing they have a claim to the throne. There will be those throughout the Realm that believe Rhaenyra is the true ruler, and she'll be crowned as such. For a while, there will be two people calling themselves the rulers of Westeros.

Eventually, the focus of Westeros will shift to the children of Aegon and Rhaenyra, but that's still a long way off. For now, it is sibling against sibling for the right to rule.

What did you think of the latest episode of House of the Dragon? Let us know in the comments!

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