Is Viserys Talking About Jon Snow In His Last Words?

It is the ‘Dragon Day’. HBO’s House of The Dragon (HOTD) recently aired its 8th episode of the first season, ‘Lord of the Tides’. The

By Mohit Srivastava
October 10,2022
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It is the ‘Dragon Day’. HBO’s House of The Dragon (HOTD) recently aired its 8th episode of the first season, ‘Lord of the Tides’. The show brought the series to another height and raised the stakes even more. It saw, the fan-favorite – King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) finally rise up to unite his family in his last days.

However, during his last breath, he mentions a prophecy called ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ that tells about a ‘Prince that was Promised’, mistakenly to Alicent thinking of her as Rhaenyra. Viserys’s last words surely will have huge repercussions going forward. Let’s try to really dig into what he said and what it means for the future of the series.

The Prophecy and Dream

An artist’s illustration of Aegon I Targaryen on his dragon Belarion, the Dread

Rhaenyra and Viserys have earlier talked about this prophecy in Viserys’s chambers. Rhaenyra brings out the old Valyrian Dagger in front of the fire and out emerged the words that said –

From my blood come the prince that was promised and his will be the song of ice and fire.

This prophecy is probably the divine right of the dynasty of Targaryens. From generations, as Viserys tells Rhaenyra, it has been passed on from heir to heir along with the belief that a Targaryen must sit on the Iron Throne if they are to survive the prophesied Long Night (the arrival of the White Walkers).

Earlier, King Viserys tells Rhaenyra about Aegon Targaryen, the Conqueror’s dream. A dream that has been considered no less than a prophecy across the generations of Targaryens.

Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this great winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, then a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. – King Viserys to Rhaenyra

Aegon called his dream – ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’.

The four Aegons

Aegon II Targaryen

There are four Aegon Targaryens that the viewers of House of the Dragon (HOTD) and Game of Thrones (GOT) know certainly of. They are –

  • Aegon I Targaryen (aka Aegon, the Conqueror) – the first Targaryen to conquer and unite the Seven Kingdoms.
  • Aegon II Targaryen – Eldest son of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower.
  • Aegon III Targaryen (aka Aegon, the Unlucky) – the Eldest son of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Daemon Targaryen.
  • Aegon Targaryen (aka Jon Snow) – the son of Rhaegar Targryen and Lyanna Stark.

Apart from these, there have been many more children named Aegon Targaryen across the Targaryen lineage. But these four are the most significant of the events that are about to unfold in the series.

The Song of Ice and Fire

Night King with his army of White Walkers in GOT

The dream of Aegon Targaryen that King Viserys mentions of is really important. Viewers of Game of Thrones already know that in the future of the events of HOTD (i.e. during GOT), the last surviving Targaryen – Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) will one day (unsuccessfully) attempt to claim her place on the Iron Throne. Viewers also know about the arrival of the Long Night and the battle against the White Walkers. Amidst all that a Targaryen by the name of Aegon – more commonly known as Jon Snow (Kit Harington) – was instrumental in saving Westeros.

Aegon, the Conqueror, had foreseen this threat that was looming over the seven kingdoms and would arrive from the North. The threat is – the White Walkers and the Night King. This evidently happened at the end of the Game of Thrones series. Aegon knew that once his dream becomes reality then he thereon mandated the other Targaryen kings to continue the line as much as they could, as he felt that only a Targaryen could unite the entire realm against the danger that was to come from the north.

The Prince that was promised

Rhaenyra and Viserys

During his dilapidating ill condition, Rhenyra and Daemon visit King Viserys on his bed. Rhaenyra asks Viserys whether he believed the Aegon’s dream that he had once mentioned to her. She then asks him to stand up to her’s succession to the throne and support her eldest son (allegedly with Laenor Velaryon) – Jace’s (Jacaerys Targaryen) claim to the Driftmark. She also names his eldest son Aegon Targaryen similar to Alicent. Viserys however still believes that Rhaenyra is his true heir and her eldest son with Daemon – Aegon Targaryen is really the Prince who was promised.

However. when Alicent comes to visit Viseryes during his last time, Viserys mistakes her to be Rhaenyra. He tells her that he believes in Aegon’s dream and feels that Aegon was truly destined to rule – the Prince that was promised. It is probably the fact that Alicent believes that Viserys was talking about their Aegon (their eldest son) that would enforce her belief of being the next king of the Seven Kingdoms.

The real Prince

Jon Snow

While King Viserys did not mean that, as he was referring to the Aegon, the Conqueror, and his dream. And we all know that the real ‘Prince that was promised’ was indeed Jon Snow aka Aegon Targaryen from GOT. After her secret marriage with Rhaegar Targaryen, on her deathbed, Lyanna Stark named the boy Aegon and asked her brother Eddard (aka Ned) Stark to protect her from Robert Baratheon’s wrath. Ned then renamed this child – Jon Snow and raised him as his own bastard son.

This huge misunderstanding will surely add more fuel to further add any animosity between Alicent and Rhaenyra as the Dance of the Dragon is about to commence in coming episodes. With Adrenaline already pumped up, fans across are eager to see what happens next.