Paddy Considine’s comparatively extensive career has finally culminated in this short yet impactful stint at the HBO fantasy series, House of the Dragon. His role as Viserys I Targaryen is one marked by greatness and pathos. Amid characters defined by political manipulation and shrewdness who are locked in an intergenerational game vying for power, Considine’s character mediates the calm and the level-headedness that remains tangibly absent from the Westerosi land of power-hungry tyrants.
The Unremarkable Reign of Viserys I Targaryen
Paddy Considine’s Viserys features an unremarkable rise to power. With no great wars or battle of succession to mark his ascension, his seat at the Iron Throne was instead secured by a simple declaration from his predecessor. However, that simple declaration ushered in half a century of peace and prosperity under the rule of Viserys I, and the Targaryen has remained a force of remarkable greatness due to a reign free of terror or tyranny.
Although Westeros celebrates the monotonous peace that comes with Viserys’s position at the helm, the crowd still begs for superficial entertainment through bloodshed and feasting. The reigning monarch grants his subjects that luxury — a clever, if not necessary, step at keeping the mob from getting restless. On the other hand, the unwarranted drama inside the walls of the Red Keep keeps spilling over, always coming to an anticlimactic showdown due to Viserys’s timely interventions.
Paddy Considine’s manifestation of this unremarkable and uneventful presence on the Iron Throne makes Viserys I Targaryen a worthy leader. And even as the monarch questions his legacy as having been monochromatic and forgettable in the colorful history of kings and conquerors — “Will I be remembered as a good king?” since he has neither “fought nor conquered nor suffered any great defeat”, it is Lyonel Strong’s reply that personifies Viserys Targaryen’s life in a handful of words — “Is it not better to live in peace than to have songs sung after you are dead?”
Also read: House of the Dragon: Helaena’s Prophetic Gift Hints at an Omitted Game of Thrones Character
Paddy Considine Deserves That Emmy Nomination
After an extenuating turn of events with House of the Dragon episode 8 titled The Lord of the Tides, it has become more clear than ever that the series’s reigning patriarch, Paddy Considine deserves an Emmy for his tour de force performance. As fan appreciations and tweets roll out the red carpet for the actor’s deserving role, the series picks up its momentum in the meantime as the battle for succession gathers overhead like a looming threat.
House of the Dragon has now surpassed fan expectations after a short dreary stint in the mid-season build-up. With the latest episode standing at a rare rating of 10 on IMDb, the Game of Thrones universe has deemed it an equal of the infamous Battle of the Bastards. With two more episodes to go before the season’s grand finale, Paddy Considine’s unforgettable performance as King Viserys, a warm, kind-hearted presence in a kingdom hungry for bloodshed will definitely be remembered for years to come. Here’s to King Viserys, the first of his name.
House of the Dragon is currently streaming on HBO and HBO Max.
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