House Of The Dragon: Celebrities attend UK premiere in London
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Game of Thrones fans finally got their first peek into the bloody and turbulent Targaryen family history when House of the Dragon premiered on HBO this weekend. Centred on King Viserys (played by Paddy Considine), the GOT prequel explored the tough choice he had to make in naming his heir – whether it be brother Daemon (Matt Smith) or daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock). However, this choice between a rock and a hard place only arose after the king suffered a devastating loss in the family.
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon.
Throughout the first half of the premiere of House of the Dragon, Viserys did all he could to comfort and tend to his wife Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke).
Aemma was heavily pregnant with the king’s child and while the sex was a mystery, Viserys was convinced his wife would deliver him a boy and a male heir to the throne.
But things began to take a devastating turn for the worse when Aemma went into labour during the king’s tournament.
Viserys rushed to her chambers to find blood-soaked sheets, an exhausted Aemma and a maester armed with a heartbreaking conundrum for the king – try to save one or lose both of them.
Viserys’ desperation for a male heir was evident throughout and with the baby in breach, he took the heartbreaking decision to get the child out via c-section, ultimately killing Aemma.
Aemma wailed in pain as the maesters got to work and a helpless Viserys could only hold his wife’s hand as he saw her life slip away.
The baby was delivered and revealed to be a boy but in another cruel twist of fate, Viserys’ son died alongside his mother.
Surrounded by his fellow Targaryens, an inconsolable Viserys bid farewell to his wife and son at their funeral but his council wasted no time in raising the issue of his heir.
And it proved divisive with the impulsive and aggressive Daemon lacking the support of the king’s hand Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) while Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) raised the point his wife Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) still had a claim as the previous king’s daughter.
In the end, Viserys opted for his own daughter Rhaenyra as his heir, earning the loyalty of the leaders of the Seven Kingdoms while teeing up a tantalising face-off with her uncle Daemon, who’s less than pleased to learn he’s been ousted as the next potential king.
But despite the bad blood among the Targaryens heading into the rest of the GOT prequel, many fans have voiced their anger at key figure Aemma being killed off in the very first episode.
Taking to Twitter, @lone_red_rover_ raged: “Justice for Aemma Arryn. WTF. She deserved so much better #HouseoftheDragon #HouseofthedragonHBO.”
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And @Kmakesthesmile weighed in: “The birth scene was F**king insane She did deserve better #HouseoftheDragon.”
Carol Briscoe was even left in tears, saying: “God he was so desperate for another son! When she screamed out against that cesarean I cried out with her! The sheer cruelty of it. #Hotd.”
Elsewhere, @brittersplease added: “I was not at all prepared to see Aemma Targaryen like that #HouseoftheDragon.”
While @Toytoydiva demanded: “Queen Aemma trusted him and he really let them hold her down and cut her open like that.
“I hope she haunts King Viserys for the rest of his days. Justice for Aemma #QueenAemma #HOTD.”
“Aemma deserved better #HouseOfTheDragon,” @filmflics simply put while @Rhaenyra_Blacks weighed in: “Can we talk about Queen Aemma’s ‘childbirth’ and the horrors that came with it?
“Her face when she realized what was gonna be done to her and during the process was heartbreaking. She did NOT deserve all that. #HouseoftheDragon.” (Sic)
House of the Dragon continues Sundays on HBO in the USA and on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
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