No sooner had House Targaryen held a funeral for Queen Aemma Arryn and Prince Baelon than Viserys set his succession in place. After banishing Daemon from the capital in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1 "The Heirs of the Dragon," he summons Rhaenyra to Balerion's shrine within the Red Keep and conveys his decision to name her heir to the Iron Throne.

Earlier in House of the Dragon's Pilot, Viserys' councilors try to press him to choose between his daughter and his brother, but he makes up his mind, as a sovereign. He is disgusted at his men, going as far as calling them "crows" who feast on the corpses of his wife and son. He leaves the council, asks Daemon to return to the Vale, and announces his new heir.

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Viserys Names Rhaenyra Heir

Princess Rhaenyra, who is the king's cupbearer, and who once expressed a desire to ride on dragonback and eat "only cake" becomes heir overnight. She is arguably the smartest at the Red Keep and has suffered subtle dismissal at the small council meetings solely because of her gender. Rhaenyra rises through the ranks, much to Lord Corlys Velaryon's chagrin, who vies for his wife - the Queen Who Never Was / Princess Rhaenys, to rule the Seven Kingdoms. Gazing at Balerion's skull, Viserys stands before the Princess, and speaks like a true Targaryen in House of the Dragon:

Balerion was the last living creature to have seen Old Valyria before the Doom. Its greatness and its flaws. When you look at the dragons, what do you see?

Viserys presses on, despite the late hour, and Rhaenyra struggles to answer her father's questions. As events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear he has thought his decision through. Viserys' fondness for history is well documented throughout House of the Dragon. Before announcing that Rhaenyra would succeed him, he puts stress on the dangerous power of dragons that he says caused the Doom of Valyria. He warns his daughter to heed the lessons of history and shed the notion that they control the dragons. At that moment, he foreshadows the Dance of the Dragons as he stresses that the Targaryens are no more than dragonriders. Vhagar obliterating Prince Lucerys and Arrax, against the wishes of his rider, Aemond, is a testament to Viserys' words.

I'm sorry, Rhaenyra, I have wasted the years since you were born, wanting for a son. You are the very best of your mother. And I believe, as I know she did, that you could be a great ruling queen...

Viserys Remarries Alicent And She Gives Birth To A Son

Viserys' first reason as to why he chose Rhaenyra is simple. His rogue younger brother, Daemon, was not made to wear the crown, and he'd started to believe Rhaenyra was. To secure her succession, he gathered the nobility in the Red Keep and had various lords swear oaths of fealty to the Princess of Dragonstone.

This is no trivial gesture, Rhaenyra. A dragon's saddle is one thing, but the Iron Throne is the most dangerous seat in the realm.

Many lords begrudgingly accepted a female heir, and as days passed, Viserys' councilors pressed upon him to remarry to propagate the royal line. Rhaenyra grew into her role as heir, but Viserys was surrounded by cunning men, like, for example, Otto Hightower, who pushed over the line. He plotted Alicent and Viserys' romance by ordering his daughter to visit the king secretively in his chambers. Otto did eventually succeed in making Alicent Queen in House of the Dragon, but Viserys wouldn't supplant his heir, despite having a firstborn son:

I could never replace your mother, no more than I intend to replace you as heir. But you are my only heir and our line is vulnerable, too easily ended. And by marrying again, I may begin to ensure that we are better defended.

Viserys wished for Rhaenyra to marry, and to secure her succession. He eventually put her courtship to an end and arranged a match between her and Lord Corlys' son. Alicent, meanwhile, went from wanting Rhaenyra to rule to forcing her firstborn, Aegon, to usurp the throne.

Rhaenyra Remains Viserys' Heir

In House of the Dragon season 1, episode 3 "Second of His Name," Viserys laughs off Otto's proposal that Rhaenyra be married to his firstborn living son, the two-year-old, Aegon. Later, he admits to Alicent:

I named her [ Rhaenyra ] to protect the realm from Daemon. She was my only child. "The realm's Delight," I named her out of love.

Viserys admits how his obsession with having a male heir killed Aemma, and how he thought that naming Rhaenyra heir would set things right. Though Viserys second-guesses his decision, he sticks to it even in his delirious last moments. He chooses Rhaenyra when Otto reports to him that Daemon and Rhaenyra were spotted together outside, engaging in unbecoming acts at a brothel. He maintains his job is to keep the realm together and not to sow division by naming a new heir. Viserys defends Rhaenyra in court when Vaemond Velaryon petitions for Driftmark, since she and the Sea Snake's son, Laenor, had no trueborn sons. Finally, mistaking Alicent for Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 8 "The Lord of the Tides," Viserys reaffirms his belief in Aegon's Prophecy and his decision to choose his daughter as heir:

It is you. You are the one. You must do this. You must do this.

In the aftermath, Alicent, blithely unaware of the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, thinks Viserys wishes for their son, Aegon, to rule. She prepares to steal Rhaenyra's throne towards the end of House of the Dragon season one, while Viserys dies knowing Rhaenyra will be the one to protect the realm from the darkness gusting from the North.

House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon is HBO's prequel series to Game of Thrones. Set hundreds of years earlier, the show follows the inner machinations and rivalries of the Targaryen royal family. The show was created by Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin, and stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Rhys Ifans, and Olivia Cooke.

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