House of the Dragon star Paddy Considine explains full circle moment of Viserys' deathbed vision
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Paddy Considine revisited one of his most memorable scenes as King Viserys I Targaryen in House of the Dragon during a panel at the official Game of Thrones Convention.
On stage with costar Steve Toussaint, Game of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, and moderators Jason Concepcion and Greta Johnsen, Considine discussed Viserys' deathbed moment where he has a vision of someone before taking his final breath. The actor confirmed the one he sees and to whom he utters "My love" is his first wife, Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke).
"I made it up in my own mind that when he dies he sees Aemma because her death is the spiral. That's his downfall really," Considine told the sizable audience gathered at the Los Angeles Convention Center Saturday night. "He never gets over that death, which was kind of misunderstood I think by people early on. I think they thought I killed my wife, but that wasn't the case. They were both going to die."
Ollie Upton / HBO Paddy Considine's King Viserys in 'House of the Dragon' episode 8.
In the premiere episode of House of the Dragon, Aemma is in labor with their son, Baelon, but complications put both of their lives in jeopardy. The maester tells the king he has to make a choice.
"They had the chance of saving Baelon, but it meant putting her through a horrific procedure," Considine remarked. "I think it was misunderstood that he killed her, but he was trying to save the child or they were both gonna die." Aemma dies first from blood loss caused by the C-section. Baelon dies shortly after taking his first breaths. "I don't think he ever recovered from that," Considine added.
Brooke left "such a massive impression" on Considine, the actor noted, even though she worked on set for only a few days. "It just became the catalyst for his journey really," he said of Viserys. "He was only ever really in love with her. And if you watch the show… the sicker he gets, he's never asking for a cure. He's never the one asking for help. It's everybody else around him. It's almost like he's accepting what's happening to him physically as a punishment."
Ollie Upton/HBO Paddy Considine and Sian Brooke as King Viserys and Queen Aemma in 'House of the Dragon.'
During the deathbed scene, Considine said he improvised the line, "My love," which he mumbles to a vision of Aemma, while extending his hand out to her. Showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik and their crew kept that moment in.
"Ultimately, when he dies, I just had this idea that, before he leaves that realm, Aemma is the one that comes to meet him and he's finally back with her," he said. "So that was it. It was a line that was improvised."
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