House of the Dragon fans think they’ve diagnosed King Viserys

Paddy Considine’s character has been suffering from a mystery ailment that’s steadily growing worse

House of the Dragon viewers claim to have worked out the disease that is affecting King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine).

Throughout the first four episodes of the hit Game of Thrones spin-off, the king’s health has been in slow decline, with the exact nature of his condition not overtly explored on the show.

However, some fans claim to have deduced what it is that ails him – and it’s not, as many thought, dragonpox.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon may follow...

While some viewers had believed that it was in fact the fictional disease of dragonpox that Viserys was suffering from, the symptoms don’t quite align. Most significantly, it’s well known that dragonpox is highly contagious, whereas Viserys’s ailment doesn’t seem to be.

So what is causing the sores on his back and his blackened fingers? Well, some viewers have inferred that the Iron Throne itself could be behind it.

In episode one, Viserys mentions having recieved a “small cut from sitting on the throne”.

Viewers have shared their diagnoses on social media, but one seems particularly plausible: the condition known as “necrotising fasciitis”.

According to the NHS website, necrotising fasciitis can lead to black blisters on the skin and may require surgery to remove the infected area.

“I wonder what’s wrong with Viserys, in like today’s medical terms, or if it’s a fictional disease,” one Twitter user wrote. “I don’t remember anything in Fire + Blood or WoIaF. At first I thought a staph infection, then necrotising fasciitis but do either of those move that slowly?”

Paddy Considine as King Viserys in ‘House of the Dragon' (HBO)

“Viserys got necrotising fasciitis lmaoo,” someone else wrote.

As a metaphor, it might not be the subtlest, but it seems that the Iron Throne may be the thing that’s killing old Viserys.

On Sunday, House of the Dragon’s fourth episode, “King of the Narrow Sea”, offered viewers perhaps its most shocking sex scene yet.

Fans of the series also recently discovered that a huge forthcoming twist was actually given away in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it line back in Game of Thrones season three.

Take a look at the biggest talking points in our recap.

House of the Dragon continues every Sunday night on HBO in the US, and early on Monday in the UK on Sky and NOW.