House of the Dragon Episode 8 is another intense one as the families gather once more after another time jump. “The Lord of the Tides” begins with news that Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) had been injured out in the Stepstones, and there’s a chance he could die. We learned this in the preview for the episode, which also teased that Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) son Lucerys’ (Elliot Grihault) claim to the Driftmark Throne might be challenged.
Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Episode 8!
Though people are afraid to say it out loud, everyone knows Rhaenyra’s eldest sons were not actually fathered by Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan). Corlys’ brother Vaemond (Wil Johnson) thinks this means he has a better claim to Driftmark than Lucerys. While Corlys is gone, his wife Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best) sits on the Driftwood Throne, and it seems she might want to stay there. All of this leads to the characters traveling to King’s Landing for a petition in front of the king.
But King Viserys (Paddy Considine) is in worse shape than he was when we last saw him; frankly, it’s shocking he’s even made it this far. His Hand Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) sits on the Iron Throne in his place, speaking for him on important matters. But fortunately, when the time comes to decide who will be Corlys’ predecessor, Viserys shows up and tells everyone it will still be Lucerys.
It’s a big feat for Viserys to make it to the throne room as he can barely walk on his own. We know from Paddy Considine that the king is suffering from a kind of leprosy, and it appears that he’s really close to death now. Throughout the episode, he’s seen drinking some type of tea for his pain, and in one scene Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) even picks up the cup and smells it. So what is this special tea?
King Viserys drinks milk of the poppy tea in House of the Dragon
Viserys drinks milk of the poppy tea in this episode, which we’ve seen before on Game of Thrones. Characters like Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) have all been given this tea in the original series for serious injuries or pain (although Jaime doesn’t actually drink it).
It’s a powerful medicine that can make someone pretty out of it if they drink enough. This is what happens to Viserys in Episode 8. While we know he had already started becoming a bit disoriented years before — he called his current wife Alicent (Olivia Cooke) by his late wife Aemma’s (Sian Brooke) name in Episode 7, after all — I’m sure the milk of the poppy tea only makes him more confused.
Unfortunately, it looks like Viserys is on his way out by the end of “The Lord of the Tides.” He has trouble breathing and he just looks awful. It’s entirely possible he will die in the next episode, or even before that. Paddy Considine has done a fantastic job bringing the character to life, particularly in this episode. Give the man all the awards!
There are now only two episodes left of House of the Dragon season 1. Don’t miss a second of it when new episodes drop every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max!
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