House of the Dragon: Did Alicent Poison Viserys, and What Did Helaena's Beast Beneath the Boards Prophecy Mean?

The eighth episode of House of the Dragon had two subtle moments that I felt deserved a closer look. The first was the death of Viserys, where both the book and the show give us clues that there might have been foul play. The second was Helaena's prophecy and the major event the beast beneath the boards could be referring to.

Viserys's death was a big way to close out episode 8, and I had even seen comments saying it would have been the perfect way to end the season. It brought a lot with it, and though it seemed like he died of natural causes, there may have been something else going on. Later in this piece I get into book spoilers, because one of my readings of Helaena's words points to a truly horrifying moment from Fire and Blood.

Fire and Blood Records Suspicions That Alicent Poisoned Viserys

To fully discuss this theory, we have to talk about what the book says. It is important to bear in mind that Fire and Blood is basically a textbook compiled by maesters that pulls in several accounts to try to paint a picture of what happened. Though most accounts say that Viserys died in his sleep during a nap, there were some suspicions that Alicent had poisoned him.

In the show, the drink in question is tea. Either way, it was basically brought in to help with his health conditions, and the show clearly planted a lot of seeds for foul play too.

A Line From Laenor in Episode 6 Felt Like a Nod to Conspiracy Theorists

Back in episode 6, when Rhaenyra suggested leaving King's Landing, Laenor said this to her: "If you were absent from court, she would pour her honey in your father's ear." Knowing the books, this line really stood out to me, because it sounded like the writers were giving a nod to us conspiracy theorists that something else might be going on.

The final picture of Viserys in the book shows him looking in pretty good health, whereas the show has him rotting away from the inside, almost like he is being poisoned over time. Watching someone wither away like this is extremely strange, and we have never really seen it happen to another character in Game of Thrones history.

Why the King's Maesters Might Have Missed a Slow Poisoning

Viserys was surrounded by the best maesters in the land. He would have had a medical team fit for a king, one that would normally know how to deal with most ailments. However, a slow poisoning is something they might not be able to handle, simply because of how long it takes.

The maesters also changed over time. In episode 8, a new maester takes over following the death of Mellos. That changing of the guard would likely have meant that nobody could carry an opinion on the king across from one maester to the next, and so the Hightowers could have kept it under the radar.

Milk of the Poppy, and the One Time Viserys Refused It

I am clearly not the only person who suspects this. After the king is passed his so called tea, Daemon sniffs it to see if something else is inside. It turns out that this is apparently milk of the poppy, which is being used to keep him sedated. Milk of the poppy is basically morphine. It can be used to reduce pain, but it has several side effects, and it leaves someone unable to think properly. That allows Alicent to take control of the council, and in the end they use this to their benefit.

This drink is also something Alicent gives Viserys just before he passes away. Potentially, it could have been slowly poisoning him over time, with that final cup being the lethal dose that pushed him over the edge.

In those two scenes Viserys takes the tea, but there is one where he turns it down, and I think that could speak volumes about how it was slowly killing him. When his wounds are being tended to, Otto offers him the drink, but Viserys says no. Later that day he regains his strength to the point that he can go to the throne room and climb the iron steps one final time. He also attends a banquet between the two families. It is only once he has the tea that he dies, and this could have been the thing that pushed him over the edge.

Alicent Is Clearly Not Above Using Drinks to Get What She Wants

The episode also shows us how much Alicent has changed, and that she clearly isn't above using poisons and toxins. This is demonstrated through her maidservant, to whom Alicent gives a drink to stop her from having a child. So she is definitely accustomed to using drinks as a way to get what she wants. I have even seen comments from people who suspect that she might have poisoned her servant.

The Banquet Seating and the Rats Point to the Hightowers

The show uses a lot of symbolism to make its points, and it clearly places people around the table to hint at who the rotten ones are. With his eye gone and his cheek rotting away, Viserys has one side of his face that makes him look like Harvey Dent on a good day. At the banquet, the family sit to his left and right, with Rhaenyra and co on the good side while the Hightowers are on the other. This symbolises that they are the ones causing him to rot away, and that the other side of the family were the ones he favoured the most. It is excellent iconography, and to me it helps hint that they were instrumental in his downfall.

They were very much the rats that came for him in the end, and the show featured rats at several points. First there was the one at the wedding that appeared right after he collapsed. Next was another that climbed into his room. In the books, Alicent does not announce Viserys's death for a week, so she can put things in place to get her son Aegon on the throne. She leaves his corpse in his chambers, and rats start to feed on it.

The idea may extend beyond the literal rats. The rats are now here in the form of the Hightowers, most notably Alicent, who gives him that final drink. Though they might not have poisoned him literally, the family clearly had a negative effect on him, and this caused him to rot away even more. Whether Alicent did it on purpose is something I think we will never get a full answer to. However, I think there are enough clues there to make us believe that something else could have been going on.

Helaena's Earlier Prophecies Came True

Throughout the series, Helaena dropped a number of prophecies hinting at things coming down the line. The first came when she correctly guessed that Aemond would have to lose an eye in order to gain a dragon. The second came when she foretold the marriage between Rhaenyra and Daemon with the line "Dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread."

Episode 8 then gave her a line that could bring a lot with it: "You are the beast beneath the boards." The beast beneath the boards could refer to a number of things. Viserys hits the floor with his staff as she says it, so it could be her warning him of the rats beneath his floorboards. That could be Alicent or the literal rats I talked about above. There is definitely potential that she is referring to him, but it may extend beyond that into future events, which is where the book spoilers come in.

Aemond the Kinslayer Could Be the Beast

In the book, when the house is divided, the sons are sent out to gain people loyal to their cause. Both Lucerys and Aemond go to Lord Borros, with Aemond arriving first. He promises to wed one of Borros's daughters if the lord pledges his allegiance to the Greens. Lucerys cannot do the same, as he is already betrothed to his cousin, so Borros sides with Aemond.

Aemond also demands an eye in return and says he would let Lucerys live if he cut one out there and then. Lucerys refuses, and though Aemond goes to attack, he is stopped by Lord Borros's men. Borros says he will not allow any bloodshed under his roof, so Aemond follows Lucerys out and tracks him on his dragon. A storm breaks out and Aemond ends up killing Lucerys, which leads to him being known as the Kinslayer. So potentially the beast could be him.

Mysaria and Blood and Cheese Are the Reading I Lean Towards

The beast beneath the boards could also refer to Mysaria. We have seen that she has spies and informants in King's Landing, most notably the queen's right hand woman. There is potential that the drink that woman prepared didn't actually contain anything, and since Aegon has two illegitimate children in the book, that might end up coming true if it didn't work, but I digress.

Mysaria is known as the White Worm, and in the book she does something that directly affects Helaena. After Lucerys is killed, Daemon promises a son for a son and goes to Mysaria for help. She sends two people into the castle, and they use the secret passages to sneak into Helaena's room. These are the characters Blood and Cheese, and their instructions were essentially to go after the children. They find Helaena with her children and deliver an ultimatum: one has to live and one has to die. She chooses the younger one, Maelor, to be murdered, which is a really heartbreaking moment. To make things worse, Blood and Cheese, without a moment's hesitation, behead Jaehaerys instead.

It is one of the most horrifying moments in the book, and I think the prophecy could be referring to it. They climb from beneath the floorboards, and the word beast being used for the White Worm definitely works. Afterwards, Helaena has to deal with the fact that her youngest child knows she picked him to die, while also grappling with losing her other child. It is the devastating moment that ends up sending her insane. If she was prophesying the worst moment of her life at this point, it would add an even further tragic side to the story. Personally, that is the one I am leaning towards, but these are all theories.

So which do you think the beast beneath the boards really was: the rats beneath his floorboards, Aemond the Kinslayer, or Mysaria and Blood and Cheese?