Is the Iron Throne cursed? It may sound like a silly question. The Iron Throne isn’t an enchanted item like Sauron’s magic rings or Harry Potter’s wand, after all. Still, the least comfortable chair in Westeros does have a malign influence over people.
We know a number of those fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to sit in it have experienced dreadful fates, and the chair may have played a direct role in the death of two Targaryen kings. Still, is that just par for the course when you play the Game of Thrones or is there something otherworldly at work? Is the Iron Throne in fact cursed?
Is the Iron Throne cursed?
It’s never been overtly confirmed whether the Iron Throne is cursed or has any magical powers. It seems like a solid lump of metal, but when Aegon forged the chair, he used the flames of Balerion the Black Dread to weld the swords of the lords who opposed him together.
We know that dragons are beings of magic, so it’s possible that this forging process did lend the chair some sort of magical power. We’ve seen the throne cut ‘unworthy’ kings before, including Maegor, King Viserys Targaryen, and Joffrey Baratheon.
We learned in the fantasy series House of the Dragon that the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy came to form Aegon’s dragon dreams and that he believed a Targaryen had to sit on the Iron Throne if the world was going to be saved from eternal winter.
Perhaps when the chair was forged, he made it so the chair would punish kings who did not act in the realm’s best interests. Although if that were the case, plenty of Targaryen kings managed to escape the chair’s curse. Honestly, there’s little evidence to support the throne being literally cursed. That’s why Otto Hightower can sit in it without being cut.
However, in a more metaphorical sense, yes, the chair is cursed. It’s cursed in the sense that Game of Thrones is ultimately a cautionary tale about the danger of absolute monarchy and how seeking power tends to corrupt.
The throne itself is a visual representation of that power and that corruption. It’s why at the end of season 8, Drogon melted the chair. It was a bit of an on-the-nose metaphor, but its destruction was no doubt meant to represent “breaking the wheel” and society moving on from this corrupt system of government.
Or it was supposed to because they immediately elected Bran king, which seemed to undercut the whole message but whatever. If you’re enjoying the new Game of Thrones TV series, then check out our list of the best Game of Thrones characters; we also have an article about the House of the Dragon cast you may like; or we have guides to the dragons, Meleys, Arrax, Caraxes, and Vermithor for you to enjoy.