After years of preparation, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) rode her one remaining dragon to King’s Landing in the latest episode of Game Of Thrones to take the Seven Kingdoms.
However, the Last War proved incredibly disappointing, as the Mother of Dragons’ heinous actions left plenty of viewers scratching their heads in confusion.
As the bells sounded, the people of King’s Landing surrendered, meaning that Daenerys finally had all that she’d strived for within her grasp.
Yes, the city was hers at last — as was the coveted Iron Throne. However, for reasons we’re still unsure of, Dany decided that — before claiming her crown — she would fly over King’s Landing and commit mass murder by burning all of the innocent city dwellers alive.
If you were left bewildered by The Bells then you’re not alone.
After seven and a half seasons of being portrayed as a messianic figure, we’re expected to buy that in the penultimate episode of the series Dany would suddenly abandon her principles and turn on those whom she claimed she would always protect? It’s hard enough to buy as it is, but having her do so after the people had virtually bent the knee adds an extra helping of ‘huh?’
However, since the episode’s initial airing, some fans have argued that Dany’s descent into madness is something that was foreshadowed from the very beginning. If you’re one of those fans, then give yourself a pat on the back because you’re absolutely right. It has been foreshadowed — numerous times if my memory serves me correct.
Her vision of a crumbling Red Keep while in the House of the Undying springs to mind, as does Bran’s (Isaac-Hempstead Wright) premonition of Drogon flying over King’s Landing.
Yes, perhaps Dany was always meant to lose the plot and go a bit mad, and if that’s the case then so be it, but writers David Benioff and D.B Weiss fail to realise that foreshadowing and character development are two entirely separate things.
They aren’t mutually exclusive. You can’t just throw in a few scenes which predict the future and be done with it, you have to carefully craft and develop a character journey that allows for said scenes to become a plausible future for said character.
David Benioff and D.B Weiss fail to realise that foreshadowing and character development are two entirely separate things
I mean, take Breaking Bad’s Walter White for example. Who would have thought that a well-meaning chemistry teacher like him would end up becoming a villainous kingpin of the drugs world by the final episode?
It sounds absurd in concept, but a combination of strong writing and foreshadowing — and characterisation — ensured that we never once questioned the credibility. Walter’s transition didn’t happen in the space of an episode or two, but rather he evolved gradually as a result of the decisions he made over the course of the series.
If it was Daenerys’ destiny to follow in her father’s footsteps — and the aforementioned foreshadowing certainly seems to suggest that this was the case — then her descent really should’ve begun much earlier than the third-to-last episode of the final season. You can’t spend seven years telling us she’s a Westerosi messiah only to backtrack at the last minute. It feels cheap.
Benioff and Weiss should have been more careful with Dany’s characterisation if they’d intended for her to fall from grace. For one, she should never have been as passionate about freeing the slaves, because it’s this narrative — not to mention her Breaker of Chains moniker — that makes her sudden personality change in season eight all the more unbelievable.
What happened to her desire to build a better world? What happened to breaking the wheel? Weren’t these Dany’s goals in the earlier seasons? Sure, she’s always wanted the Iron Throne, but we were led to believe that her motivations in pursuing the crown was to make that better world. Whereas now, all we’re told is that she wants the throne because she craves power, which more or less retcons all of the grand ideals she had before.
A few extra episodes may have given the showrunners the opportunity to develop Dany’s descent further, but let’s be honest here: Benioff and Weiss’ iteration of Dany never exhibited any obvious signs of madness.
She was certainly impulsive, and perhaps even a tad entitled on occasion, but not mad. Perhaps the same can’t be said for the version seen in George R. R. Martin’s novels, but the fact remains that shedding the blood of innocents has never part of TV Dany’s characterisation.
Some might argue there’s evidence to support the claim that she had a taste for blood, but there’s a big difference between killing your enemies and killing innocents — a distinction the Mother of Dragons spoke about for herself in season three. (Side note: revisiting this scene now is particularly frustrating following the events of ‘The Bells’.)
Her execution of Mirri Maz Durr (Mia Soteriou), Randyll (James Faulkner) and Dickon Tarly (Tom Hopper) and even Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) is no different to how Jon Snow (Kit Harington) murdered Janos Slynt (Dominic Carter), Ser Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) and Olly (Brenock O’Connor) when they all betrayed him. Burning them or beheading them makes no odds — all of these guys were casualties of war. The only difference is that you don’t see anyone calling Jon ‘mad’.
In these instances, Dany’s actions were justified, as she was simply punishing those who had wronged her — much like every other protagonist in the show did at one time or another. Killing innocents for no apparent reason, however that’s something she’s always refused to do.
Let’s not forget how she cried her eyes out after Drogon accidentally incinerated one child back in Season 4. Remember how afterwards she was consumed with so much guilt that she locked her beloved beasts up to ensure no more blood was shed?
If this is how she felt after the murder of one innocent, how are we expected to believe that she’d be responsible for the slaughter of thousands?
Subverting audience expectations can only work if the subversion remains within the realms of believability and, unfortunately for Game Of Thrones, this wasn’t the case.
Perhaps the showrunners were trying to ensure that no-one would be able to predict the final big twist, and thus overcompensated a bit with Dany’s ‘gentle heart’ over the years, but the fact of the matter is that there simply wasn’t enough groundwork laid for this subversion of her character to be believable.
Subverting audience expectations can only work if the subversion remains within the realms of believability and, unfortunately for Game Of Thrones, this wasn’t the case. The Dany that committed this devastation might have been foreshadowed from the beginning — but it’s a different Dany to the one that’s been on-screen for the past eight seasons.
Game of Thrones continues this Sunday at 9pm on HBO and will be simulcast on Sky Atlantic at 2am in the UK. Seasons one to seven are currently available to stream on NOW TV.
MORE: Game Of Thrones’ Cersei Lannister spoke about her season 8 fate for years
