Note: This article is dark and full of spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones. Although, let’s face it, you should have watched it by now.
Whether we liked it or not, Game of Thrones‘ Mother of Dragons met a tragic and long-suspected fate with a dagger to the heart in the series’ final episode.
Many were expecting Daenerys Targaryen’s downfall thanks to her obsessive quest for the Iron Throne, but one Thrones fan thinks the signs might have been there since season five.
Forgetting about that House of the Undying vision for a moment, Reddit user podteod has put forward a pretty compelling case suggesting that it was the equally unlucky Stannis Baratheon who foreshadowed Dany’s fate.
HBO
Related: Game of Thrones season 8 breaks a new record for Sky Atlantic
Not only were Dany and Stannis both convinced they were “rightful heirs” to the throne, the fan argues, but they were also linked through the element of fire, an ultimately doomed relationship with Jon Snow, and ‘outsider’ status.
Check out the theory in full below:
“Both were ‘the rightful heirs’ and were motivated by it, and considered the Iron Throne to be their right and duty. Both were linked to the element of fire, Stannis through Melisandre and her religion and Dany through her dragons. They both burned their enemies.
HBO
“Both helped Jon against the enemy to the north. Stannis helped against the freefolk and Daenerys against the Dead. Also they were both very influential figures for Jon. Both had their closest advisors betray them in favor of Jon Snow (Melisandre and Tyrion/Varys).
“And they both held Dragonstone as their base of operations.
“They both lost their parents, and two brothers. They were directly involved in the death of the younger ones. (Renly killed by Melisandre, Viserys killed by Drogo while Dany watched).
“Dany brought foreign forces of Dothraki and the Unsullied, and Stannis brought a foreign religion. These things made them look like outsiders to their enemies.
“I think this is not a coincidence, and Stannis’ fate was a warning of what will happen to Daenerys, and that being a rightful heir is not enough to be a good ruler.”
A solid theory, for sure, but can it ever make the bitter pill of season eight easier to swallow? We doubt it.
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Game of Thrones aired on HBO in the US, and you can also catch up on the show via Hulu. Viewers in the UK can catch up via Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
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