Deckard2049
Player Valuation: £15m
I think there has been a massive retcon by people trying to justify the path her narrative and character have taken these last few episodes. Has she burned people? Yes. In the context of the shows medieval setting and the rules that’s have been set up in the shows universe everything she’s done up to the latest episode has pretty much been entirely justified. Even when she burned Sam’s brother and father she gave them fair opportunity to bend the knee. Cersei literally blew up a huge part of the city, killing many people and then essentially elected herself as the new queen/tyrant. With no challenge from anyone. We didn’t even see the people in kings landing questioning this. But Dany is the mad one whom nobody likes...
People are trying to claim that we have seen Dany act violently and OTT over the entire show and that the latest episode is a perfectly acceptable culmination of her narrative. That is not how her actions have been depicted or how they should be viewed. When she didn’t flinch when her brother was given a golden crown by Khal Drogo it was because he’d promised to let thousands of men rape her so he could be king. When she set the unsullied on the masters she was setting them free from the men who had literally kept them as slaves and CASTRATED them. When her dragons destroyed the slavers ships and when Drogon obliterated the Lannister forces, these were presented as heroic moments. The historical revisionism that people are doing to justify this two episode descent into madness is laughable. This is badly written trash.
The other issue is the way they’ve gone about it is so predictable. Everyone she loves has died and the people don’t love her. Oh and she’s lost her claim to the throne because of who Jon actually is. It’s just total misery, and it’s no surprise she’s snapped. And it’s boring. Imagine now if Jorah and Barristan where still alive trying to counsel her- and she still went mad. But as it stands right now she is entirely justified in going mad- why wouldn’t she? Her advisers who have been totally awful in her service are plotting against her. The good advisors she had were killed- in totally avoidable and stupid circumstances. She lost half her forces and one dragon in the battle against the white walkers. The Starks, including the useless Sansa, still talk trash about her for what reason exactly? Do we know?
A lot of this clearly comes down to the shortened season. Everything is happening far too quickly and it’s just not working. If “Mad Dany” is George RR Martin’s end game as well then I’m sure that it will actually work over a longer period of time. I would have loved to have seen Dany dealing with Jon’s heritage and her slow descent into madness over a full season, or even two seasons. Imagine Jorah, who devoted years of his life to her believing she would be a perfect ruler watching as she burnt down a city. There is the potential for a great story there but it’s been butchered. Just like the white walkers, just like Jaime, just like Tyrion, Jon and so on and so on.
Never thought I’d ever say this... but Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side was better written than what we’re witnessing with Dany.
