Audrey: Well. Spoiler alert: Daenerys has officially become the Mad Queen.
Brandon: Which means Jon finally realized that he has no choice but to stop her. Finally, he can stop running from his destiny.
A: I don’t want to say I told you so, but…we did call this a while ago.
B: Yeah, like four seasons ago at least.
A: I’m not saying we’re a couple of geniuses. Just that we were paying attention to what the show has been trying to tell us all along.
B: Exactly. Good stories always hint at what they’re going to do before they do it. Part of the fun of engaging with a story is looking back at all the breadcrumbs that led up to your favorite (or most hated) moments. So, without further ado, here are all the times you might have missed it when Dany was becoming a villain:
She’s Got A Huge Savior Complex
The main villainous trope that Dany follows is a savior complex (which is awesome and very unique). While most of her decisions early on in the show appear to be benevolent, in reality, she has been struggling with a desire to conquer the entire time. Most all of the following can be traced back to this one, misplaced desire to save the world–as long as she saves it on her terms.
She had Viserys Killed
Now, this one takes some explaining, because Viserys was the worst. He literally sold his sister in pursuit of the throne, and then repeatedly told her he was the greatest and he’d gladly let her get raped hundreds of times to get his throne. Rude. So, why does killing him plant an early seed for Dany’s villainy?
Let’s take a moment to remember this little gem:
One of the most memorable lines in the show gave us the formula to determine who is a hero and who is a villain in this story. While Jon, Rob, Ned, and Arya have all done their own killing, it was an important thematic element that Joffrey sentence Eddard to die in Season One. But notice who was swinging the sword? Not Joffrey, but Sir Ilyn Payne.
Observant fans might also have noticed that Dany has always had someone else carry out her sentences as well, starting with her brother Viserys by the hand of Khal Drogo. Did he deserve to die? We think so, though that crown thing was especially horrifying (and awesome). And while no one was likely holding her to the same standard as the Lords of Westeros at that time, this was the first of many times when she would break this important rule the was established by the moral Ned Stark.
Jora burned the witch who killed Khal Drogo, the unsullied crucified the masters, and Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion burned people at her behest in Astapor, Qarth, Meereen, and most recently Westeros.
She Sacrifices Her Unborn Child to Save Khal Drogo
You might argue this point. But she didn’t know that her child would die! She loved her husband, is that a crime?? The answer to these is arguable, to be sure. She is certainly not a villain for these deeds alone, but they highlight a few of the character flaws that lead her down her path toward villainy. Why does she want to save Khal Drogo? It seems to be somewhere between love for him and fear that without him she cannot maintain her power. The second reason is certainly not noble, the first is made ignoble by her willingness to trade another life for his, whether that be a horse, human, or otherwise. Choosing who lives and dies for one’s own desires is surely a villainous act.
She Locks Two People In a Vault
In Qarth Dany was betrayed by Xaro Xhoan Daxos and her handmaiden Doreah. Once again, we are not trying to question who deserved what, but the chosen method of death for these characters was rather savage and quite similar to the way that Queen Cersei had Ellaria Sand killed in season seven. Yikes.
She Steals the Unsullied and Has Them Murder All of Their Masters
Missandei and Greyworm would certainly not agree on this point. The scene when Dany outsmarts the Masters of Astapor and manages to walk away with all of her dragons and an army of 8000 Unsullied without spending a cent on them is a very well played gambit. We were impressed by the Mother of Dragons for showing everyone just how clever she could be. And rescuing slaves from their masters is definitely an act that any good person could endorse, but many villains before Dany have lived by the phrase “The ends justify the means.” Lying, killing, cheating, and stealing are not the methods that heroes use to obtain their allies. All we’re saying is that Jon Snow didn’t kill half as many people when he saved the Wildlings.
She Freed the Slaves
This one doesn’t sound so bad, right? Freedom! But is it, though? The answer is sort of. While the slaves are technically free, in that they choose to follow their next dictator instead of being forced, they’ve really only gone from one master to another. Meanwhile, Dany is drunk on their adoration and she becomes obsessed with being seen as their savior (and realizes how much she loves to sit on a prominent chair). So while the act itself is not evil, the mechanics of her campaign to free the world from tyranny are actually turning her into a tyrant. From the very beginning.
She Crucified the Masters
Again. They were slaveholders. But crucifixion is a heavy sentence. We’re not saying they deserved to live. In fact, we’re not really saying what they deserved. But heroes often give out lighter sentences than what is deserved, like when Jon forgives the Karstark girl and the Umber boy for their parent’s desertion. Dany’s decision to crucify the masters is done out vengeance as opposed to justice, and it marks her early on as a villain.
She Stopped Listening to Her Advisors
Authoritarian leadership rarely (more likely never) leads to just governance. The second Dany chose her own wisdom over the advisors she appointed herself, she left benevolence behind for good.
She Demands that Everyone Bend the Knee
When the Khals refused to follow her, she burned them. When the Masters resisted her rule, she burned them. When the Tarlys refused to bend the knee, she burned them. Taking that whole fire and blood thing to the nth degree, eh? She refuses to help fight the Night King until Jon bends the knee. The longer the show goes on, the more painfully obvious it becomes that Dany does not seem to care for the welfare of Westeros as much as she cares who is ruling it.
She Killed the Tarlys
Who really cares about Samwell’s dick of a father?
We didn’t… Until Sam got the word…
But besides that, Dickon was just standing up for his family. And in either case, death by dragon flame is a stiff sentence for refusing to bend the knee. We’ve seen some beheadings and hangings for the same offense, but in most cases, people who refuse allegiance are killed because they pose a threat. We get it. Medieval times call for medieval measures. But Dany used this execution as a moment to inspire fear in her enemies and establish herself as a no-nonsense, no-mercy queen. And once again, she didn’t swing the sword.
It was easy to gain the love of the slaves she freed, but it’s much harder to garner adoration as a stranger in Westeros. And every time Dany is faced with a decision about what kind of ruler she’ll be, she chooses fire and blood. Get it?
She Be Tempting Jon
Does anyone else feel like Dany doesn’t love Jon? As soon as she finds out his heritage, everything shifts. You can feel it in the air, thanks to the subtext we mentioned in our last post. Two episodes ago, she tried to get things going with Jon again, and it felt like a desperate attempt to keep him on her side. But last night in The Bells, it felt like a Hail Mary. She doesn’t care about Jon as much as she cares about her throne, and she’s hoping his love for her will subdue him.
She also subtly threatened Jon’s family, telling him that Sansa betrayed him and hinting that he should punish her for it, though she’s not stupid enough to say it out loud because she knows he’s loyal and Sansa is a badass who shall not be messed with.
In Short
The point is, Dany didn’t crack because she was destined to be the Mad Queen after her father, or because the gods flipped a coin. She cracked because she’s been feeding her own pride for eight seasons. She only wants a better world if she’s the one standing on top of it. The show has been grooming her to be a villain since day one, and every choice she’s made has pushed her towards evil. While our heroes have overcome their flaws and prejudices, Dany has been slowly sinking into the muck.
Contrary to some fans’ opinions, Game of Thrones has had both rhyme and reason from the very beginning. The very mention of The Mad King was intended to get the audience to pay attention to his heirs in order to see which paths they would choose. And the series is titled A Song of Ice and Fire because we’re watching two different choices pan out. Dany’s slow descent into madness has been paired with Jon’s rise to heroism, and next episode we expect to see both of these arcs fulfilled. Neat.
Possibly the best thing that a story this long can offer is the opportunity to see a character become a villain in the same way that people do in real life: one misstep at a time. So don’t be upset that Dany is a monster now. Someday when we all go back and binge-watch the whole marathon of a series (which we don’t plan to do…*wink*) we might all notice that not everyone who fancies themselves a savior is a hero.
Dany got her wish; she wanted Westeros, and she got it. Now she’s Queen of the Ashes.
Now go watch a movie.
Unpopular Judge 