Spoilers for “Game of Thrones” Season 8, Episode 5 are below
“Game of Thrones” marked the near-end of its era with fire and blood. A promise Daenerys had made long ago. One that would prove vital in her penultimate chapter. It is because of that motto and other instances that Daenerys Targaryen’s descent into darkness is not an entirely unexpected outcome.
After having my heart break for her just an episode ago, Daenerys' eviscerated hers. The Mother of Dragons took explosive actions that ended her grip on humanity as she charred the innocent citizens of King's Landing. This, despite them having rung the bells to announce their surrender. Daenerys did not care. She burnt them to kingdom come.
It was evil, and it could have been avoided. Sadly, it has also been a long time coming. Daenerys has been her father's daughter all along. Something that “Game of Thrones” has foreshadowed for a long time. Her march into madness is not sudden or out of character. The seeds have been sewn for her to commit this war crime throughout the series’ entire run.
Unfortunately, no one listened to Varys. The man who once claimed he was not a hero, proved he was exactly that. Risking life and limb to get Daenerys out of the path of the throne. Tyrion and Jon Snow refused to listen to him.
In the end, Jon and Tyrion failed miserably to see what was right in front of them. That Daenerys has been and will always be a Mad Queen.
This viewer similarly failed to foresee this horrific conclusion and the actions she would ultimately take. I knew Daenerys was violent and prone to fits. Killing innocent little children and their mothers? Absolutely not.
The signs have always been there though. Jaime Lannister killed/put down Daenerys' father to prevent the exact same action that ravaged King's Landing in last night's episode. His daughter ended up making his crazed dream a reality, which fits because Daenerys has never acted as though her father got what he deserved.
Nor has she shrunk away from the Iron Throne as someone in shame over her family's actions would have done. That is the measure that someone genuinely horrified by what their father was on the verge of doing would have taken.
If she felt anything, Daenerys should have worked to make amends to her father’s victims. Not insert herself as a player in a game she has had no right playing.
That she did none of those things proves that Daenerys shares her father’s moral compass. If she did not, she would not have insisted on her ascendency. That she has tirelessly asserted her right to the Iron Throne is all, Tyrion and Jon Snow, needed to know. More on them later.
Daenerys has half-heartedly admitted her father was a bad man when it has suited her goals. She has never tolerated those who do not worship her and has toyed with thoughts of total destruction in the past. Following her murderous rampage, it is unclear who from King's Landing is left for her to rule.
The second to last episode of “Game of Thrones” saw the culmination of a long-hinted reality. Viewers have been watching the rise of the story’s ultimate villain, not its hero. A deliberate and well-constructed cautionary tale about what happens when you ignore a person trying to show you, their true colors. Daenerys has flown hers, countless times.
Thanks to the influence of her advisors, she had held back. Not anymore. It may not be the ending that anyone wanted to see for Daenerys, myself included. However, I do not think it is fair to say that “Game of Thrones” is cheating with this ending for her.
The show has been foreshadowing it, since the beginning. It did not betray viewers with this twist. “Game of Thrones” just showed them the truth.
The series finale of “Game of Thrones” airs Sunday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
[Feature Image by HBO]
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