‘Game of Thrones’ Did Daenerys Dirty

Editor’s Note: The following mentions instances of sexual assault.

The Big Picture

• Character assassination unjustly reduced Daenerys’ story arc in
  Game of Thrones
  , leaving fans dissatisfied.
• Daenerys’ trauma was mishandled and the abusive experiences she had were merely tools to push the narrative.
• Game of Thrones
  rushed the ending of the show and ultimately did not do justice to her journey.

Game of Thrones‘ iconic dragon-wielding Khaleesi, Daenerys Targaryen, who was skillfully played by Emilia Clarke, was given a character arc which justifiably angered many long-serving fans. Clarke played the role with dignity and emotional weight. However, the show’s writing did her beloved character a great disservice; after many seasons of putting her character through countless traumatizing events, audiences hoped to be rewarded with a satisfying, respectful pay-off. However, the final result was rushed and crass, and did not give Daenerys the end that she deserved, portraying her as the Mad Queen that she had spent seven seasons trying to prove she wasn’t.

Daenerys Always Had the Potential For Greatness

Throughout the majority of Game of Thrones, Daenerys acts according to her own strong sense of right and wrong, even if the punishment seems brutal. Using the fiery might of her dragons, she calls “dracarys” to free herself from abusive situations and even liberate a whole population of slaves in her plight for justice. Throughout the series, her intentions to “break the wheel” and create a just society in which everyone can live safely are clear, and she works towards her goal whilst proving her political prowess, gradually gaining more followers who will loyally support her aims. It seemed that a rightful heir and fair ruler would finally sit the Iron Throne, saving it from the cold-hearted and selfish Cersei (Lena Headey). It would have been satisfying to see a Targaryen’s return to the throne, and having a dragon by her side would have made it all the more epic, making her demise all the more disappointing.

‘Game of Thrones’ Used Daenerys’ Trauma and Her Past Against Her

To say that Daenerys’ descent into the Mad Queen is completely unprecedented would be an oversimplification, but it is clear that the path that the Khaleesi is forced to take has undertones of misogyny. Game of Thrones‘ portrayal and simulation of sexual encounters has been highly controversial, with Daenerys’ nudity and sex scenes being notably problematic on a number of levels. In the first season, in which Clarke was in her early 20s, she was faced with filming nude scenes which she stated on the “Armchair Expert” podcast was “terrifying.” Also having to depict scenes of sexual assault without the guidance of an intimacy coordinator, the situation often left Clarke in tears, and according to the podcast, feeling unworthy of voicing her needs.

As poorly as Clarke herself was treated during this filming, Daenerys’ character was portrayed harmfully via an irresponsible narrative. Rather than handling the character’s numerous experiences of abuse — both realized and threatened — in a thoughtful, sensitive manner, these traumas were often just used as a crass tool with which to force her to wield her dragon might and rise from the ashes. The scene in which she is raped by Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) in particular does not leave room for Daenerys to heal or process it afterward. Instead, she is compelled to use her sexuality to please him, which is wrongly portrayed in a positive light. After years of mistreatment, Daenerys unleashes all of her pent-up rage and burgeoning madness disproportionately and indiscriminately, reduced to a one-dimensional stereotype.

Daenerys also lives under the weight of generational trauma. As shown in the prequel series House of the Dragon, the Targaryens are a messy bunch, often plagued by infighting, power imbalances, and general dysfunction. Throughout the series, she tries to prove others wrong about the damning madness prophecy by uplifting the downtrodden and removing those who are threats to justice. Whilst she makes great strides in her fight for a just world, her advisors in the eighth season started to paint her as a tyrant. Throughout the series, she has had to fight against her family’s reputation — only to ultimately realize their prejudices.

Daenerys Was Never Soft, but Her Descent Into Madness Was Poorly Handled

Daenerys’ final fiery showdown in the series’ penultimate episode “The Bells,” whereby she burns down innocent victims in King’s Landing after the city has surrendered, shows an extreme character regression into madness and cruelty. Yes, it has loosely been foreshadowed; but no one ever thought it was going to play out like this. By this point in the show, the people she loved the most like Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Jorah (Iain Glen) were dead, she was forsaken by her lover, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and everywhere she went she was greeted with hostility. Ending the series isolated, grieving, and alone was already a huge humiliation for a great character. However, the series culminating in Daenerys’ act of savagery also undermines everything she was working towards. There was no nuance, and not enough time allowed within the eighth season to justify these actions.

Daenerys’ turning point could arguably have been when she killed Samwell’s (John Bradley) father and brother for refusing to bend the knee to her, in an unusual move to secure power rather than justice, as is her typical priority. If more moments like this had been peppered throughout the final season, or perhaps introduced earlier, her last evil act may have been more fully earned. Although she similarly left Doreah (Roxanne McKee) and Xaro Xan Daxos (Nonso Anozie) to a particularly chilling fate in the second season, when her handmaiden’s betrayal prompted her decision to lock them inside a vault to starve to death, it was presented as a harsh penalty to do with loyalty, not power, and therefore remained in character. Game of Thrones did not do enough to justify the character Daenerys turned into in the final season. The treatment Dany got throughout Game of Thrones was as brutal as her destructive ending.

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