Daenerys' King's Landing Massacre Was Foreshadowed Long Before S8, We Just Didn't Notice
Amongst all the controversies that surround the last season of Game of Thrones, one issue is raised more often than others: Daenerys Targaryen's massacre in King's Landing.
Some fans claim that it was completely random; some say that it was alright but the execution was wonky; others are completely on board with how the entire scene played out and feel like it was justified for Daenerys by her past actions.
But the Daenerys-the-good-queen team typically insists that Dany would've never done such a horrible thing if not for the show writers' progressing insanity.
We can understand them: it's tough to see your favorite character go this unhinged in a matter of seconds and ruin your entire perception of them.
Still, truth be told, there were multiple signs that clearly pointed in this direction in the previous seasons. Daenerys did have the cruelty and "the ends justify the means" mindset.
Even apart from her past actions (aka killing a bunch of masters or burning the unsatisfied vassals with dragon's breath), there was one dialogue that specifically revealed that she was ready to destroy an entire city for what she believed to be "the greater good".
In season 5 episode 9, Daenerys and Tyrion speak with one of Meereen's masters, Hizdahr zo Loraq, next to the fighting pits.
Daenerys tells him that one day, his great city may "return to the dirt" at her command.
Hizdahr asks her how many people will die to make it happen, and Daenerys' answer shows exactly what her attitude is: "If it comes to that, they will have died for a good reason."
Hizdahr immediately points out the arrogance of her thinking that her reasons are the only right and true ones, and even Tyrion can't help but compliment him on the notion.
Daenerys was on the quest of liberating the Essos' slaves back then and she believed it to be a noble cause — which it, of course, was.
But in achieving it, she was quick to deny the slaves their own reasons and will as well as their lives… Just because she believed that what she was doing was right.
In season 8, she also believed her claiming the Iron Throne and destroying everything on her way to be the right thing, too.
Paired with other reasons you likely never considered, this led to her losing it and wreaking havoc upon the King's Landing populace, killing hundreds if not thousands of people in a matter of minutes.