Game of Thrones' Fans Can't Keep Getting Away with 'Daenerys Was Always Mad' Claims

Summary:

• In the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, The Bells, Daenerys Targaryen needlessly killed countless civilians.
• Some fans claim that we could see “glimpses of Dany’s insanity” throughout the entire show, leading up to that moment.
• In reality, all Daenerys’s actions referred to as such hints were also done by most other characters that don’t receive the “mad tyrant” treatment.

Daenerys Targaryen was done unfathomably dirty in the Game of Thrones finale; this is a well-established fact in the fan community. However, there are still many people who point out the various “signs” of Dany’s “inevitable madness” all throughout her journey… And those people are very much in the wrong, in every single argument.

Daenerys’ ‘Violent Tendencies’ Are Overblown

Whenever it comes to discussing The Bells, fans like to point out that Daenerys Targaryen has never been opposed to using excessive violence and had already committed several bloodthirsty acts on her journey. But it’s Westeros we’re talking about; no one there was devoid of these charming qualities, heroes included.

Dany’s punishment for treason was swift execution without a trial, they say. Now, what did Ned Stark do to the Night’s Watch deserter; Robb to Lord Karstark; Arya to Littlefinger; Jon to Olly and Alliser; Tyrion to Shae; Stannis to virtually anyone who spoke up against him; and every single character in the position of power to those who wronged them?

The same goes to Dany’s starting a war over her birthright claim to the Iron Throne, her brutal punishment for slavers, and other radical measures she was employing throughout the entire show. There’s nothing Daenerys Targaryen did that wasn’t also done by other powerful lords and ladies, including those who we typically praise.

Daenerys’ Final Arc Was Rushed as Seven Hells

Now, we’re not saying that Daenerys Targaryen had no chance of becoming the new Mad Queen. She was a Targaryen, after all, and an increasingly self-righteous one, at that. However, the set-up to her sanity slipping was not just poor; it didn’t exist. Any argument for Dany’s so-called unhinged nature doesn’t survive the classic “there are seventeen other characters who did that and you love them” counter-argument.

Despite her being self-righteous, Dany had explicitly never hurt the innocent people, seeing herself as their protector, until the notorious The Bells episode came around. We might have enjoyed the Mad Queen decision if it was somewhat justified, but it wasn’t. The Bells merely finished what had been started a couple of seasons ago: the unfortunate process of ruining Game of Thrones’ most iconic characters.