GoT’s Daenerys Was Destined to Be a Villain, You Just Missed the Hints

Summary:

• The most unexpected twist in Game of Thrones that disappointed viewers was Daenerys' transition to the dark side, but there were hints of it from the beginning of the show.
• From birth, Dany considered her family exceptional and herself the only worthy contender to the Iron Throne.
• Her actions led to many innocent deaths, and her transformation into the Mad Queen was only slowed by advisors who kept her from making rash decisions.
• However, Dany's far-fetched transition is the fault of the showrunners, who failed to structure the character's development convincingly.

The eighth season of Game of Thrones brought us one of the most unexpected twists in the entire show. Daenerys, who for seven seasons had been one of the main characters and the only legitimate ruler of Westeros, turned into her father's daughter, the Mad Queen, and burned innocent people in dragon flames.

But was Dany's change so unexpected? What if the Game of Thrones showrunners intended Daenerys to be the ultimate villain all along, but any hints of such a future were obscured by her good deeds?

Dany Always Believed that Iron Throne Will Once Be Hers

From her very birth, Daenerys was raised to believe in the exclusivity of her family – Viserys constantly told her of the former greatness of the Targaryens and promised the cruel revenge that the usurpers who took the Iron Throne undoubtedly deserved.

As a result, Daenerys truly believed that the Iron Throne could only be her – there was not even a hint of a different outcome for her.

Dany Showed the Mad Queen Traits Almost from the Start

Back in season two, Dany made a promise: she would take what was rightfully hers, even if it meant the destruction of entire armies and cities. Did you think those were just big words and motivational speeches in the spirit of business coaches?

After taking Meereen, Daenerys orders the crucifixion of 163 slave traders along the road – the number of slaves nailed to pillars to honor the arrival of the Mother of Dragons. Dany's action is fully justified under the tit-for-tat concept.

But it has forced the Sons of the Harpy to openly oppose Daenerys and launch a guerrilla war against her, resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides, including civilians.

Tyrion and Varys directly say that wise counsel is the only thing keeping Dany from becoming the Mad Queen. In fact, all the evidence suggests that it is the advisors who keep Dany from rushing to judgment and restraining her rash impulses.

And as soon as Daenerys lost her advisors – Missandei and Jorah died, Varys was executed, Tyrion lost her trust, and Jon went from lover to rival – she instantly turned into the Mad Queen.

The Showrunners Are to Blame for the Unrealistic Transformation

Daenerys was never meant to sit on the Iron Throne. A character who believes for eight seasons that the chair is rightfully hers and then solemnly takes it would be so trite that even Benioff and Weiss, who frankly failed last season, would not do it.

But even if the writers had planned for such an outcome from the beginning, Dany's transition to the dark side proved too far-fetched.

Daenerys had all the makings of a villain from the start. The problem is that the Game of Thrones writers didn’t have a firm grasp on the character's position.

Important elements of her development were lost in the transition from book to screen, and it left the impression that Dany's path to the dark side was far-fetched. Because it really was.