Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that Game of Thrones came to a conclusion last week and I, as a proud and committed Game of Thrones fan, felt that there was no time like the present to share my thoughts on the series finale.
Obviously, this article will contain spoilers for Game of Thrones, so if you haven’t got round to watching it yet then stop reading, free up just over 70 hours and allow your whole life to be changed. I’ll wait.
Also, disclaimer before we start. I’ve not read the books. I will eventually but they’re just so long and I’m a busy woman ok. Don’t @ me.
Ok, so if you’ve come here expecting a rant about the ‘assassination of Daenerys’ character’ and that ‘season 8 was awful and badly written and ruined everything’ then you’ve come to the wrong place. I LOVED season 8. So much that I might even go out on a limb and declare it the best season of the show full stop.
In total honesty, I’ve never been a fan of Dany. From the moment I saw the first episode, I didn’t really like her and she’s pretty much always been on my ‘I wouldn’t care if their character died’ list. I have always felt her views were borderline tyrannical and she was never my choice for who I wanted to see on the Iron Throne joint rulers Gendry and Arya 4eva thank you very much. Whilst I respected her determination, I always found her storyline a little boring and, I’m gonna say it, predictable.
Oh yeah, there it is. At some point in the middle of Season 4 or 5, when discussing future show theories with my sister, I brought up my thought that Daenerys’ character arc was leading to her becoming the ‘Mad Queen’. This thought was a product of the fact that she just kept burning people alive.
That’s right. She’s been up to these tricks since minute one. Ever since those dragons hatched, she’s been out there burning people alive. Here’s a reminder of all those who lost their lives at the hands of The Mother of Dragons up to Season 8:
Season 1, Episode 10, Fire and Blood: Khal Drogo, Mirri Maz Duur
Season 2, Episode 10, Valar Morghulis: Pyat Pree, Doreah, Xaro Xhaon Daxos
Season 3, Episode 4, And Now His Watch is Ended: Kraznys Mo Nakloz
Season 5, Episode 5, Kill the Boy: Great Master
Season 6, Episode 4, Book of the Stranger: Moro and NINE(!) other Khals
Season 7, Episode 5, Eastwatch: Randyll Tarly, Dickon Tarly
While this list may seem small you also have to consider the number of men killed by Jorah, Daario and Grey Worm on Daenerys’ orders. Add Varys, Jaime and Cersei (the destruction caused by her dragon fire lead to their deaths) to that list and you get a whopping total of 34. Which still doesn’t include the THOUSANDS of unnamed soldiers and citizens killed by Daenerys and her army in the numerous battles that happen in the show.
To put this figure into context, Ramsay Bolton, perhaps the show’s most evil villain, only kills 9 people during his time on the show.
Just let that sink in.
We also have to consider her justification for killing all these people. I won’t deny that a lot of the time, the people she killed were evil, but the tyrannical behaviour displayed in the later end of Season 8 has long been festering. The Tarly’s are murdered for refusing to follow Daenerys. She executes them for exercising their free will. Not the kind of behaviour you would expect from a kind and benevolent ruler. In Season 2 Daenerys says; “When my dragons are grown … we will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground”, which is followed two episodes later with; “I will take what is mine with fire and blood.” What was that about the Mad Queen storyline coming from nowhere?
Let’s make it clear, I’m not necessarily criticising Daenerys for killing all these people. My favourite character is Arya, so it would make me a bit of a hypocrite if I was. What I am saying is that Dany becoming the Mad Queen didn’t come out of nowhere, but was actually a slow burning storyline that ran throughout the entire show.
If anything, the more pressing issues and questions that have come out of this season are; what was the point of making Jon a Targaryen when literally nothing came of it? What was the point of Arya and Gendry getting together for them to end up apart? Why did Jaime get the best redemption arc of any character only to go back to Cersei and die? But most importantly, WHAT am I going to watch on Monday nights now that Game of Thrones is over?
Eastenders?
I think not.