“My name is Daenerys Stormborn, and I will take what is mine with fire and blood.”
It’s a line that Emilia Clarke’s would-be Queen has recited ten times over throughout the duration of HBO’s Game of Thrones, and yet, when she really lay waste to King’s Landing, people were aghast. Case in point: the petition to remake Thrones‘ eighth and final season has zoomed past one million signatures since “The Iron Throne” aired on Sunday.
That’s not to say that Dany’s heel turn was show’s greatest sin, but it was still enough to irk a lot of longtime viewers who believe the transition from righteous liberator to fire-wielding tyrant happened all too quickly – something that can really be said about the entirety of Game of Thrones season 8.
But Isaac Hempstead Wright isn’t convinced, telling The Hollywood Reporter that he sees the logic in Dany’s path to villainy.
I think it’s that this is a character everyone loves. Dany is a brilliant character who has done so many fabulous things and saved so many people. People have complained there wasn’t enough foreshadowing of that. But time upon time, she’s demonstrated a capacity to be quite brutal.
Wright went on to chronicle Dany’s meandering journey to Westeros, and how she’s been beset by tragedy and betrayal all throughout Game of Thrones – culminating at the moment when Varys attempted to poison the Mother of Dragons before she obliterated King’s Landing.
Nevertheless, Wright is firmly of the belief that Dany’s actions were in keeping with her character:
She’s waited years and years to get over to Westeros and take what is hers. She’s been delayed. She’s had to fight an army of literal dead people. She nearly died. She’s lost Jorah, Missandei and now the person she’s deeply in love with isn’t comfortable with her and he threatens the claim she’s had for years. She’s sick of it. She’s pissed off and she’s lost her mind. I don’t think it’s some plot twist to be shocking for the sake of shocking. I think it’s genuine character development.
But what say you? Did Game of Thrones do Daenerys justice? Or are you disappointed by the show’s swan song? Do let us know.
