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My Issues with The Mad Queen

And how I wish things were different

By CKPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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The final season of Game of Thrones has been disappointing and with one episode left, it is hard to imagine the finale will do enough to win over frustrated fans. However, even if season eight has been weaker than previous seasons, it is still some of the best TV to watch right now. That being said, I’ve had issues with parts of this season, especially with Daenerys becoming “the mad queen.” I’m obviously not the first to have this view but I’d like to explain it considering my expectations going in to season 8, Daenerys’ character history and the timing of her becoming a villain.

My Expectations

It was probably naive to be optimistic that such a bleak series could end happily but that’s what I wanted going in to season 8. Characters like Ramsay Bolton and Walder Frey finally getting what they deserve left Cersei Lannister as the only major human villain. Considering this with how imposing the Night King was and that magic use was at an all time high made me think the show might be leaning more heavily on its J. R. R. Tolkien influences. With that in mind, I was hoping for a Tolkien-inspired good-triumphs-over-evil ending. It would be far more predictable but I think I would have been quite happy with John Snow proving himself to be Azor Ahai as he defeats the Night King and Daenerys taking the iron throne without so much unnecessary violence. I’m still hoping for some form of happy ending but after how Daenerys has turned, it’ll likely be bittersweet at best.

Character History

Some fans who are in favour of Daenerys’ turning into a villain cite Daenerys’ more violent actions throughout the show to establish the destruction of King’s Landing as something audiences should have seen coming. These acts include crucifying the masters, burning the Tarlys, and watching her brother die. In all these cases, I have no sympathy for the victims like I do for those in King’s Landing. Viserys would have exploited Daenerys any way he could and the audience was thrilled to see him killed off. Crucifying the masters was a brutal punishment for brutal people in a time where Daenerys was trying to liberate Mareen. As for the Tarlys, executing enemy leaders is somewhat commonplace in Westeros, but Daenerys uses dragon fire instead of beheadings. Plus Daenerys gave the option to bend the knee and they refused. I would never argue that Daenerys hasn’t been violent but it’s usually been done without harming innocents.

The Timing

My final issue with Daenerys’ villain turn has been the timing of it. Many fans feel that her violent turn came too quickly. As mentioned earlier, Daenerys’ violence in earlier seasons was usually against people who deserved it or refused to accept her as Queen. Therefore, killing thousands of civilians seems out of character and would have been more reasonable if she became gradually more violent over a longer stretch of time. I also don’t like when Daenerys finally snapped. The bells ringing and Daenerys continuing her onslaught made for a shocking scene but I didn’t like it for two reasons. First of all, a character should snap at a low point, yet Daenerys snapped when her mission of being Queen was finally within reach. Secondly, if Daenerys is going to be a villain, she should at least be a sympathetic one. So instead of having her snap somewhat randomly, she should have snapped the moment Missandei was killed. This would be a more logical breaking point for Daenerys for the audience to get behind.

All in all, I’ve been disappointed with Daenerys’ direction this season but that doesn’t mean I want the season rewritten or make me any less excited to see this great series all wrapped up.

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About the Creator

CK

Glad to have a place to write my thoughts down

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