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“DAENERYS BECOMING A VILLAIN MAKES MORE SENSE IN THE BOOKS!”

What actually happens in the books: Daenerys Targaryen tends to be lenient (to her detriment in ADWD) in most cases. Indeed, seven people (Skahaz mo Kandaq, Daario Naharis,  Groleo, Hizdahr zo Loraq, Brown Ben Plumm, Reznak mo Reznak and Strong Belwas; eight if you count Tyrion Lannister’s thoughts on how she should’ve handled the siege of Meereen) are seen advising Dany to use violence (or to tolerate violence against marginalized people, in Hizdahr’s case) and she rejects all of them.

On HBO: Show!Daenerys feeds a Meereenese noble to her dragons and doesn’t care if he’s truly guilty of the Harpy’s Sons’ murders, which never happens in the books (where she cares about only punishing the actual culprits).  Show!Daenerys suggests to show!Hizdahr that she might burn Meereen someday, which never happens in the books (she refuses to use her dragons throughout most of ADWD and stops Hizdahr from killing Tyrion and Penny).  Show!Daenerys plans to crucify the masters, burn their fleets and kill their soldiers, which never happens in the books and show!Tyrion urges her to be merciful (it’s the opposite in the books: he’s shown to be more ruthless than her). Show!Daenerys is criticized  by show!Tyrion for her “temper” (and the audience is meant to agree with him) after she executed the Tarlys, never mind that 1) Tyrion also burned his enemies in battle and 2) Jon executed Janos Slynt for less and tried to stab Alliser Thorne due to an insult (while Dany chose to be merciful to Ghael even after he literally spat on her face). Show!Jon is outraged by show!Dany’s (OOC) decision to kill children when, in the books, his book counterpart claims to be willing to kill Gilly’s child and his child hostages if Gilly and the Free Folk disobey his orders and book!Dany herself is unable to kill her child hostages.

GRRM: By Season 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop.

GRRM:  Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone. | GRRM:  He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire. | GRRM:  No one ever looked for a girl. […] The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it. | GRRM: Well of course the two outlying ones, the things that are going on north of the Wall and Daenerys Targaryen on the other continent with her dragons are of course the Ice and Fire of the title, the Song of Ice and Fire. | GRRM:  Fire is love, fire is passion, fire is sexual ardor and all of these things. Ice is betrayal, ice is revenge, ice is… you know, that kind of cold inhumanity and all that stuff is being played out in the books. | HOTD (note that GRRM himself told them about Aegon’s prophecy):  And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen strong enough to unite the realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream ‘The Song of Ice and Fire’.

UNDERRATED GEORGE R. R. MARTIN QUOTES (+ INFORMATION ABOUT AEGON’S PROPHECY THAT GRRM HIMSELF SHARED WITH THE HOTD WRITERS) THAT CLEAR UP MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT DAENERYS TARGARYEN

Misconception 1: “Daenerys has nothing to do with the song of ice and fire.” | GRRM: Daenerys and her dragons are the “fire” (which, according to GRRM, symbolizes love, passion and sexual ardor) of A Song of Ice and Fire + GRRM: only ever mentions the song of ice and fire in Daenerys’ chapters + HOTD: Aegon’s dream - the song of ice and fire - is about a Targaryen king or queen who will unite the realm against the cold + HOTD: plays “The Prince That Was Promised” - a song inspired by Dany’s theme song “Breaker of Chains” - in the scene that Viserys tells Rhaenyra about Aegon’s dream

Misconception 2: “Daenerys doesn’t deserve any credit for hatching the dragon eggs, that was pure luck!” | GRRM: Daenerys “makes the magic up as she goes along” and “is someone who really might do anything”.

Misconception 3: “Daenerys is secretly selfish and only cares about herself”. | GRRM: “Daenerys wants equality for everyone, she wants to be at the same level as her people”.

Misconception 4: “GRRM intentionally wrote Daenerys as a white savior and her storyline in Slaver’s Bay is an allegory for the Iraq War.” | GRRM: “The slavery of Slaver’s Bay is not racially based” and “perhaps people who had not read the books” assumed that all the people she frees were brown or black. + GRRM:  “I’m not trying to slap a coat of paint on the Iraq War and call it fantasy.”

Misconception 5: “Daenerys should’ve continued to accept the peace agreement that she made with the slavers. Choosing fire and blood by the end of ADWD means that she’s going to become the story’s main villain.” | GRRM: “Slavery’s got to end even if it has to be with fire and blood”.

Misconception 6: “Daenerys has no sense of humor”. | GRRM: (book!)Daenerys is “very funny”.

Misconception 7: “Daenerys burning King’s Landing is guaranteed to happen in the books”. | GRRM: *already shut down a theory about her burning a place (Water Gardens) and hinted at the possibility that she’s not involved in the second Dance of Dragons.*

Misconception 8: “There’s no doubt that Jon will become Dany’s enemy and kill her in the books”. | GRRM: The whole story is coming down to Dany and Jon’s partnership. + GRRM: “By Season 5 and 6, and certainly 7 and 8, I was pretty much out of the loop”. + It was revealed in the Blu-Ray of Game of Thrones’ eighth season that D&D came up with the idea of Jon killing Dany.

Misconception 9: “Westeros would be better off with seven independent kingdoms”. | GRRM: “we do better when we join together into larger political units” and “eventually I do hope we will be one peaceful world” + GRRM: Aegon the Conqueror wanted to unify Westeros to be better prepared for the War for the Dawn + HOTD: A Targaryen king or queen (most likely Aegon the Conqueror with teats, Azor Ahai/Prince(ss) that Was Promised and the Fire of ASOIAF) must be seated on the Iron Throne to unite the realm against the cold.

Misconception 10: “Daenerys is definitely going to die in the books, that’s not up for debate”. | GRRM: *is still going with his 1991 ending and intended to have Dany survive in his 1993 outline* + Jon killing Dany was D&D’s idea + GRRM was “out of the loop” in season 8 + not everyone who died on the show will die in the books according to GRRM himself, so it’s still possible that Dany will survive at the end of ASOIAF.

Daenerys Appreciation Month - Family

“One day. One day you must tell me all. The good and the bad. There is some good to be said of my father, surely?”

“There is, Your Grace. Of him, and those who came before him. Your grandfather Jaehaerys and his brother, their father Aegon, your mother … and Rhaegar. Him most of all.”

“I wish I could have known him.” Her voice was wistful.

A Heroine of Yours | Arya & Dany