#darkdany

Hi there!

And the son of a dictator even made it. Yikes... 😑

I don't think GRRM failed to be honest. He hasn't finished the books and it remains to be seen how he'll bring Dany's arc to an end. I think people actually see the red flags and there is the famous Meereenese essay whose author was praised by GRRM for "getting it right". And it's not as if "Fire and Blood" glorifies the Targs. Even Targs we might have thought beforehand were pretty decent (like Jaeherys the Old), we now know to be almost as bad as the others. I don't think anybody can read Fire and Blood and stick to the believe that the Targs are good.

I think it is a bit different for the show. D&D prioritized the hiding of the DarkDany twist over everything else and then they managed to even botch that. They did such a bad job that people just refused to believe that Dany burning King's Landing will be canon and accused D&D of doing "fanfiction".

They postponed Dany's fall to the very last moment, by alternating her "red flag" moments with triumphant moments. They wanted to milk their cash cow to the last moment and that is why they failed. They should have committed to really depicting Dany's fall.

So, I would say that D&D failed to unmask Dany as a tyrant in a convincing and compelling way. But that does not alter the fact that the character is a tyrant and that people just refuse to see it. And sadly enough this is what happens sometimes as well.

One of the most haunting experiences I ever had was reading the diaries of Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's Propaganda minister. These are not personal diaries but were meant to describe Hitler's ascent to power. And despite knowing that he was an evil man, that he supported an evil dictator, I could still feel the pull of his words and was always on the edge of catching myself to nod at the easy explanations, the black- and white painting of political problems, the disdain for the slow procedure of democratic politics. To this day I shudder how easy it would have been to be lured in, if I had not known who wrote these books.

This is imho exactly the reason why we need to unmask dictators - fictional and real ones. We shouldn't fall for their "everything will be solved once I'm in charge" or their "I'll do this a lot more efficiently". They spoonfeed us easy explanations. We should reject them and talk about the complexity of the world that doesn't have easy solutions.

xo

❝Pretenders strive to steal the Iron Throne, and disturbing rumors of dragons reborn trickle in from the east.❜

Where the Fuck is Jon?!

I’d like him back please.

Episode 1 impressions - Part 2

It has been obvious since season 7, that even while they were setting up Jon and Dany for a romance, they were also setting them up for a clash.

Even if we discuss this from a cinematic PoV, the plot of Jon vs Dany needed some essential elements.

1. Jon’s view of Dany vs What Jon doesn’t know about her.

2. Burning of the Tarlys - Father and brother of a man whom Jon trusts more than anyone else. So basically, Daenerys is to Sam what Joffrey/Tywin are to Jon.

3. Jon needed to let go of his title willingly, when presented with a choice between saving his people or retaining his crown. And his people needed to know that.

4. Thanks to Tyrion, now the north and the other lords know - That they have only Jon Snow to thank - if they survive this war with the dead. He risked his life not just to convince Dany but also Cersei.

5. I was born to rule the seven kingdoms and I will vs. Titles don’t matter. In other words a want for power vs. A desire for the greater good.

The parentage reveal imo was used more as a tool to create a further divide between the personalities of Jon and Dany than a life shattering moment for Jon. It’s perhaps for this very reason that some people found the highly anticipated reveal, rather underwhelming.

The complications of the fact that Dany is his Aunt and they are in an intimate relationship, is pushed aside to give way for a bigger conflict.

The question about who is the true king.

Which also seeks to imply that the above is more important.

Sam asks Jon two very important questions that have already set up Jon against Dany.

1. Would you have done it?

Sam is not really expecting an answer from Jon. He KNOWS Jon wouldn’t have done it. It’s obviously going to get worse once they know the method of execution. In Sam’s mind, Jon is already a better ruler. THAT - was the point of his question.

2. You gave up your crown to save your people. Would she do the same ?

Again this was a rhetorical question. Sam was trying to make a point. We, as an audience, are supposed to ruminate over this as the episodes to come are going to slowly unfold the answer.

It’s obvious that Sam doesn’t trust Dany to make the right choices as a ruler. Jon is the rightful heir as well as Sam’s choice for the throne.

Jon: Daenerys is our queen

Sam: She shouldn’t be.

He’s made his choice clear. So will the rest of Westeros when the Great War is over.

Who is responsible for uniting the entire realm against the fight with the dead? - Jon Snow

Who risked his life to convince two rival queens so that Westeros could be saved ? Jon Snow

Who gave up his crown to protect his people without giving a second thought ? Jon Snow

So, the question Sam wants us to ponder about is - Who is the better choice for the throne? There’s no need to type out an answer.

I loved the last scene. When Jamie sees Bran, it’s like his entire life flashes before his eyes. Wonderful performance by Nicolaj!! Just in his expression, you feel it all.

By the way, I got this feeling that Bran had a more compassionate look on his face when he was staring at Jamie than at Dany. He’s almost rude to her, even for his robotic self.

I recently started looking for internships and this blog, which is pretty new and still has been called one of the best youth blogs in the world just published my first article...you might wonder why I'm telling you this well that's because it's about the latest Game of Thrones episode and even through I had to shorten and simplify things, a lot, for the general public it's still something I'm proud of because in this way I get to introduce our theories to the general public... So without further ado here you go:

There you have a quote from George Martin from the original outline of his new book saga to his publisher.

Daenerys Targaryen was the great threat to Westeros from the very beginning. D&D didn´t betray the character in season 8. Instead they failed to conveniently protray and tell her arc by making her a hero and riding the car of empowered female of the decade. It was a subvertion of the classic trope of the special hero with special lineage, powers and destiny. But they never fully commited to it 100%.