Game Of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke Defends Dany’s Reaction To Jon Snow’s Big Reveal

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2.

HBO aired the second episode of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones yesterday, and it looks like the series finally has Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) revealing his true parentage to his lover, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke).

As expected, Dany didn't take to the news so well, and fans were a bit put off by the character's reaction to the news. There are two ways that the Mother of Dragon could have responded to the news that Jon was actually Aegon Targaryen. First, Dany could express shock over the news, knowing that Jon's true parentage would mean that his relationship with the Dragon Queen would be entirely incestuous. The second would be Dany responding to the fact that Jon's news would also mean that the King of the North is the true heir to the Iron Throne.

Dany took the second option. With a relationship that's now obviously strained, fans have been criticizing the Mother of Dragons.

Now, speaking in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Clarke defends Dany's reaction to the news, saying that incest isn't uncommon for the Targaryen family.

"The related thing, to her, is so normal," Clarke says. "She could have easily married her brother. It's not a thing. It's a thing for Jon, but let's just forget about that. The main thing is we're up for the same promotion and I've been working for it for my entire existence."

"This is my whole existence," Clarke continues. "Since birth! Dany literally was brought into this world going: RUN! These f—ers [in Westeros] have f—ed everything up. Now it's, ‘You're our only hope.' There's so much she's taken on in her duty in life to rectify. There's so much she's seen and witnessed and been through and lost and suffered and hurt to get here … and Jon doesn't even want it!"

That's true. Dany has been working so hard to earn the Iron Throne, and now here she learns that Jon, her lover, has the first right to the throne before her. What did she even come to the North for?

Let's see how the two work things out in the next episode of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones airs every Sunday at 9 pm ET on HBO.

Read: The Best Memes to Come Out of Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 2