In the world of Game of Thrones, characters can switch between being a good guy to a villain. In the case of Daenerys Targaryen, she's just a woman who had to make a decision and it was one that may have changed the way the series will end next week.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS! Watch Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 before reading further!
Things weren't looking good for Daenerys Targaryen at the start of The Bells. Varys is already trying to get Jon Snow to rule Westeros while the Mother of Dragons mourned for the death of Rhaegal and Missandei. Not surprisingly, Dany already knows about this and isn't about to take it quite easily.
Once Jon arrives at Dragonstone, Daenerys immediately has Varys executed by dragonfire (because why not?). She also tries to speak to Jon about what happened but he insists that he is loyal to her. Unfortunately, Jon's love for Dany may have died in the previous episode and Daenerys decides that she will have to embrace violence to get the Iron Throne.
Although Dany is successful in getting rid of the Iron Fleet and the Golden Company and the bells are rung to indicate the city's surrender, it didn't stop there. There is a strange moment when she sees the Red Keep and suddenly decides to give in to her bloodlust.
It's something that people have been speculating about since the previous episode, claiming that Dany has turned into the Mad Queen. But is it truly shocking that she is capable of such carnage? We've already known that Dany can be ruthless when it comes to her enemies even from the first season.
We've always known that Daenerys is most dangerous when facing her enemies. After all, she burned Mirri Maz Duur in Khal Drogo's funeral pyre and used her dragons to escape Qarth. The chilling way she acquired the Unsullied was celebrated by slaves but it doesn't make it less ruthless. In the end, we should have expected Dany to do exactly what she did in The Bells without having to call her the Mad Queen.
Interestingly, Game of Thrones executive producer DB Weiss pointed out that Dany's decision to burn King's Landing was a personal one. In the Inside The Episodefeaturette for Episode 5, Weiss stated that Dany saw the Red Keep as a symbol of what was taken from her all her life and seeing it up close drove her to choose violence.
What did you think of Dany's decision to burn down King's Landing? Let us know in the comments below
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