Warning: There are spoilers ahead for last night’s Game of Thrones!
Last night’s episode of Game of Thrones turned out to be devastating for some fans. That’s because of Daenerys’ surprisingly dark turn. After spending years as the “breaker of chains” and a force for justice, Daenerys turned the fires of her dragon on innocent people in King’s Landing. As a result, the city went up in flames, leaving her allies wondering how to respond to her shocking actions.
Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff provided some explanation in a making-of video. Although the Mother of Dragon behaved in an unexpected way, Weiss contends that it’s building up for quite a while.
“I think that when she says, ‘Let it be fear,’ she’s resigning herself to the fact that she may have to get things done in a way that isn’t pleasant,” said Weiss. “And she may have to get things done in a way that is horrible to lots of people.”
“Even when you look back to Season 1 when Khal Drogo gives the golden crown to Viserys, and her reaction watching her brother’s head melting off,” added Benioff. “I mean, he was a terrible brother so I don’t think anyone out there was crying when Viserys died. But there is something kind of chilling about the way that Dany has responded to the death of her enemies.”
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Benioff also spoke about about a scenario in which Daenerys wouldn’t have taken such honorific steps.
“If circumstances had been different, I don’t think this side of Dany would have ever come out,” proposed Benioff. “If Cersei hadn’t betrayed her, if Cersei hadn’t executed Missandei, if Jon hadn’t told her the truth, like if all these things would have happened a different way, then I don’t think we’d be seeing this side of Daenerys Targaryen,”
“I don’t think she decided ahead of time that she was going to do what she did,” continued Benioff. “And then she sees the Red Keep, which is to her the home that her family built when they first came over to this country 300 years ago. It’s in that moment, on the walls of King’s Landing where she’s looking at that symbol of everything that was taken from her, when she makes the decision to make this personal.”
The final episode of Game of Thrones, set to air this Sunday, and it should ultimately reveal Daenerys’ fate.
You can view the full behind-the-scenes video below. What do you think about Daenerys’ actions in last night’s Game of Thrones?? Let us know in the comments!
