‘Game of Thrones’ Season 8: Will Daenerys Become the Mad Queen?
Many Game of Thrones fans has been waiting for Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) to start showing the genetic crazy side of herself after acting mostly genteel for quite a while. Her romance with Jon Snow has perhaps blinded her to the realities of who’s really pining for the Iron Throne, including Jon himself.
In Episode 4 of season 8, we finally saw Daenerys show a different side of her — one that’s been bubbling under the surface. Her desire to take the throne has just gone to a new level after some tragic developments. Many now liken her to becoming a Mad Queen, which brings Alice in Wonderland visions of her shouting “Off with their heads!”
Take a look if there’s truly a chance of this happening.
Daenerys has lost loved ones recently
After the tragic death of Ser Jorah in the Batter of Winterfell, Daenerys was clearly shaken. She proceeded to face even more tragedy when she gathered her troops to dethrone Cersei. First, her dragon Rhaegal gets killed (almost improbably) while flying in midair. This bloody death was hard to take for those who’ve become emotionally attached to the CGI dragons used in the show. That should give a leg up to CGI artists creating a true soul for something not existing in reality.
After the loss of her dragon, you can see the pain and hatred in Daenerys’ eyes. And then comes another death.
This other death we refer to is, of course, Missandei, her loyal advisor. Fans of the show were outraged by this death because Missandei, who was beheaded upon Cersei’s orders, was one of the kindest souls of literally any other character in Westeros. While we’d be feeling the same boiling emotions as Daenerys at this point, her anger is also a double-edged sword.
The problem with the men thinking Daenerys is crazy
After Daenerys threatened Jon to not tell the others about their family connection, you have to wonder how much criticism the show will receive again for making the women look crazy rather than the men.
Tyrion and Varys are also starting to question how sane Danaerys is, no matter if her feeling of rage has 50% justification. Then again, when you realize she’s hungry to take the throne, this tug-of-war is what makes Game of Thrones so complicated to dissect. Even if you can say this is one of the greatest examples of character creation, the critical point of view of the show being sexist (and maybe a little racist with Missandei’s death in chains) is sometimes justified.
Can we say Dany’s madness is just her trying to survive as any other woman would? Or does she truly possess the madness her father had, hence everyone else inevitably stopping her from becoming the mad queen?
If Daenerys does go truly mad, it’ll create an epic battle
We’ve said before here that it’s inevitable the real battles yet to come will be on a smaller scale between the literal characters rather than their armies. With Cersei’s and Daenerys’ armies already dwindled, it could come down to a triumvirate battle scene among Cersei, Arya, and Daenerys.
The idea of women being pitted against each other will likely bring another major criticism. On the other hand, an epic battle for a woman to ultimately claim the throne would be a thrilling outcome. All of this might mean Jon watching helplessly as these three women battle it out in one small location. In the end, it might also mean Jon being slain by his very own aunt.
WillDaenerys be the ‘Mad Queen’?
In the real world, we know history repeats far too often, as it is now. Game of Thrones appears to bring this same sensibility about family curses and prophecies seeming to recur continuously.
What if the show ultimately debunks all of that as a way of saying we can’t really predict the future? Seeing Daenerys become a Mad Queen might be an entertaining thought, but it seems too obvious based on her current state of mind. When you’re filled with this much rage, you’re not always going to think straight and make major strategic mistakes.
They may all make similar lapses in judgement, leaving it possible no one takes the throne after all.
