In that swollen moment as the bells rang and everyone watched to see what the Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains would do, I thought she would fly straight for Cersei, her understandable flaming rage at the woman who has legitimately wronged her in multiple ways leading to the sort of tragic unintended consequences that can result from messianic leaders following impulsive instincts.īut what we got was Dany deciding to methodically mass murder the exact same kinds of people she lifted up to forge her savior reputation. You may think you’re breaking a wheel, but all you’re really doing is changing the tire. There is an interesting point to be made about how if you’re taking over the usual chair via the usual means, you’re just propping up the same old system with your own ambition. (Which perhaps describes most political structures leave your broadsides in the comments if you must.) “ Game of Thrones” has been broadly about the futility of the cycles of revenge and violence, ultimately functioning as a critique of political structures based on raw power and entitlement.
It was the main driver of the viewer sympathy that just got upended on Sunday. The problem is we’ve seen far more evidence that she has deep sympathy for the downtrodden, seemingly born of she herself being treated like chattel in the early phases of this story.
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(The surest sign that Dany would not heed the titular surrender bells came when she told Tyrion that she would - I can’t remember the last time the former cleverest man in the world was right about anything.) Dany got snubbed at Winterfell and saw her supportive boyfriend turn into a throne rival and then reject her, as her most trusted confidantes died in front of her while her quote-unquote Hand continued to give the worst advice in the Seven Kingdoms.
The reason it wasn’t was because the show had so clearly telegraphed her turn for the past few weeks, if not longer. Of course the thing is, it actually should have been in doubt. While the siege that led up to the King’s Landing apocalypse was plagued with some of the same strategic implausibilities and geographical confusion that has been an issue for much of this season, what followed was a terrifically and terrifyingly rendered decimation of a city.Īnd the symbolic moment of the coin toss we kept hearing about, as Dany sat atop a conquered city and pondered her ultimate destiny, was no less tense for that destiny’s having been little in doubt. She’d sequestered herself in Dragonstone, her hair heartbreakingly disheveled in Missandei’s absence, and her overall look veering into Mad Queen Chic.īut just because the outcome wasn’t surprising, that doesn’t mean the result wasn’t spectacular. “Let it be fear then,” she replied stoically.īut honestly, by then it was already a done deal.
On Sunday the last straw seemed to be Jon’s spilling his Targaryen secret and then essentially telling her, “I do love you but, ew, I can’t …” We talked at length last week about how the show has methodically broken down Daenerys in order to push her to the brink of madness - or some behavioral approximation thereof - culminating with Missandei’s beheading. But it hinged on a turn that rang hollow - specifically the heel turn mentioned above. It was a thrilling, horrifying and ultimately frustrating episode, which feels weird to say because it was often amazing to behold and reflected some of the show’s most central themes. So it was on Sunday, when the Last War unfolded broadly in the way many people expected, with the Dragon Queen turning heel and laying waste to King’s Landing. Throughout the run of “ Game of Thrones,” the seasons’ penultimate episodes were often the ones that packed in the most action and spectacular moments. I guess the coin landed on “burn them all.”