10 TV Characters Who Changed In Unexpected Ways
5. Daenerys Targaryen (Game Of Thrones)
So far we've talked about unexpected character arcs that ultimately proved positive and that made the show better by their unexpected nature. But we couldn't make this list without at least ONE bad example, so might as well take yet another crack at poor Danny.
Don't worry we won't take too much of your time, since there's basically nothing we can say about the heel turn Daenerys takes in the last season of Game Of Thrones that folks like the incomparable Lindsey Ellis haven't said already.
After 8 seasons of her freeing slaves and toppling tyrants, Benioff and Weiss thought that the best way to cap off her journey and the logical conclusion it was OBVIOUSLY headed towards was for her to become one such tyrant herself.
There's a lot (and I do mean a LOT) about season 8 that makes it the infamous train wreck that it is, but this heel turn is a perfect encapsulation of all of it. It was completely out of left field, fundamentally misunderstood the character, was nowhere near as smart as it thought it was, and was far too focused on subversion and surprise than actually telling a good story.