Game Of Thrones Ending: Predicting What The Books Will (& Won't) Change

9. Daenerys Burns King's Landing

Daenerys' destruction of King's Landing in The Bells was another of Season 8's most controversial choices: many believed that her turn into the 'Mad Queen', for want of a better label, simply happened too suddenly, while others felt that there's no way this heroic character would choose to burn so many innocent people to death.

In the books, it's likely going to be somewhere in the middle. Like in the show, there's always been a dragon inside of Daenerys in A Song of Ice and Fire, and some clear foreshadowing for her burning King's Landing, such as this passage from A Game of Thrones:

"But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King’s Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind’s eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind’s eye, all the doors were red."

Fire and blood is increasingly a part of Daenerys' story, and is only likely to be more so as her story progresses. When Dany makes it to Westeros in the books, she's not only going to discover there's another Targaryen with a stronger claim, but that said Targaryen has already made the claim. Based on Aegon's whereabouts in The Winds of Winter, it's very likely that he'll have claimed the Iron Throne before Dany has set foot in her homeland.

What's more, he is going to be a popular King. He's the rightful heir who everyone believed to be dead, the son of a beloved prince, and has been trained his whole life to be the best possible version of a Westerosi ruler. The people are going to love him. So Dany will arrive believing herself the true Queen, and find that the people have chosen another Targaryen already. That'll cement the turn she's already taking, leading to her bringing the fight - and the fire - to Aegon, and King's Landing burning (there could even be another Dance of the Dragon).

While she will likely attack Aegon, the mass levels of destruction could be more accidental: the wildfire under the city was glimpsed in The Bells, but it was almost incidental; here, there's a good chance this will be what leads to so many innocents dying. Daenerys will feel responsible for her actions, but rather than this being the end for the character, it's likely the bridge to her atonement.