Game Of Thrones: How Daenerys Became The Mad Queen (And Why The Hate Is Wrong)

4. Idealised Perfection (And How You Were Tricked With Jon)

There is a thread of thinking that suggests that Dany was the picture of virtue and the "perfect" Queen in contrast to the venomous evil of Cersei, who was focused entirely on her own self-interest rather than on being a just and worthy ruler. But where did this image come from? Well, it was manufactured.

Dany's nature should be far closer to that of Viserys than someone by Missandei: she is, after all, a Targaryen, whose blood is fire and fury. But Dany was always an investment project for the likes of Illyrio Mopatis, Varys, Ser Jorah and then Tyrion. Whenever she expressed any volatility, she was shouted down and kept in line - to the point that Olenna offered her "you're a dragon, be a dragon" advice in Dragonstone.

You might say Dany wasn't Dany when she was raining fire on her enemies, but it's more true that Dany wasn't Dany for most of the time we saw her. We did get to know of her sympathetic, romantic side, of course, so there was some expectation that that meant she was a great leader, but that's not true at all. Cersei was romantic too, and like Dany, it was only part of her story.

For some reason, though, fans have chosen to remember Dany only for her freeing slaves - despite that being a calculated part of the marketing campaign to bolster her forces and strengthen her position. We were just as duped as Jon into believing she was this paragon of perfection when it's far more interesting to see her flaws, her vulnerability and her dangerous elements.

[Simon]