Game Of Thrones: How Daenerys Became The Mad Queen (And Why The Hate Is Wrong)
1. The Issues Of Ownership
Who "owns" Daenerys Targaryen? Should anyone? Well, George RR Martin probably has a pretty big claim to her in terms of copyright issues, but that's not the point. The point here is that her ownership has been a real problem for the way her arc has ended.
While it's partly true, saying that critics of this season of Thrones have been motivated to venom by the show's refusal to do what they expected (or wanted) is a little too simple to say. The problem for the show is that there's a perceived split between the source material and how Weiss and Benioff have conceived their version of the character, because fans seem to think that they have written her in defiance of what George RR Martin would have wanted. It doesn't help that the writer hasn't said anything to the contrary, but then of course he wouldn't: he has two more books to complete that he doesn't want to spoil.
In the absence of Martin's commentary, fans have taken to thinking there is somehow a war between the show-runners and Martin - which has been fueled further by those out of context videos of the cast saying they're disappointed in the final season. Despite those clearly being jokes, they're being used as evidence that even the cast don't feel like the direction the show is taking is right for OUR characters.
And that's just it, isn't it? As fans, we think of these characters as our own. Even though we've watched eight seasons of this show over which favourite characters have been killed and theories and predictions have been killed just as easily, we still think we get a happy ending. No matter how well seeded, how fitting the end or how little say we'd ever have, some will always feel betrayed by the direction of the characters.
Maybe we should have just paid attention when Ramsay said if we thought there was a happy ending we weren't paying attention after all. Because, it's not our story. It's not our Great Game. We might all see the theory that Dany was going to sacrifice herself to kill the Night King as romantic and fitting, but it was an imagined ideal and neither character is ours.
In the end, you're always going to feel disappointed if you try to claim ownership of a character you have absolutely no control over and it's been happening ever since Dany directed Drogon's dread-breath to burn King's Landing.
[Simon]
What did you think of Dany's story in 'The Bells'? Share your reactions below in the comments thread.