Games Of Thrones Season 7: What 'Eastwatch' Really Means

13. Dany Is Unsympathetic In War

Look, nobody is saying war isn't bad or that sometimes "strength is terrible", as Dany herself put it, but the Stormborn queen is flirting dangerously with becoming entirely unsympathetic. She's also basically becoming the monster Cersei painted her to be - at least in the eyes of those who already fear her.

There's some benefit to a show of force, but as pretty much every dead monarch in the seven kingdoms' history would attest, if you give powerful enemies and insurgents fear to feed on, you'll end up with a knife in your back. It's precisely why characters like Varys and Littlefinger even exist in the first place.

Also how exactly does Dany expect to get real allegiance from those she has forced to bend the knee under threat of death? She is a leader essentially elected by her people because she freed them and promised them better lives. She's now effectively diluted her forces with forcibly conscripted enemies, motivated by terror.

That's an entirely different dynamic and one she's never had to deal with before. And it may backfire if she actually can't get to the negotiating table with Cersei.