5 Times ‘Game Of Thrones’ Foreshadowed Daenerys’ Ending (And Why It Makes Complete Sense Within The Narrative)

It is generally agreed upon by Game of Thrones fans that the final season was executed poorly. The writing was weak, the acting took a turn for the worse, and the various storylines accumulated over the years were rushed to their conclusion, making the whole thing seem underwhelming. There were multiple character arcs fans disapproved of, but none were met with a backlash like that of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).

As upsetting as Daenerys’ ending was to fans, it can’t reasonably be said that there weren’t moments of foreshadowing throughout the series. Many have complained about character assassination as Daenerys becomes more and more insecure about her position on the throne, causing her to act increasingly like her father, the “Mad King Aerys.” However, if you were to look back at the earlier seasons, you can see that the story of Daenerys Targaryen was always going to end in flames.

Warning: Game of Thrones Spoilers Ahead!

Daenerys Burns Mirri Maz Duur – Season 1, Episode 10, “Fire and Blood”

Game of Thrones made many mistakes, but it did a superb job when it comes to making fans follow a villain. To that end, looking back at all the people Daenerys has murdered, the list is a bit more extensive than we might first recollect. One of the first instances of Daenerys getting ultra-violent was with Mirri Maz Duur (Mia Soteriou), a healer who had been sexually assaulted by multiple of Khal Drogo’s (Jason Momoa) Dothraki during the raid of her village. Naturally, Mirri Maz Duur took revenge upon the men who plundered her home by murdering their Khal and eliminating Daenerys’ unborn child. For this betrayal, Daenerys burned her alive in the fire that would hatch her dragon eggs and give her the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.

Daenerys Targaryen enters the series as an abused and frightened young girl, but the Targaryen family is not timid. The Mad King Aerys Targaryen (Daenerys’ father) is remembered as a tyrant who takes great joy in burning people alive. It is soon revealed that he was responsible for the horrific murder of Ned Stark’s father and brother. By the end of the first season, Daenerys was responsible for the fiery death of two different people, Mirri Maz Duur and her brother, Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd). Viserys was abusive and a despicable character all around, making his death an act of justice more than anything else. However, there isn’t anything in Mirri Maz Duur’s actions that should make her deserve her fate. To look at the situation from Mirri’s point of view, Daenerys is the ultimate villain, and Mirri’s actions are justified.

Daenerys’ Vision In The House Of The Undying – Season 2, Episode 10, “Valar Morghulis”

When Daenerys’ dragons are taken by Pyat Pree (Ian Hanmore), the warlock of Qarth, she enters The House of the Undying to retrieve them and undergoes a series of prophetic visions. One such vision sees her in the throne room of The Red Keep, but the castle in Daenerys’ vision is burned and decimated, covered in ash and snow. However, she doesn’t seem to notice this as she is only concerned with getting to the throne. The vision hints at the possibility that Daenerys will burn Kings Landing to the ground, as well as her inability to let go of the Iron Throne in the later seasons.

The anticipation of Daenerys’ dragons has been constant since the season 1 finale. While many fans adored the dragons and Daenerys’ newfound power, they seemed to forget that they burned whomever or whatever their mother wanted them to. If Daenerys had to burn The Red Keep, it begs the question, what else or who else did she have to burn to get to the iron throne, and why were we okay with her doing that? Daenerys’ vision hints that eventually, she will destroy anyone or anything that stands in the way of her achieving her goals. That trait is more akin to Cersei (Lena Headey) than anyone else. Not a good sign.

Daenerys Sacks Astapor – Season 3, Episode 4, “And Now His Watch Is Ended”

Daenerys’ storyline throughout the third and fourth seasons consists of her conquering Slaver’s Bay and liberating enslaved peoples. A righteous pursuit and one that made her an instant fan favorite. However, it isn’t all good. When Daenerys agrees to trade enormous dragons for an army of 10,000 Unsullied, her advisors are shocked. However, after making the trade and ensuring the Unsullied follow her, she orders them to kill all the enslavers of Astapor as she burns the city with Drogon’s fire. She is burning people that are cruel and sadistic, so we applauded her, but given what happens in season 8, looking back on this scene, it makes us wonder why we didn’t see where her story was going much earlier.

Few conquerors of history are looked at positively, so why would Daenerys Targaryen be any different, especially considering George R.R. Martin took much inspiration from actual history for his novels. While fans loved to see her taking charge of her army and conquering cities, these seasons showed a shift in her personality. She became less humble and much more strict. The fans’ interests aligned with Daenerys’ in these seasons, making her liberation of Slaver’s Bay a righteous quest rather than an ominous foreshadowing of her eventual destruction of King’s Landing. It should also be mentioned that Daenerys still utilizes the slave army she has taken from Astapor, making her absolution of slavery slightly ironic. Either way, Daenerys is burning cities, destroying their customs and culture, and implanting her own. Yes, we agree with her point of view in this instance, but still, when it comes down to it, she is a conquerer and a colonizer, and the adverse effects of these actions will come to light in season 4, during her rule in Meereen.

Barristan Tells Daenerys About Her Father – Season 5, Episode 2, “The House Of Black And White”

Although Daenerys had conversations with various people about her brother Rhaegar Targaryen (Wilf Scolding), she knew little of her father. In this scene, Barristan (Ian McElhinney) tells Daenerys about The Mad King. He informs her that he would burn children in front of their fathers and laugh while he did it. This happens right after a scene in which she is trying to decide the fate of a member of a group in Mereen rebelling against her rule. After Barristan’s counsel, she decides to give the man a fair trial instead of executing him right away, proving that she is not like her father. However, when a formerly enslaved person kills the man himself, she executes him immediately without a trial, so we’re not quite sure what is going on in her head with that one.

Barristan warns Daenerys that putting men to death without a fair trial was something her father was known for. Specifically, Barristan says, “The Mad King gave his enemies the justice he thought they deserved, and each time it made him feel powerful and right. Until the very end.” This quote is significant, as it describes Daenerys’ arc pretty thoroughly. Daenerys started the series as a frightened young girl, but with each execution, she felt more and more powerful, and few times did she look back upon what she had done and wonder if it was right. Barristan points out that The Mad King did not know he was mad. He did not think he was a tyrant, as he felt he was serving justice. Considering how fast Dany is to deal out similar punishment to those she deems to be amoral, the idea that her vengeance would eventually become excessive isn’t much of a stretch.

Daenerys On The Battlefield – Season 7, Episodes 4 & 5, “The Spoils Of War” & “Eastwatch”

When Daenerys finally sets foot in Westeros, she shows her true colors. In the battle against Jaime’s Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his men, Drogon burns hundreds of Lannister soldiers alive, and her Dothraki takes care of the rest. The scene is one of absolute carnage, and although Game of Thrones has never shied away from showing the trauma of war, this episode takes it to a whole new level. Daenerys has always been about protecting the innocent and burning the guilty. Still, here she burns hundreds of Lannister soldiers alive, with the rationalization that they are guilty of treason purely for fighting for Cersei when they don’t have much choice in the matter. After the battle, she offers Randall and Dickon Tarly a place in her ranks, but they refuse, stating they are loyal to the Lannisters. Against Tyrion’s advice, she (you guessed it) burns them alive.

The point of George R.R. Martin’s books, and subsequently the HBO series, is that the quest for power will always lead to corruption, and without Daenerys’ downfall, that theme would not have come through. The wanting or needing to control others is a corrupting desire that is not present in any of the “good” characters. Sansa and Tyrion know how to play the game and perhaps even enjoy it, but they are never actively trying to put themselves on a throne. As a fan of the show, it’s hard to set aside characters you’ve come to love, but the fact that so many people followed Daenerys into an atrocious final act was precisely what the author and the showrunners intended. Everyone wanted Jon (Kit Harington) and Daenerys to end up on the throne and rule justly, but this is Game of Thrones. The main character of season 1 was executed in the season finale. To quote Ramsay Bolton, “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.”