Daenerys Targaryen is one of the most heroic and villainous characters in Game of Thrones. What were her biggest moments on both ends of the spectrum?

Within the massive cast of characters in Game of Thrones, it’s hard to imagine anyone who is both more popular and more controversial than Daenerys Targaryen. While her most villainous choice that came at the climax of the series was a shock to some who had seen her as the conquering hero all along, it wasn’t as surprising to other viewers who had picked up on her more villainous traits early on.

Like any character, she has both good and bad sides to her, and has made both heroic and villainous choices. But what are her biggest hero and villain moments throughout her character arc?

Proved She Was The Villain: When She Tried To Force Jon To Keep His Targaryen Status A Secret

Over the course of Game of Thrones, a big aspect of Daenerys Targaryen’s self-image revolves around being the last Targaryen and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, and she predicates her invasion of Westeros on that right.

However, when she discovers that she actually isn’t the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, she’s desperate to keep that secret and hold on to her power, which seems to demonstrate that it was never about anyone’s birthright, but about what Dany wanted.

Was Actually The Hero: When She Rescued Everyone Beyond The Wall

If Daenerys had any idea of how dangerous the Night King really was, she may not have given up the lives of one of her dragons to save Jorah, Jon, and the rest of the men stranded beyond the Wall.

But even though Tyrion warned her against going, she went against his advice and did what she could to rescue the men who had went out on this mission in the hopes of bringing back a wight and convincing Cersei to accept a truce for Dany.

Proved She Was The Villain: She Used The North As Leverage

When Jon first meets Daenerys, he wastes a lot of valuable time that could be used in preparation to fight the White Walkers trying to convince her to help, but Dany refuses unless he bends the knee.

However, if she considers herself the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms already, defending one of her kingdoms is her responsibility. Not to mention, it’s the right thing to do, and gambling the lives of thousands on a power play is very villainous of her.

Was Actually The Hero: Staying In Meereen

Daenerys Targaryen’s main goal was always to reclaim the throne that her family had created, but she conquered the entirety of Slaver’s Bay before she set sail for Westeros.

Honestly, her rule in the newly named Dragon’s Bay was hit or miss and she made many mistakes, but at least she stayed and tried to fix things instead of taking the resources from these cities and just using them to attain her real goal.

Proved She Was The Villain: When She Didn’t Allow The North Their Freedom

Dany’s refusal to allow the North to be independent of the Seven Kingdoms or to be ruled by someone they actually wanted to lead them was an obvious sign that she was not the right person to lead Westeros.

It was clear that the Northmen didn’t want a Targaryen queen, and she denied them their right to self-determination because she thought that her right to rule over them was more important than their own choices.

Was Actually The Hero: Fighting The White Walkers

Yes, Daenerys only agreed to help the North if they claimed her as her queen, and yes, the White Walkers wouldn’t have actually made it beyond the Wall if they didn’t have Dany’s dragon in the first place, however, if Daenerys were completely selfish, she could have just run away.

She had an established kingdom in Essos and the people there actually supported her and wanted her there, so she could have left the Westeros that rejected her to die and saved herself and her army, but she didn’t.

Proved She Was The Villain: When She Invaded Westeros

Cersei was a terrible queen, but her downfall was coming whether or not Daenerys decided to invade Westeros.

And while Dany may have believed that she had a claim to the Iron Throne, the reality is, invasions are very bloody, dangerous, and violent affairs that typically wind up killing the most innocent and vulnerable of any land that’s being invaded. Taking three dragons and thousands of people to Westeros in order to conquer it was always going to get thousands of people hurt and killed.

Was Actually The Hero: Freeing The Unsullied

Freeing the Unsullied seems to be a huge turning point for Daenerys, and it seems to be where she pivots from solely focusing on the Iron Throne to wanting to end slavery.

And, while making the Unsullied into her volunteer unpaid army instead of her slave army is a bit dubious upon deeper examination, it’s an undeniably epic moment and Dany clearly embraces a mission that the Unsullied are more than happy to take on in Slaver’s Bay.

Proved She Was The Villain: Burning King’s Landing

If Daenerys’ villainous downfall wasn’t apparent already, the fact that she decided to burn King’s Landing to the ground certainly proved it.

Some audience members were shocked by this decision, however, Dany had to be convinced not to attack King’s Landing many times before she actually did, and she had been talking about burning entire cities to the ground since season 2 of the series, so it shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise.

Was Actually The Hero: When She Ended Slavery

While it’s unclear whether or not the abolition of slavery will last now that the threat of Daenerys and her dragons is gone, the very fact that Dany actually ended the slave trade in Slaver’s Bay is a massive accomplishment.

It may have gone better if she went into it with a plan beyond freeing all of the slaves, but freeing the slaves and banning slavery is undeniably heroic.