‘Game of Thrones’ Fans Theorize Daenerys Targaryen Is Going ‘Mad’ — Just Like Her Dad
Is Daenerys following in the footsteps of her father, Aerys II “The Mad King” Targaryen?
The Army of the Dead has come and gone, but the real war is still to come on Game of Thrones.
On Sunday night’s episode, “The Last of the Starks,” Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) suffered two crushing blows in her quest for the Iron Throne. First, her dragon Rhaegal was shot out of the sky by Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek) and his fleet as her forces returned to Dragonstone. In the aftermath, Missandei of Naath (Nathalie Emmanuel) was abducted by Euron — and in the episode’s final minutes, she was decapitated on Cersei Lannister’s (Lena Headey) orders.
After losing one of her dragon children and her most trusted ally and confidante, Daenerys snapped. The episode ended with the Mother of Dragons marching away from the scene, ready for war — and fans are taking this to mean that she’s gone full “Mad Queen.”
The HBO fantasy epic appears to have long been hinting that Daenerys could follow in the footsteps of her father, Aerys II “The Mad King” Targaryen, and turn into the Mad Queen. As Time points out, thanks to her family’s long history of incest — they’ve spent over 300 years wedding brothers to sisters to keep their bloodline pure — she could be genetically predisposed to insanity.
And in addition to her losses piling up, Daenerys’ claim to the Iron Throne is being threatened by none other than her lover, Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Earlier this season, Jon revealed to Daenerys that he’s the secret son of Prince Rhaegar, which makes him not only her nephew but also the true heir to the Iron Throne.
So where does Dany go from here? Thrones fans are theorizing that she’s on the brink of losing it, with her most ruthless impulses poised to take over. Check out some tweets below.