Game of Thrones season 8, episode 5: The real reason Daenerys goes mad
Last night I watched my suspicions about Danerys come true. Usually, when she does something so destructive there is a clear reason. It just seemed so out of character. In fact, everyone seemed out of character during ‘The Bells’ episode and it left me, Jon Snow, and a lot of other viewers confused.
As always, I suggest you watch the episode in full because spoilers are below.
Spoilers ahead
Let’s start at the beginning of the episode. Lord Varys made it known last week that he planned to put Jon in position to be king of the Seven Kingdoms. He has a rightful claim to the throne, but more specifically because he has the better temperament to lead and people like him so they will follow.
Okay, that makes sense. Daenerys’ actions have been questionable lately and based on the trauma she’s dealt with (losing her dragon, Jorah, and Missandre and Jon not returning her affections), she is a bit unstable. She hasn’t given herself time to mourn and she isn’t making decisions with a sound mind.
But here is where I get lost.
Tyrion sees Varys confront Jon about being king and instead of going to Daenerys and saying some people know and advising to take actions that give confidence that she is better for the throne, he goes to her and says Varys betrayed you.
Tyrion at this point knew Daenerys was on her breaking point. Yet he actually gave her a reason to kill Varys. He’s been handling his duties all wrong causing her not to trust his judgment, which she tells him in episode 2 of this season. Tyrion made another bad call which acted as her stepping stool to burn Kings Landing to the ground later in the episode.
That being said, I really think Jon could have stopped all of this from happening. How? We all know how. Daenerys has been trying to be intimate with Jon for the last two weeks since she found out they were relatives.
Incest clearly makes Jon uncomfortable which is why he’s backed off of her that way. But, a man knows when his woman is about to go off the deep end.
Jon clearly knew or had assumptions that she was unstable and instead of trying to talk her off the ledge, he reaffirmed his loyalty to her. He also told her he loved her. But, once she tries to get close he shoves her away.
Which made it worse because in Daenerys’ mind if you love me then you should be intimate with me.
Jon’s inability to show her affection based on reasons (she’s his aunt) is the real reason why she burned Kingslanding to the ground.
Jon, it’s all your fault. Your inability to return her love is the reason she’s gone mad.
In Daenerys mind, she knows the people will follow Jon because they love him and she thinks that she is only feared. She tells Jon this and even though he doesn’t want the throne, it’s inevitable.
What if Daenerys decided, once she heard the bells of surrender ring from the castle, to burn it all down so that there is nothing left to rule.
It’s clear that at this point she’s lost the ability to reason, she doesn’t trust her advisors, and without Jon’s affections, she doesn’t feel loved. So now, burn the kingdom down, let the pieces fall where they may, and start fresh.
Other notes:
I can’t believe Arya is not dead! She literally was trampled by horses, smashed by a falling building, and engulfed in Daenerys’ fire while trying to escape Kings Landing. But, she is still alive.
I was not expecting Cersi and Jamie to go out like that. I thought Cersei had more of a plan, but I guess not. She went out like a mouse. It was a little sad though once the end came for her and Jamie.
Also, Sandor ‘the Hound’ Clegane and Gregor ‘the Mountain’ Clegane finally settled their odds going out in dragon fire. They had a cool exchange before it was all over with during Clegane Bowl.
My questions:
Is Jon now going to be compelled to get closer to Daenerys so that he can calm her down or will he be compelled to overthrow her because he’s seen her destructive capabilities?
What happens now that Kings Landing is destroyed?
What role will Sansa and Bran play in the story now that Kings Landing is destroyed?
Is Arya going to kill Daenerys for her actions?
Arya claimed that she was going to kill the queen. Maybe now her attention is drawn to Daenerys. Also, apparently in the television series Daenerys has green eyes, but George R.R Martin’s books explain that she has purple eyes. Hopefully, that’s not used as a workaround to let Arya kill her.
I guess we’ll see in the final episode next week.
Game of Thrones season 8, episode 4: Is Sansa right about Daenerys? (last weeks episode)