Let’s be honest, Game of Thrones is not for anyone with a weak stomach. Being on a cable network allows for its naked brutality (and since it’s on HBO, the keyword is naked). The harsh reality of the Seven Kingdoms is often depicted in gory detail, with things only being discussed as occurring off-screen when the budget demands it.
In this fantasy world, adapted from George R.R. Martin’s widely successful fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, the brutal conditions do not allow for such luxuries as loyalty, kindness, selflessness and virtue. In this world, those things will get you killed or perhaps worse, enslaved. The show is true to its title: in order to survive you must play the game; lie, cheat, steal, and when you are through, somehow get everyone to love you, not in spite of your sins, but because of them.
The series gave us only two main characters that were uncorrupted. The first, Ned Stark, literally lost his head trying to maintain his gallantry. The second, Daenerys ‘Dany’ Targaryen, is still struggling to play the game.
The audience was first introduced to Dany through her twisted, throne-hungry brother. At the start, she was nothing more than a silver-blonde pawn to be moved where her brother needed her. But Dany was capable of doing what so few of the characters in the show are; she was able to connect with someone else. In this case the connection was with her husband – making him see her as a person to be loved and not a thing to own. Through that love, she helped her brother get the deadly crown he so richly deserved.
Of course, winter seems to be coming for everyone, and Dany met hers shortly after an act of kindness towards a witch left her cursed. It was a turning point for the would-be-queen as she learned that, like her brother, not everyone is deserving of her compassion. At this point it would have been understandable for Dany’s heart to harden; instead her resolve became stronger, and she was literally able to walk through fire.
There have been moments, especially last season, where Dany seemed to be drifting. She is, after all, a woman who spent the majority of her life in exile at the hands of a guardian who only saw her as an object to use to barter for more power. Her experience of the world was so little before becoming so immense in such a short period of time. It’s understandable that she wouldn’t know where to put her foot down next, but still she pushed forward.
In this season, currently airing every Sunday night, Dany is no longer drifting. She is calculating, planning and charging ahead towards her birthright. And best of all, in this world filled with corrupt, weak souls, Dany is doing things her way. Nothing better illustrated this than last Sunday’s episode, And Now His Watch Is Ended.
Dany was told repeatedly by her almost-becoming-useless-now advisor that she needed an army. But the only soldiers that would follow her were those that had to be bought. While nearly everyone else fighting for the crown would be more than happy to hand over the cash, owning slaves forced to fight for her was not the kind of leader Dany wanted to be. So Dany decided to play the game.
Not wanting to spoil anything for those still desperately catching up to the DVR, I will only say that in this world of deceit and corruption, the epic moment Dany brought about was both refreshing and satisfying. In this brilliant scene, Dany proved that not only can she play the game better than her male counterparts, she can do it without sacrificing her values or her soul in the process.
In this game the rules say you can only win by losing everything that once mattered. Daenerys Targaryen is making her own rules, and bringing her dragons to enforce them.
defydemure 