Daenerys’ Story of Redemption

Published May 17, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey Guys,

Love the show guys, especially because you allow me to savor each episode long after the show has aired. Game of Thrones isn’t a one-night affair anymore – you have made it a weeklong event!

I’ve been tempted to write so many times but, meh, it’s fun just to listen to everyone else. But after hearing this week’s Small Council, I figured I’d go on record with my prediction because I was stunned to see so few people offering this.

First, there are seven in my personal “Small Council” that took a poll after the first episode of season 8, and six of the seven had Arya killing the Night King, and six of the seven had Daenerys going full-on mad Targaryen before the end of the season, so we’ve got a pretty good track record, if that counts for anything!

Here’s what I’ve believed since the beginning of the season, and I can still see it happening: The rise and fall of Daenerys, with last-minute redemption. I don’t see anyone killing her. I think she’s going to sacrifice herself. In the end, when the bloodlust is over, she’s going to realize what she’s done, and that she is now queen over a populace that will never be able to see her as the benevolent monarch that she once saw herself to be. Not quite sure how it will happen. I’ll leave the details to the writers. But I see her dying in a selfless act, maybe saving John from Bronn’s arrow or something like that. But what a fitting end it would be. It would validate the love and the belief we’ve had in Dany from the start.

I’ve also believed since the beginning that the show cannot end with any dragons alive. Remembering how Sansa asked “What does a dragon eat?” and Daenerys’ sneering a response “Anything he wants,” reinforced for me that a peaceful world cannot have dragons in it. Maybe Daenerys’ sacrifice will involve taking Drogon out with her. Again, not sure how. Leaving it to the writers.

At the start of the season, 6 of the 7 in my small council had John taking the iron throne. I can’t see that happening now. Westeros will never again accept a Targaryan. What I think now is the Seven Kingdoms will be broken up. I can see Sansa becoming Queen in the North with Gendry, Tyrion, Yara, and others taking over their ancestral lands, all friendly allies trying to make a better world. I don’t see John’s role in this, though, so maybe he’ll have to die as well.

Ok, just wanted to get that off my chest.

One more thing – an “um, actually,” for Gene. In the last Small Council, you said Daenerys would never settle for a man she didn’t love. I’m pretty sure she told Daario she would do just that. (Granted, that Daenerys is not the Dany we have now!)

Paula Schleis

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