If you had to name the No. 1 most divisive thing to come out of Game of Thrones season eight, it’d have to be Daenerys Targaryen‘s character arc. To put it simply, some fans have frothed it and some fans have absolutely hated it. Now with GoT over, the Mother of Dragons herself Emilia Clarke has given the people her take on the whole stitcheroo.
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In a lengthy interview with The New Yorker, Clarke said it’s been almost two years since she first read season eight’s script. When she did, she took a “very long walk around London in a daze, not quite sure how to digest the news.”
Now, finally, people are going, “Oh, now we understand why this season hit you hard.” I had no idea what to expect for this last season.
The actor said she had hoped for some “juicy things” to happen as she always does but she absolutely did not see her Mad Queen heel turn coming. As she explained, Dany overcame horrific hardships after hardships throughout the seasons, she killed the villains, and freed people. It felt good. It was good.
But, Clarke did think: “How long is this going to last?”
Everyone was saying, “Isn’t she great? She’s our saviour, Mhysa.” It’s been beautiful and amazing, but I’ve been looking over my shoulder the entire time while everyone else gets a more human—for want of a better word—story line. They do good things. They do bad things. They do silly things. They do brilliant things. They fall in love. They break hearts. Daenerys has quite consistently had this road to salvation, and she’s been sitting atop a very safe mountain.
GoT creators, D&D explained Dany’s arc to her as that of Lawrence of Arabia. To break this down, Clarke said that in the film Lawrence is brought in as a saviour on a pedestal who is ultimately corrupted by the power given to him.
You see power turns this man wild and mad. He can’t see anymore through the haze, the giddy highs, of being in charge. And that’s what Daenerys experiences.
The actor said she doesn’t think the show could’ve ended any other way for Dany: “it seemed like the only way it *could* end.” She also knew the finale was never going to satisfy everyone.
The entire interview is a fascinating must-read and you must read all of it, right now, right HERE.
