On the Imperfect Daenerys

Daenerys Targaryen "Game of Thrones"

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As a fan of George R. R. Martin’s books “A Song of Ice and Fire” and the cable series “Game of Thrones” I follow other fans in cyberspace, with spoiler Facebook pages for we readers (don’t worry, not in this blog), and the numerous fun fan pages with hilarious memes.  Like it or hate it, Game of Thrones to me, as a series doesn’t take itself so seriously that they cannot have fun.

Most fans I know, which agree with a fan video that pointed out the four most popular characters:  Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister, Arya Stark, and Daenerys Targaryen.  When asked who do we want to see on the Iron Throne?  Many, like me, are #TeamDaenerys. 

To be brief for the Daenerys fans, why do we like this character?  Answer: We’ve seen her grow from a naïve, fragile girl to the wife then widow of a Dothraki savage, hatch three dragon eggs, and accumulate followers and armies as she marches her way across Essos to decide the fate of any place she lands by the power of her followers and her growing dragons.  To quote ASOIAF Tyrion described her as “Aegon the Conqueror with teats.”  She’s anti-slavery, anti-rape, anti-cruelty, with the disclaimer unless you’re her enemy.  However, if her brother Visterys had hatched the eggs instead, he’d likely be doing more and worse as far as atrocities go.

A favorite Facebook fan page is “Stannis Baratheon, the new Chuck Norris.”  I like Stannis, to me the most underrated character in the series.  Some posts come from the page Daenerys Targaryen is Overrated” FB page.  The non-team Daenerys fans find her to have a sense of entitlement, thinking everything should belong to her; that all people must bend the knee to the “Queen of (so many names I forget)", I can see how people get frustrated.  She’s also thought by some to be protected by the author, though I’ll say living a Dothraki lifestyle by eating a raw horse heart isn’t particularly protective. 

Martin’s writing does bring us a bit of pain in the Mereen chapters.  Daenerys takes many baths, has her eye on Daario, and is pampered by her servants everywhere.  She makes the decision to stop in Mereen and rule.  Is that wise?  Answer:  Tywin Lannister gave us the answer in the most recent HBO episode, when he pointed out Robert Baratheon thought winning the Iron Throne and ruling were the same.  Daenerys is trying to figure this out.  As far as her dragons, no she doesn’t have the book “How to Train Your Dragon” as noted in the memes.  She is still young, and will make mistakes. 

To me, “A Song of Ice and Fire” is a story about imperfect characters.  Very few are not without their faults, mistakes, or dark places in their histories.  Daenerys Targaryen is a child from a longstanding dynasty, so yes; she feels every bit as entitled as fifteenth century England where some of this series is inspired by (War of the Roses).  Fans, pick your heroes and go for it.  Just because Daenerys is a favorite doesn’t mean other characters aren’t great also.  Great stories have great characters.