The seeds have already been planted
Daenerys has taken quite the journey in her time on Game of Thrones with most of her story arc taking place away from the rest of the cast. Season seven was the first series of the show that viewers saw her interact with the majority of the show’s main characters, including Jon Snow, before that her exploits had been consigned to freeing slaves and raising dragons.
But although for much of the shows run she has been touted as its main heroine, and therefore the character most likely to be sitting on the throne when all is said and done, a new fan theory predicts that a final twist in the plotline could see her turn to the dark side.
In some ways, it’s not entirely a surprise. Her lust for power has never been a secret on the show, neither has her willingness to carry out acts of excessive violence – such as, y’know, burning Samwell Tarley’s dad and brother alive and giving zero fucks about having done so.
As a Reddit thread written by user nanoelite outlines: “Both the show and the book series seek to portray a fantasy setting in realistic terms, clearly displaying the grim aspects of medieval life, the brutality of warfare, and the grey morality of its characters. That’s why I don’t think that either the Night King (a supernatural entity with absolutely no characterization) or Cersei (a comically evil despot) will be the big bads. Both characters are too easy to root against, and having a clear conflict between good and evil doesn’t seem in line with what we have seen from the first seven seasons.”
Before continuing: “Daenerys is just more of the same, believing her way is the only way, refusing to compromise, and slaughtering dissidents, only she has dragons and a moral banner to rally armies behind. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and ultimate power will ultimately corrupt Daenerys. Setting her up as the final villain would be a much more moving, and fitting, ending to the show, instead of having the power couple team up to kill the zombie army and the comic villain.”
Given her reaction in the latest episode to finding out Jon Snow’s true lineage, it’s clear that a heel turn could be just around the corner, with the man she (allegedly) loves now staking a better claim to ruling the Seven Kingdoms than her.
