A prophecy that does not look good
As always, if you want to remain spoiler free, consider this to be your warning for all things related to Game of Thrones.
With the final two episodes of the show approaching, there are plenty of questions that remain to be answered in Game of Thrones, however, the most important one concerns the Iron Throne.
Who will be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms when the final credits roll? Will there even be an Iron Throne?
It’s bound to be an exciting finale and it’s arguable that Daenerys Targaryen is going to be the key player in how the events unfold.
After suffering some massive loses and learning that Jon Snow’s claim to the Iron Throne is stronger than hers, Emilia Clarke has questioned Daenerys’ state of mind and said that she’s having some “pretty destructive and pretty dark” thoughts.
The Mad Queen could be unleashed.
Taking this into consideration, it’s very likely that a passage from the books will have a huge impact in the episodes to come.
To begin with, we’re very aware that the showrunners on Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, have moved away from the original source material.
In previous seasons, the show deliberately planted the seeds of various stories – the Night King, various visions, prophecies – and while we’ve no idea what’s coming, it does seem like the show is in a rush to wrap things up rather than payoff older storylines, teases etc.
Basically, there’s not as much time now to deliver on those thematic threads and plots that were created years ago, but the show has been very fateful to one particular passage in the books that relates to Daenerys.
In A Clash of Kings, book two of A Song of Ice and Fire, Daenerys Targaryen goes into the House of the Undying where she hears and sees all sorts of prophecies and visions from the past and future.
“Three treasons will you know . . . once for blood and once for gold and once for love . . .” is what Dany hears during that sequence.
When looking at these 16 words in the context of the show, it’s pretty clear what the first treason, the one for blood, was.
Remember the Lhazareen godswife Mirri Maz Duur that Daenerys trusted to bring Khal Drogo back to life?
She used blood magic in an effort to save Drogo’s life but she took the blood price of Daenerys’ unborn child in vengeance for the attack on her people.
In the books, it’s even said that: “The first traitor was surely Mirri Maz Duur, who had murdered Khal Drogo and their unborn son to avenge her people.”
As for the second betrayal, the one for gold, it’s very possible that this relates to Jorah Mormont and his decision to spy on Dany and send information back to Varys. Jorah was later exiled for this treachery.
In the show, we learned that Robert Baratheon pardoned Ser Jorah for his previous crimes that were related to money. In the case of the prophecy, money is gold.
Basically, Jorah bankrupted himself trying to provide his former wife, Lynesse Hightower, with luxuries and expensive things. Ultimately he sold slaves to fund her lifestyle. Selling slaves is illegal and Ned Stark condemned Jorah to death.
He fled and became a sell sword. Money/gold was the driving factor behind every single one of Jorah’s poor decisions.
In the books, there’s also a character named Brown Ben Plumm that betrays Dany’s trust for money, but we’re only going to stick with the show for now.
As for the final betrayal, the one for love, the main contenders are pretty obvious.
Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen
Jon clearly loves Daenerys but if she does snap and become The Mad Queen, we’re supremely confident that Jon’s nobility and honour couldn’t tolerate the murder of innocent people.
If Dany does rain fire upon the people of King’s Landing, we think Jon is more than capable of making the difficult decision and killing the woman he loves.
After all, Jon does have a history of making the tough but extremely necessary decisions – even if they come at a great personal loss.
Aside from this, he also knows that he has the stronger claim to the Iron Throne.
Daenerys loves Jon too but f he takes the throne from her, she would view it as the ultimate act of betrayal.
Tyrion Lannsiter
As seen in the recent conversations with Varys, The Hand of the Queen is incredibly conflicted about the idea of Daenerys taking the Iron Throne. While he’s reluctant to talk about treason in public, he has said that he’s entertained those thoughts in his head.
Following the erratic behaviour of Daenerys, you can clearly see that Tyrion’s loyalty is being severely tested. These seeds were sown last season when he pleaded with the Mother of Dragons to save Randyll and Dickon Tarly – Dany decided to burn them alive.
To compound matters, there’s the small matter of Jaime Lannister to contend with. As we saw at the end of the most recent episode, the Kingslayer is returning to King’s Landing and Tyrion has always had a complicated relationship with his brother.
However, don’t forget that Jaime freed Tyrion when he was about to be executed and as we saw in recent episodes, the Lannisters appear to be building bridges and letting the past be the past.
In a previous interview with EW, Peter Dinklage said that his character does love Daenerys.
“Obviously, [Tyrion] has feelings for Daenerys. He loves her – or thinks he does. She’s awe-inspiring. He’s questioning that because he doesn’t have a good track record for falling in love. There’s jealousy wrapped up in there,” he said.
Love and betrayal, eh?
While Tyrion’s relationship with Cersei seems beyond repair, he still might not want to represent a leader that advocates the murder of innocent people.
Then again, Cersei did the exact same thing when she destroyed the Set Baelor but Tyrion had no say in his sister’s decision. If Tyrion can’t talk sense into Daenerys, he might be prepared to make a more dramatic decision.
Varys
After hearing about Dany’s plans to burn King’s Landing, Varys implored the Mother of Dragons against this tactic.
“Your Grace, I promised you I’d look you in the eye and speak directly if I ever thought you were making a mistake. This is a mistake. Do not destroy the city you came to save. Do not become what you have struggled to defeat.”
Understanding Varys’ plans, schemes, and loyalties is like trying to catch smoke with your hands, but The Spider has always made one thing crystal clear, he serves the realm.
“You wish to know where my true loyalties lie? Not with any king or queen, but with the people. The people who suffer under despots and prosper under just rule, the people whose hearts you aim to win,” he said.
Varys reaffirmed this stance during his most recent chat with Tyrion in the Dragonstone throne room.
While the word love hasn’t overtly been mentioned by Varys, it’s clear that his love for the people outweighs any personal feelings that he has to the person that’s sitting on the Iron Throne.
All will be revealed when the next episode of Game of Thrones airs.
