Emilia Clarke's Idea of Daenerys Ending Makes the Real Thing Even Worse

She believes the two could have worked out their differences and had a future together had Jon not chosen to kill his lover in the Game of Thrones finale.

And you might argue that this makes what actually happened even more of a disappointment than it already was. Season 8 of GoT has faced multiple accusations of poor writing and rushed storylines. And one trope that seems to rear its ugly head on a regular basis is the suggestion that Dany was a meek girl who, towards the latter part of the show, descended into madness that made her ruthless and dangerous.

That was the reason Jon decided he had no choice but to kill her. But according to Clarke, this gave Jon a hopeful ending that was denied her character.

But was Daenerys really a cute little hopeful sweety who only became corrupted late on? Absolutely not.

Ok, so when we first met her in season 1 she was very much bending to the whim and will of her husband Khal Drogo. But this timid girl took control of a sexual encounter with her previously dominant husband in season 1 episode 3.

She went on to use blood magic against the will of the Dothraki, deceive a slave owner into handing over the Unsullied before ordering his death by dragon fire, and instruct her new army to kill all slave owners.

In Qarth, when she and her dragons were chained up by Pyat Pree in the House of the Undying, she was at her most vulnerable. But did she submit? No, she unleashed the power of her dragons, killed Pree and escaped her chains.

And the reason she ended up in the House of the Undying in the first place was that she ignored the advice of her trusted advisor Ser Jorah Mormont. And this wasn’t the first time she had exerted her authority over the experienced warrior. Then, of course, she crucified 163 masters in Meereen.

And while this was because she saw this as justice for those that they themselves had killed in the same brutal way, it once again showed that she was a hard-hearted leader way before she got anywhere near the Iron Throne.

So, let’s put to bed once and for all this assertion that sweet little Dany was driven mad by power and became ruthless only after arriving in King’s Landing.

Almost from the outset, she possessed those qualities that enabled her to become Queen. She was a complex character – by no means a saint and not always motivated by the common good. But throughout her character arc she had shown a capacity to balance ambition with benevolence.

So, maybe Emilia Clarke has a point. Perhaps Daenerys didn’t need to die and could have been afforded the same hopeful future as Jon Snow.