The final season of Game of Thrones did not do right by very many characters. However, one of the most tragic endings in the series was Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke). She went mad in what many fans saw as a sudden turn and burned the city of King's Landing. Except, that decision, for many, did not make any sense given her characterization up to that point. Sure, she had a temper. Yet her fight was always against those who would harm innocents. Against the slavers in Slaver's Bay. Against the system of government that kept so many people mistreated for so long. Before season 8, Daenerys did not seem like the kind of person who would harm innocent people. Until she needed to. Even within season 8, Daenerys helped save Westeros from the White Walkers. Obviously, her decision to burn King's Landing was a bad one.
Yet it was so sudden and out of character that many fans wonder: did the writers of the show fail her character? Especially since in the books and earlier on in the show she is and was very complex. Daenerys, like most of the main characters of Game of Thrones, is morally grey. She isn't perfect or in any way an angel. However, she does have a good heart. Her goal is to save those who are being mistreated from any further mistreatment. To free those who are suffering under tyrannical powers from said tyranny. And that does not seem like something a villain would care about, which is why some fans were so shocked by her ending. In the books, Daenerys has a more maternal and emotional side to her.
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There is a reason she is called "Mhysa", which means mother, by her people. However, the show downplayed that side of her. Though it did come out somewhat in Emilia Clarke's wonderful acting, the writers did not show her as overly maternal or emotional. Instead, the writers of Game of Thrones depicted her simply as a strong woman with dragons. While there is nothing wrong with her dragon side, some fans might feel that the writers are eliminating her humanity by eliminating her more maternal and emotional side. And if they planned on making her the villain all along, that might make some sense to a certain extent. However, it does not faithfully adapt the books. In the books, Daenerys seems to care about her people truly. This is shown in the show as well, but not to as great an extent.
In the books, Daenerys regularly listens to petitions from the people of Meereeen. This is shown somewhat in the show, but not as often as it is in the books. She also spends time among the Meereenese people, caring for the sick who are suffering from a disease that they call the "pale mare." This aspect of Daenerys' story is not really shown in the show. The show's writers tend to focus on more external threats that Daenerys can defeat with her dragons. Yet to erase Daenerys personally caring for her people is to erase an important character trait of hers. She is not the type of Queen to just sit around and let others take care of things. She truly cares for her people and shows that she cares. Daenerys has a good heart, truly, and she proves that over and over in Meereen.
The Game of Thrones writers might prefer to think of her solely as a villainous woman with dragons. Yet, in the books, she is so much more. So did the Game of Thrones writers fail her character? It seems like it. The Daenerys of the books is fierce, definitely. Yet, she is also a young girl and wants to take care of her people. To erase that part of her is to erase her humanity, her complexity. And that's never a good thing for a character. The more complex a character is, the more character development they have, the better. And poor Daenerys did not develop so much as go where the writers needed her to go. The show did not necessarily need to end with Daenerys winning the throne and starting a new age of peace and prosperity for Westeros.
Yet that ending would've been a lot better than what fans actually got. Daenerys' complexity, her humanity did not have to be erased. She could've become queen or not, but whatever she did, Daenerys would be caring for people. Because that's the kind of person she is. Of course, not every Game of Thrones fan will agree. Some will feel that Daenerys' ending was inevitable, given her family's history and her own temper. That's fine; everyone's different. However, Daenerys was a heroine for so long. She truly cared and did her best to make the world a better place. Many Game of Thrones characters have been redeemed after doing a lot worse than what Daenerys did. So perhaps she deserved at least a chance. And since the writers didn't give her one, they probably failed her.
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