Daenerys Targaryen

• 1. Stormborn In Exile

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  A great storm raged over the Red Keep when Daenerys Targaryen drew her first breath, earning her the nickname Stormborn. Her mother Queen Rhaella died in childbirth, leaving the infant and her older brother Viserys to be whisked away by Ser Willem Darry to Braavos before Robert's forces could capture them. For the next five years, the two children wandered the Free Cities, dependent on the charity of strangers and the protection of their exiled knight. By the beginning of A Game of Thrones in 1996, they had been guests of Illyrio Mopatis in Pentos for half a year, living in constant fear of discovery by agents of the Usurper King Robert Baratheon. Viserys, known as the Beggar King, frequently abused his younger sister, fostering a fearful and submissive nature in Daenerys that would define her early years. She grew up with a Tyroshi accent in Valyrian, speaking Common Tongue, Dothraki, and High Valyrian, yet she remained a pawn in her brother's desperate schemes to reclaim the Iron Throne. Her life changed when Viserys sold her into marriage with Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, in exchange for an army to conquer Westeros. The wedding marked the beginning of her transformation from a frightened child into a woman who would eventually command dragons and armies.

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• 2. Fire And Blood

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  Daenerys stood on the funeral pyre of her husband Drogo, holding three petrified dragon eggs in her hands as the flames consumed the body of the man she had come to love. She stepped into the fire herself, refusing to join the order of priestesses called dosh khaleen, and emerged unburned with three baby dragons named Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. This miracle allowed her to escape the Red Waste and arrive in the city of Qarth, where she unsuccessfully appealed to the Thirteen for aid in reclaiming the Iron Throne. She entered the House of the Undying, drinking a magical potion that showed her visions of her destiny as the child of three, the daughter of death, and the bride of fire. The warlocks attempted to hold her prisoner, but her dragon Drogon killed them and burned down the temple, allowing her escape. She later sailed to Astapor in Slaver's Bay, negotiating with Kraznys mo Nakloz to purchase an army of Unsullied slave soldiers in exchange for Drogon. When the transaction was complete, she ordered the Unsullied to kill the masters and free the slaves, then had Drogon burn Kraznys alive. She conquered Yunkai and Meereen, establishing herself as a ruler who could deal ruthlessly with enemies while maintaining a moral compass. Her dragons provided her with a tactical advantage and prestige, allowing her to challenge the established powers of Essos.

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• 3. The Mad Queen

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  Daenerys sat in the fighting pits arena at Daznak's Pit when Drogon disturbed the crowd, forcing her to climb atop the dragon and fly away from the chaos. She later returned to Meereen to find it under siege by the joint fleets of Yunkai, Astapor, and Volantis, deploying her three dragons to burn most of the slaver fleet and seize the surviving ships. The Night King killed Viserion with an ice spear during a battle beyond the Wall, devastating Daenerys and leaving her with only two dragons. She arrived at Winterfell with the Unsullied and Dothraki, learning that Jon Snow was the son of her brother Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark, making him the heir to House Targaryen. When Cersei Lannister had Missandei beheaded, Daenerys became resigned to relying on fear to assert herself. She destroyed King's Landing's defenses and burned the city, killing countless civilians after they surrendered. In the aftermath, she declared she liberated these people and would liberate the world. Jon Snow, conflicted by their blood relation and her actions, fatally stabbed her as she lay in his arms, weeping. Drogon arrived and melted the Iron Throne before leaving Westeros with Daenerys's body, grieving.

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• 4. Casting And Evolution

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  HBO ordered the pilot episode of Game of Thrones to be reshot and recast after receiving negative reception at private viewings. Tamzin Merchant played Daenerys in the original pilot, but Elizabeth Olsen also auditioned, reading the role with two accents as the producers were unsure if they wanted a British accent for the character. Emilia Clarke was recast as Daenerys following an audition in 2010, with creators D. B. Weiss and David Benioff stating she was the only person they saw who could carry the full range that Daenerys required. The television depiction of Daenerys is older, in her late teens, and has several mystical qualities such as an unexplained fireproof ability. Clarke's portrayal has garnered Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2013, 2015, and 2016, and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. She became one of the highest paid actors on television, earning between 1.2 million and 2 million per episode in 2017. Clarke accepted appearing in nude scenes if they forwarded a story or added insight into characters, using a body double in past background non-nude appearances, particularly Rosie Mac in season 5.

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• 5. Critical Reception And Controversy

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  The New York Times cited Daenerys as one of the author's finest creations, while Rolling Stone ranked her number one on a list of Top 40 Game of Thrones Characters. Critics praised Clarke's performance in the first season, showing Daenerys's arc from a frightened girl to an empowered woman, with Emily St. James of The A.V. Club noting Clarke successfully conveyed the relief of Dany seeing her brother dead. However, the decision to turn Daenerys from a hero into a villain in the final seasons received mixed critical reviews. Alex Abad-Santos of Vox called the implication that Daenerys Targaryen is going mad the greatest fraud Game of Thrones has ever perpetrated, describing it as essentially a bait-and-switch. Eliana Dockterman of Time added that the shift was so abrupt that even actor Emilia Clarke admitted to struggling with it. Critics felt the villain arc could have worked with a strong message that power corrupts everyone, but that the show needed to lay better groundwork for it. The eighth season saw the most critical reviews of Daenerys for the series, with commentators citing the penultimate episode The Bells as a turning point for her storyline. Despite criticism of the finale's lot, Caroline Framke of Variety praised Clarke's performance, while many critics said Daenerys deserved a better execution of her story arc.

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• 6. Cultural Impact And Feminism

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  Daenerys's victories over ruthless male characters transformed her into a symbol of feminism, with Khaleesi becoming shorthand for a strong, empowered woman. Her face was used on political protest signs, and many fans named their daughters after her. Tanya Ghahremani of Bustle wrote that Daenerys evolved from being an unwilling wife to the leader of a nomadic warrior group, to being the leader of said group and a whole ton of men who gladly laid down their life to serve in her army. The name declined in popularity after the end of the series but remains in regular use. There were 108 newborn American girls who were given the name in 2021, and another 123 newborn American girls were given the name in 2022. Political science has been used to analyze and assess Daenerys's leadership, with Andrew Lotz, a professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh, saying that Daenerys should seize power as described in Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince. Parker Richards of The Atlantic compared Daenerys in season eight to Adolf Hitler in the 1935 propaganda film Triumph of the Will. Gaby Del Valle of Vox said many people see themselves in Daenerys because her story subverts the hero's journey, combining emotions and elements that are stereotypically gendered male and female while claiming agency for herself and others.

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