Game of Thrones writers explain Daenerys Targaryen's motives after episode five

There are SPOILERS ahead!

Author: Emma DoddsPublished 14th May 2019
Last updated 15th May 2019

Game of Thrones fans were left utterly gobsmacked after watching episode five of the final season, which aired on Monday 13th May. Daenerys Targaryen appeared to completely abandon her show-long prerogative to free innocent people from tyranny and evil and wreak... Well, evil tyranny all over King's Landing.

After destroying the Lannister defenses with Drogon, her dragon, her opposition rang the bell to signal surrender, and Jon Snow and his men breathed a sigh of relief as they assumed Dany would uphold her honour and leave off the Lannisters.

But they weren't to know that Dany would take her close friend Missandei's dying words of advice very literally, and burned the city to the ground - including almost all the innocent civilians in the capital.

Fans of the show weren't to know either, and many were left completely stunned by the events of the penultimate episode of GOT, taking to Twitter to express their confusion over Dany's complete change of heart.

But show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have now spoken out about the Mad Queen's motivations, and revealed in a behind-the-scenes clip that it's down to her feeling completely alone and let down by everyone she's ever trusted.

Take a trip down memory lane to see how the Game of Thrones cast looked then vs. now...


Game of Thrones writers explain Daenerys Targaryen's motives after episode five
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Benioff said, "Dany is an incredibly strong person. She's also someone who has had really close friendships and close advisors for her entire run of the show. You look at those people who have been closest to her for such a long time, and almost all of them have either turned on her or died, and she's very much alone.

"And that's a dangerous thing for someone who's got so much power, to feel that isolated. So, at the very time when she needs guidance and those kind of close friendships and advice the most, everyone's gone."

He added that Dany's relationship with Jon had also been part of her mental instability, saying, "Jon Snow is someone that she's fallen in love with, and as far as she's concerned by this point Jon has betrayed her by telling people about his true identity, and also the fact that he's unable to return her affections at this point.

"I think that when she says, ‘Let it be fear' she's resigning herself to the fact that she may have to get things done in a way that isn't pleasant, and she may have to get things done in a way that is horrible to lots of people. She chose violence. A Targaryen choosing violence is a pretty terrifying thing."

He also confirmed that Missandei's death had been hugely impactful on the young queen, saying, "If circumstances had been different, I don't think this side of Dany ever would've come out. If Cersei hadn't betrayed her, if Cersei hadn't executed Missandei, if Jon hadn't told her the truth.

"Like, if all of these things had happened in any different way, then I don't think we'd be seeing this side of Daenerys Targaryen."

Here are all the questions we had after watching Game of Thrones season eight, episode five.

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