Saturday, October 22, 2016

What if Daenerys Dies Next Season

I guess this post should make everyone happy that I don't actually write for Game of Thrones. But what if they do kill of Daenerys...anyways...I was having one of my many conversations with myself the other night when this idea came to me. I am not the biggest Daenerys fan, but I'm not one to cheer on her death either.

Rather I want her to be humbled in such a way that she doesn't die. But if she was to die I think that would be a great twist for the series as a whole. Mainly because everyone expects her to win and who doesn't like surprises?

Why Daenerys Should Lose

I know that the Mother of Dragons is a fan favorite and so many would think that she shouldn't lose because of that. Daenerys, at the end of Season 6, has very formidable allies on her side as well as dragons. She has managed to come a long way from her beginnings to a very formidable queen. But truth is that she has a very glaring fault: she is overconfident.

She has managed to get out of countless impossible situations so she hasn't really learned to be humbled. Going over some of her dialogue from past seasons (writing a Game of Thrones/Resident Evil fanfic I have been looking up quotes via imdb), she does put an emphasis on her being a queen and Jorah has stated to her at least once that "Even a queen doesn't have that power."

So you have a naive queen getting into such a complex 'game' and thinks she has to win...well...it's just courting trouble.
What could be more humbling than losing?

Even if Daenerys doesn't die in her attempt, it would be sweet to see her trying so hard and then losing it all. She would be faced with the realization that she isn't all powerful and there are some battles she can't win. Maybe she'd learn and be better prepared for another attempt at the Iron Throne.

As I adore the Mad Queen theory for her: losing might be enough to send her over the edge.
Maybe she wouldn't be humbled and, instead, start blaming everyone but herself for her failings.

And if she dies in her attempt...just those last few seconds of realization in her eyes would be enough for me.
Everyone expects Daenerys to win. Love or hate the character, maybe a little of both, but there are strong predictions that she is going to survive next season. Hardly anyone, at least those I watch, bring up that she could die. Everyone talks about her defeating Cersei and her meeting up with Jon Snow (possibly first with Sansa Stark and Davos before actually meeting the King of the North).

So having such a huge surprise as Daenerys dying does seem like a good move to surprise everyone. Game of Thrones main characters can die and have in the past (a la Ned Stark in Season 1), so someone being a main character doesn't mean that they're safe. And it is never wise to think a character can't die on a show like this.

Basically prepare for everyone on the show to die and form as little emotional connections as possible.
Why Cersei Should Win

One of the main reasons Cersei Lannister should win is because she's much more ruthless. Her children were the only thing keeping her from going off the rails. She might have done some horrible stuff in past seasons, but she had her love for her children to ground her. Jaime Lannister has even remarked that the only thing she cared about were her children.

Now that she has no one that she loves, she might love Jaime but he won't keep her grounded like her children, she will be willing to do anything. She will have no restraints while Daenerys does. The Targaryen queen has the fear of becoming like her father and brother so will try to watch what she does. Tyrion will also be there to ground her.

Someone like Cersei who doesn't care if others die will be willing to make bolder moves. She does have a fear of her own that could drive her to do more horrific things than we first imagined: the prophecy of a younger queen taking everything from her.
I admit that I can't hate on Cersei Lannister because she is such a good character. Not a good character because she is noble, but a good character because she does her role so well. I don't like her succeeding and yet I can't help but get a little rush when she takes down her enemies. She is a character that I will miss when she goes.

So having Daenerys not kill her would extend her life by a little bit. Yes, part of the reason I don't want her killed next season is so that I can see even more of her.

For those of you going, "Wait, Jash, isn't there a prophecy about Daenerys (a young queen) taking Cersei out?"

Aye. Queen you shall be... until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.

While there is a great case to be made for it meaning Daenerys will win, maybe there is another meaning to that part of the prophecy. Maybe Daenerys won't be the one to bring Cersei down but will be the catalyst for the Lannister's downfall. Being the start of a chain reaction could still be considered Daenerys casting Cersei down and taking all she holds dear, albeit from beyond the grave and in a more metaphorical sense.

It is a little stretch, I admit, but I think it could work and would do a good job of not doing what is expected.
After defeating Daenerys Targaryen, Queen Cersei Lannister would face the same problem that the young queen did: overconfidence.

Before defeating Daenerys, Cersei would be making moves out of fear. She thinks this young queen will defeat her and, therefore, be willing to make risky moves. She probably won't think that she can survive but she won't let anyone else figure that out. She will be confident to everyone, except Jaime most likely.

After killing the woman that was prophesied to destroy her, Cersei will think that there is no way for her to die anytime soon. She could become even more confident if Tyrion dies as she believes the prophecy to also refer to him.

So with all the people who could destroy her dead, Cersei would start ruling without any real thought that she could die. Therefore paving the way to her real downfall.
Why Tyrion Could Take the Iron Throne

Tyrion Lannister is a very wise man inside the body of a very sarcastic one. He might not be one to look at, but he does know how well to play the game of thrones more than most. If Daenerys is looking for someone with family ties to the Iron Throne and someone who has earned her trust, he is a good candidate for a husband.

But since this post isn't dealing with Daenerys Targaryen if she survives the season, I won't go into that any further in this post.

If Daenerys dies and there is someone needed to take the Iron Throne, Tyrion would be a good choice. He has Lannister blood in his veins, though I buy into the theory that he is a Targaryen, and that name would have him having a good claim to begin with.

The Mother of Dragons has a claim to the throne even though she hasn't lived in Westeros because of her Targaryen heritage. The same would be true for Tyrion but with his Lannister name.
Besides Tyrion having the Lannister name, he is also currently Hand of the Queen to Daenerys Targaryen. If she is killed her supporters would most likely be completely fine with having her Hand take the Iron Throne. They would know how much she trusted him and that he is fit to rule.

Being connected to Daenerys after her defeat would be extremely beneficial. You could say that she has a type of brand and those connected with it would be looked at as a suitable replacement. People would be familiar with Tyrion and he wouldn't be someone that came out of nowhere looking to claim the Iron Throne.
Why Jon Snow Should Take the Iron Throne

If Daenerys dies and fails in retaking the Iron Throne, Jon Snow would be the next logical choice to face Cersei Lannister. While the Mother of Dragons would face the Lannister Queen because of putting House Targaryen in what she would see as its rightful place, Jon would defeat Cersei out of a need of justice and possibly revenge.
It was under Cersei, though not entirely her fault, that Ned Stark was executed and set in motion how the Stark children were separated. Arya going to Bravos to be trained as an assassin, Sansa having her own misadventures, Rickon's journey ending with him being murdered, Robb murdered at the Red Wedding, and Bran going beyond the Wall. And, remember, prior to Season 7 Jon is unaware of his true heritage and it isn't known when he'll find out who his parents really were. That means that not only have his siblings been put through things they should have never gone through, he believes Cersei murdered his father.

Jon is a seasoned commander so he would have more of a chance of winning than Daenerys did.
Jon would be good for the Iron Throne in the current climate. He would show himself to be a good leader by picking up where Daenerys left off, maybe even taking Tyrion as his Hand of the King. When the two last spoke they were far from enemies. The two even having a sort of friendship between them. If they meet up they will most likely not be on opposing sides.

The second thing Jon would do would be uniting both North and South. Even if Daenerys had lived she would most likely have sought out an alliance with him due to how the North reveres him. Now being on the Iron Throne he won't have to worry about a marriage proposal like Daenerys would have.
With the position of King of the Seven Kingdoms, Jon Snow would have a lot of support to go up against the White Walkers. He would have many men to fight for him and dragons to boot. He has Targaryen blood in his veins and so the dragons would be accepting of him. At least more so than a person without dragonlord blood.

As the threat of the White Walkers is the biggest threat in the world of Game of Thrones, having someone on the Iron Throne whose goal is to defeat the White Walkers is very VERY good.
Where Would Jorah Be

Now this all depends whether or not Jorah will be cured of grey scale. For the sake of keeping this article short and to the point let's say he does find a cure. How he finds a cure won't be discussed here as there are many theories of what the cure could be.

If Ser Jorah Mormont gets cured of his grey scale he will put all his effort into supporting whoever goes after Cersei once Daenerys Targaryen dies. The last time we saw him he finally admitted his love for her and then he went off to find a cure under his love's/queen's orders. So if he finds out that Daenerys had died he would go after whoever had killed her to the best of his abilities. He would do anything to get justice for her and seek revenge.

So he would side with, say, Jon Snow just because it would be the best way of killing Cersei. Heck, he might kill the queen himself as valonqar could refer to position and not age. He would certainly be mad enough to abandon his sword and use his hands.
One of the things that I hope for next season is that Jorah and Lyanna Mormont meet up. This just so that he can be forgiven after all he's done. Especially if he helps defeat Cersei and everyone can see his dedication to his love/queen. There is no one better to do that than the Lady of his House. In my mind that's the only person whose forgiveness he would truly accept.

He would probably even be proud of her and feel that his House is in good hands. Maybe he will even think better hands than his could ever be.
Please leave a comment about your thoughts on how likely it is Daenerys will die. I'm tending to stay away from spoilers for next season though I'll most likely run into a juicy spoiler or two. So if a spoiler contradicts something I've said that's most likely why. Also comment below to suggest future posts for this blog.
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