Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys Targaryen
A Song of Ice and Fire character
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
First appearance	Novel: A Game of Thrones (1996) Television: "Winter Is Coming" (2011) Video game: "The Sword in the Darkness" (2015)
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Portrayed by	Emilia Clarke Game of Thrones
Information
Aliases	Daenerys Stormborn Khaleesi Dany
Title	The Unburnt Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and of the First Men Queen of Meereen Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea Breaker of Chains Mother of Dragons
Family	House Targaryen
Spouse(s)	Khal Drogo Hizdahr zo Loraq
Significant other(s)	Daario Naharis (lover)
Children	Rhaego (stillborn)
Relatives	Aerys II Targaryen (father/uncle) Rhaella Targaryen (mother/aunt) Rhaegar Targaryen (brother/cousin) Viserys Targaryen (brother/cousin) Rhaenys Targaryen (niece) Aegon Targaryen (nephew)
Kingdom	The Crownlands

Daenerys Targaryen (also referred to as Dany or Daenerys Stormborn) is a fictional character in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of novels, as well as the television adaptation, Game of Thrones. In the novels, she is a prominent point of view character. She is one of the series' most popular characters.^[1]

Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Daenerys (along with her older brother, Viserys) is one of the last confirmed members of House Targaryen who, until fifteen years before the events of the first novel, ruled on the Iron Throne for nearly three hundred years. She subsequently appeared in Martin's A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). Daenerys was one of a few prominent characters not included in 2005's A Feast for Crows, but returned in the next novel A Dance with Dragons (2011).^[2][3]

In the story, Daenerys is a young woman in her early teens living in Essos across the narrow sea. Knowing no other life than one of exile, she remains dependent on her abusive older brother, Viserys. The timid and meek girl finds herself betrothed to Dothraki horse lord, Khal Drogo, to ensure Viserys gains an army to return to Westeros and take back the Iron Throne. Despite this, her brother loses the ability to control her as Daenerys finds herself adapting to life with the khalasar and emerges as a strong, confident and courageous woman. She becomes the heir of the Targaryen dynasty after her brother's death and plans to reclaim the Iron Throne herself, seeing it as her birthright. A pregnant Daenerys loses her husband and child while retaining members of the Dothraki at her side. When she climbs on top of Drogo's funeral pyre with the dragon eggs gifted at her wedding, she awakes unharmed with three hatched dragons. Over time, she struggles to maintain the control of her dragons who become dangerous. Later, she becomes determined to bring justice as a conqueror as she leads a military campaign to bring an end to slavery in Slaver's Bay, liberating the occupied cities of Yunkai, Astapor and Meereen with an army of Unsullied. Despite her strong moral compass, she is capable of dealing ruthlessly with her enemies, particularly the slave masters.

Emilia Clarke received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Daenerys in the HBO series in 2013^[4] and 2015.^[5] She has earned numerous nominations and accolades for her portrayal.

Character description

Daenerys Targaryen is the daughter of King Aerys II Targaryen (also referred to as The Mad King) and his sister-wife Rhaella, and is one of the last survivors of House Targaryen.^[6][7] She serves as the third-person narrator of thirty-one chapters throughout A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Dance with Dragons. She is the only monarch or claimant of such given point of view chapters in the novels.^[8] Thirteen years before the events of the series, Daenerys was born in the midst of a storm, earning her the nickname 'Stormborn'. Rhaella died in childbirth, and Daenerys was whisked away to Braavos with her older brother Viserys. They spent the following years wandering the Free Cities.^[6]

Casting and development

The role of Daenerys was originally played by Tamzin Merchant in the pilot, but the first episode was re-shot with Emilia Clarke.^[9] Clarke, in reflection of the character's evolution in the television series, stated: "Throughout the season she’s had an insane transformation from someone who barely even spoke and timidly did everything her brother said into a mother of dragons and a queen of armies and a killer of slave masters. She’s a very Joan of Arc-style character."^[10]

Storylines

A blue, scale-covered dress worn by Daenerys in the TV series Game of Thrones

Coat of arms of House Targaryen

A Game of Thrones

In A Game of Thrones (1996), Daenerys is forced to marry Khal Drogo, a Dothraki warlord, in exchange for Drogo providing an army to her brother Viserys Targaryen.^[6] At that time, Daenerys befriends Jorah Mormont, an exiled Westerosi knight and is given three petrified dragon eggs as a wedding gift. Though initially terrified of Drogo, Daenaerys grew to love him and began to take to Dothraki customs, finding strength and determination for the first time, which leads her to stand up to Viserys' attempts to bully her into coercing Drogo. After Drogo kills Viserys for threatening his wife, Daenerys sees herself as the heir to the Targaryen dynasty, and responsible for reclaiming the throne for her family. Shortly thereafter Drogo is wounded in a fight, and the cut festers. Drogo's warriors abandon him shortly after. Daenerys recruits a witch to save Drogo, but the witch betrays her, killing Daenerys' unborn child and leaving Drogo in a catatonic state. Daenerys does not want her husband to suffer any longer and smothers Drogo. She climbs on top of Drogo's funeral pyre with her three dragon eggs, and awakes unharmed with three hatched dragons.

A Clash of Kings

Leading the remnants of Drogo's khalasar through the Red Waste, Daenerys arrives in the city of Qarth. There she begins appealing the rulers of the city for aid in reclaiming the Iron Throne, though she meets little success. She eventually accepts an invitation from a group of warlocks to discover her future. At their tower, Daenerys sees several visions and learns that the Warlocks intend to keep her prisoner, but she escapes after Drogon sets fire to the Undying. Before departing, she is nearly assassinated but is saved by Arstan Whitebeard, who arrives with three ships as a gift.

A Storm of Swords

Seeking an army, she sails to Astapor in Slaver's Bay to purchase an army of 'Unsullied' slave soldiers, in exchange for a dragon; but betrays the slavers and uses the Unsullied to sack the city. She later conquers the city of Yunkai, and gains the service of Darrio Naharis, who commands a large mercenary company. As she marches on the Meereen, she learns that one of her companions is actually Barristan Selmy, a knight of the Robert the Usurper's Kingsguard, and that Jorah had previously spied on her. Disgusted, she sends the pair on a suicide mission to capture Meereen. When the mission is successful, Barristan asks to be forgiven for his deception, but Jorah refuses to ask forgiveness so she exiles him. Unwilling to abandon the slaves she freed back into bondage, Dany decides to stay in Meereen.

A Dance with Dragons

Throughout A Dance with Dragons (2011), Daenerys struggles to maintain order in the city in the face of growing unrest as well as the chaos she left behind in the other cities she conquered. Furthermore, Yunkai has rebelled and is gathering forces to besiege Meereen. When Drogon kills a child, Daenerys feels compelled to chain her dragons Rhaegal and Viserion, but Drogon escapes. Her advisers suggest she marry Hizdahr zo Loraq to bring peace and she agrees, but also takes Daario as a lover. Hizdahr successfully negotiates an end to the violence, so she marries him. At her wedding feast, the blood and noise of the fighting pits attract Drogon, who is immediately attacked; Daenerys' attempt to control her dragon fails initially but she eventually flies off with him. After several days in Drogon's lair, she falls ill after eating some berries and begins to hallucinate. She is later found by Khal Jhaqo, formerly a captain of her Khalasar who betrayed her former husband.

Family tree of House Targaryen

• See: Extended family tree of House Targaryen

TV adaptation

Daenerys Targaryen is played by Emilia Clarke in the television adaption of the series of books.

Season 1

Daenerys Targaryen is the exiled princess of the Targaryen dynasty. Also called "the Stormborn", she and her brother Viserys were smuggled to Essos during the end of Robert's Rebellion. For seventeen years, she has been under the care of Viserys, whom she fears, as he is abusive to her whenever she displeases him. In exchange for an army, Viserys marries her to the powerful Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo, making her a Khaleesi, a queen of the Dothraki. Daenerys is at first afraid of her new husband but after learning the Dothraki language, she manages to get past their barriers. She begins to understand him and genuinely falls in love with him after learning Drogo is a smart leader and a kind man. After embracing the Dothraki culture, she becomes stronger and rebels against her brother. She later becomes pregnant with Drogo's son who is prophesied by the Dothraki to be the "Stallion Who Mounts the World". After her brother's death and an assassination attempt by Robert Baratheon, Drogo vows to Daenerys that he will conquer the Seven Kingdoms for her and their unborn son. However, during their journey Drogo suffers from blood poisoning due to an infected wound incurred during a fight with a Dothraki tribesman. Daenerys is forced to seek the help of healer Mirri Maz Duur to save his life using blood magic. Mirri tricks Daenerys by using her unborn son's life as a sacrifice to heal Drogo, leaving him in a permanent catatonic state, and forcing Daenerys to end her husband's life. Losing both her husband and son, Daenerys punishes Mirri by having her burnt at the stake. She also lays the three dragon eggs she received as a wedding gift onto Khal Drogo's body and steps into the fire herself. At the end of the night, after the fire is burned down, only the Khaleesi and three baby dragons, named Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, remain. Taking them with her, Daenerys and what is left of her husband's tribe must find a way to gather new allies to protect themselves and reclaim the Iron Throne. She becomes the first female Dothraki leader.

Season 2

At the beginning she is lost in the Red Waste, a stretch of barren land. She and her khalasar eventually make it to Qarth, where the nobles are more interested in her dragons than her conquest of Westeros. While in the city, her dragons are stolen by Pyat Pree, and she must visit the House of the Undying in order to get them back. She does so, killing Pyat Pree and releasing the dragons. In the season's finale, she imprisons her host Xaro Xoan Daxos for his role in helping Pyat Pree and has her horde loot as much as they can from Xaro's mansion in order to buy a ship.

Season 3

Daenerys travels from Qarth to Astapor, a city in Slaver's Bay, where she negotiates the purchase of elite eunuch soldiers called the Unsullied. She also meets the famed knight Ser Barristan Selmy, and accepts him into her queensguard. On her departure from the city, she frees the slaves and has Drogon torch its elders. By the end of Season 3, although her power has not yet been tested, she has acquired the firm loyalty of tens of thousands of freed slaves from Astapor and Yunkai, her remaining Dothraki brethren (and two former Westerosi soldiers whom she encountered through the Dothraki, who advise her) 2,000 'Second Sons' cavalrymen, 8,000 'Unsullied' elite infantry, and three rapidly growing dragons. The stay in Slaver's Bay has made her question her motives, however, and she takes up the cause of ending slavery as well, donning the honorific "Breaker of Chains" as the slaves hold her to the sky, praising her as their Mhysa, or "Mother".

Season 4

Daenerys later frees the slaves from Meereen, the last of the slave cities in Slaver's Bay, but realizes that she is slowly losing control of her dragons, especially when Drogon shows signs of aggression towards her when she tries to break up a fight between them over food. Aware that she does not have enough men to conquer Westeros just yet, Daenerys resolves to remain in Slaver's Bay and rule as Queen for the time being. She eventually learns of Jorah's original purpose, which was to spy on her for Robert Baratheon, and orders him to leave Meereen on threat of execution. After she receives too many complaints about her dragons, Daenerys, locks Rhaegal and Viserion in the catacombs beneath Meereen, before searching for Drogon.

Season 5

Meanwhile, Daenerys faces a new threat to her rule in the form of the Sons of the Harpy, a resistance movement against her and the Unsullied. She considers freeing her dragons, but they attempt to attack her, making her realize that they are no longer loyal to her. After Daario and Grey Worm arrest a member of the Sons of the Harpy, Mossador implores Daenerys to execute their captive, but Barristan tells her of the Mad King's actions against his enemies, which included burning them with wildfire while laughing. He asks her not to execute the captive without a fair trial, and she agrees with him. Mossador goes against her wishes, and kills the captive Son of the Harpy. Daenerys has him publicly executed, which leads a riot to break out between the old masters and the freed slaves. At night, Daenerys finds that Drogon has returned, but when she tries to touch his face, he flies away. Soon afterward, a group of Unsullied patrolling the streets of Meereen are stoppedd by a crying woman who points them to an alleyway. The Unsullied head in to investigate, but it is revealed that the entire affair was a set up after they are soon cornered by a group of the Sons of the Harpy. The Unsullied attempt to fight back, but the Sons of the Harpy kill many of them. Barristan Selmy sees the commotion and tries to help, killing many of the Sons of the Harpy, but gets badly wounded, and dies. Grey Worm also sustains serious but nonfatal injuries. Daenerys is furious after learning what has happened to Barristan, and rounds up the leaders of the great Meereenese houses. She takes them into the catacombs where she randomly has one of them shoved forward. The Meereenese lord is promptly killed by dragonfire from Rhaegal, and he and Viserion eat him. Daenerys then has all the lords arrested, including her former adviser Hizdahr zo Loraq, whom she decides to marry to win over the Meereenese nobles. To respect the culture of the area, she agrees to have the fighting pits reinstated (she had previously declined due to her distaste for killing for sport). Hizdahr convinces Daenerys to go to one of the pits to see the contestants battling over who will go to the final competition. Daenerys is sickened by the bloodshed, and gets up to leave, but her attention is turned by one masked competitor who defeats all of the other competitors without killing any of them. This competitor turns out to be Jorah Mormont, who is trying to win over Daenerys' favor after being banished. Daenerys orders the Unsullied to take him away, but Jorah announces that he has brought her a gift, and Tyrion Lannister reveals himself to Daenerys. After a round of questioning, Daenerys banishes Jorah once again, but takes Tyrion on as her adviser. On the great opening of Daznak's Pit, Jorah resurfaces as a voluntary contender on the arena, but Daenerys refuses to stop the games to spare his life. Jorah eventually prevails and saves her life by impaling with his spear an attacker from the Sons of the Harpy, who appear in legions and attack Daenerys' guards. Cornered at the midst of the arena, defeat seems immediate when Drogon returns, killing many Sons of the Harpy despite being wounded by several of their spears. Daenerys manages to rekindle their bond and climbs his back, riding off into the distance to a stunned crowd. She roams the Great Steppe north of the city, where Drogon seems reluctant to obey her commands or even hunt for food. Strolling about on her own, Daenerys is faced with an incoming Dothraki khalasar of great numbers, and after dropping a ring to the ground to leave a trail, she is surrounded.

Reception

Emilia Clarke was relatively unknown before her role as Daenerys in Game of Thrones.^[11]

Daenerys is one of the most popular characters of the series.^[1] The New York Times called Daenerys, together with Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow, one of Martin's "finest creations".^[12] Rolling Stone ranked Daenerys Targaryen at No. 1 on a list of "Top 40 Game of Thrones Characters", calling her story a "non-stop confrontation with complex ideas about sex, war, gender, race, politics and morality".^[11] Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe called her scenes "mesmerizing".^[13] The website Mashable recognized her as one of the five most popular characters on the series,^[14] while The Daily Beast referred to her as the "closest thing the series has to a protagonist".^[15]

Emilia Clarke's performance has garnered critical acclaim. Her acting, as she closed Daenerys's arc initiated in the first episode from a frightened girl to an empowered woman, was praised. Gilbert said that "Clarke doesn't have a lot of emotional variety to work with as Daenerys, aside from fierce determination, and yet she is riveting."^[13] On his review for "A Golden Crown," Todd VanDerWerff for The A.V. Club commented on the difficulty of adapting such an evolution from page to screen, but concluded that "Clarke [...] more than seal[s] the deal here.^[16] IGN's Matt Fowler also praised Clarke and noted that Daenerys' choice to watch Viserys die was "powerful" and an important shift in her character.^[17] Time's reviewer James Poniewozik complimented Daenerys's storyline,^[18] while other reviewers complimented Clarke's acting.^[19][20] Clarke's performance, and the character's final scene, in "Baelor" was praised,^[21] and the final scene of the season received widespread acclaim.

Kate Arthur of the website BuzzFeed criticized the character's story line in the television show's second season, stating that she was too "weak-seeming". Arthur, however, praised the character's "purpose coupled with humanity and even some humor" during the third season, opining that Clarke was "eating the screen alive as a result".^[22] Nate Hopper of Esquire magazine, when speaking of the television series, argued that the character did not face enough conflict, characterizing her conquering of cities as "cut and dry", stating that "She needs to be emancipated from her own easy, comfortable, mundane victory."^[23]

References

1. Jennings, Dana (July 14, 2011). "A Dance with Dragons Review: In a Fantasyland of Liars, Trust No One, and Keep Your Dragon Close". The New York Times. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
2. Brown, Rachael (July 11, 2011). "George R.R. Martin on Sex, Fantasy, and A Dance With Dragons". theatlantic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
3. Leonard, Andrew (July 10, 2011). "Return of the new fantasy king: A Dance With Dragons". salon.com. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
4. "Emmy Nominees Full List: Breaking Bad, Homeland, Downton Abbey Dominate 2013 Awards". The Huffington Post. July 18, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
5. "Emmy Award Nominations: Full List of 2015 Emmy Nominees". Variety. July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
6. A Game of Thrones, Chapter 3: Daenerys I.
7. A Game of Thrones, Appendix.
8. "Caught in a Robb Romance". Rolling Stone.
9. "George R. R. Martin talks Game of Thrones as the HBO show's 'Daenerys' departs". Chicago Tribune. April 29, 2010.
10. "Emmys 2013: Thrones star Emilia Clarke reacts -- in Dothraki?". Los Angeles Times.
11. "Top 40 'Game of Thrones' Characters, Ranked". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. March 31, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
12. Orr, David (August 12, 2011). "Dragons Ascendant: George R. R. Martin and the Rise of Fantasy". The New York Times. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
13. Gilbert, Matthew (March 28, 2013). "Fantasy gets real on ‘Game of Thrones’". The Boston Globe. John W. Henry. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
14. Erickson, Christine (June 12, 2014). "Ranking the Most Popular Characters in 'Game of Thrones'". Mashable. Mashable.com. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
15. Romano, Andrew (April 2, 2014). "Will Season 4 Make ‘Game of Thrones’ the Best Fantasy Show Ever?". The Daily Beast. The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
16. VanDerWerff, Todd. "A Golden Crown" (for experts)". A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
17. Fowler, Matt. "Game of Thrones: "A Golden Crown" Review". IGN. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
18. Poniewozik, James (May 30, 2011). "Game of Thrones Watch: Boared to Death". Time. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
19. AOL. "WHAT TO WATCH". AOL.com.
20. "You Win Or You Die". The A.V. Club.
21. AOL. "WHAT TO WATCH". AOL.com.
22. Arthur, Kate (April 18, 2013). "9 Ways "Game Of Thrones" Is Actually Feminist". BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed Inc. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
23. Hopper, Nate (June 10, 2013). "Queen of Drag-Ons". Esquire. Hearst Magazines. Retrieved September 21, 2014.

External links

• Daenerys Targaryen at the Internet Movie Database
• "Daenerys Targaryen: Bio". HBO.