Daenerys Targaryen

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1. What do they care deeply about? What kind of loyalties, commitments, moral codes, life philosophies, passions, callings or spirituality and faith do they have? How do these tend to be expressed?

Given the life and childhood Daenerys has had, what she cares about deeply in her core is security. As a child, she and brother were constantly on the run and living in exile. There were no guarantees in where they'd be or if they would be safe. They always had to rely on the kindness of others. Even when she's married, it's equivalent to being sold for an army. She has to please her husband, to make him like her or her existence will be painful.

Dany has had to fight for a place in the world and some measure of power and security. This isn't something she simply wants for herself, but for the people she rules, her friends, and her family. Many of the people around her were displaced or were slaves, but she worked to free them and give them something to believe and fight for, as well as her protection. All of this merges as well into her beliefs about slavery and that no one should be living in shackles. She made this her greatest mission in the show and several seasons focus on her efforts to free the slaves of Essos.

Daenerys isn't much of spiritual person, despite hatching dragons in the flame and being immune to fire. She's more practical and always moving forward. There isn't a season where she's really sitting around doing nothing (her advisers do that.) She's trying to contain peace, she conquering cities, and she is making plans for her future. There is no looking back.

There's a moment in the show where she's in the House of the Undying and she comes across her recently deceased husband and the child she lost. There's a chance for her to stay in that room, in that place with them and have the life she wanted, but she chooses to leave and continue forward. Her pains, her regrets, her past mistakes, they aren't reflected on. Everything is a forward motion towards what she believes will keep her safe and give her what she's always wanted, a home.

Morals are a bit harder to define. She does have a strict sense of right and wrong, but she's more willing to walk the morally questionable path if she believes it's serving justice. She's burned masters, executed men through her dragons and forced a betrothal on another, believing that it would bring peace. She can be ruthless and doesn't allow it to phase her.

There are moments that she has a qualm in her conscience and that's when she's presented with the bones of a child her dragon killed. She takes measures to keep it from happening again and locks up two of her dragons (Drogon having flown away). She's never the one to free them, and likely wouldn't have without Tyrion's urging.

She feels deeply for the plight of slaves and children. She believes setting slaves free is reason enough to conquer a city, not wishing for them to continue to endure their hardships. She's horrified by the crucifixion of 163 children, set up as a way to deter her from seizing Meereen. In response though, she crucifies 163 masters as punishment. It raises the question of whether it was justice or too ruthless. The children were avenged, but in a method that is discomforting.

At the same time, she's extremely kind to her people, willing to do whatever she can for them. She also understands the wisest course of action. When Jon speaks to her about the war to come, there's the initial quibbling over whether the North will bend the knee. Not long into Season 7, she's no longer asking for that. Instead, it's a question of how she can do it without exposing her lands to danger. Jon and others decide to go north of the Wall to capture a wight. Naturally, they fall into peril. Dany, without thinking of her safety, flies beyond the Wall to rescue the group. She loses a dragon in the process, but saves her friends. She finally relents, agreeing to help Jon, no longer thinking about the political ramifications, but responding genuinely as a person who wants to do the right thing.

A number of her military failures in Westeros come about because she did everything she could to cause the least amount of bloodshed. She tries to negotiate with Cersei about 3 times, all ending badly. She also tries to wait for the people of King's Landing to revolt. She continually tries to follow this more moral and bloodless route, but it ends with her lands being taken, friends and allies being killed, and numerous other setbacks. All of it causing her to question what is the right decision? Mercy or Fire and Blood?

2. What kind of person could they become in the future? What are some developmental paths that they could take: best, worst, most likely?

(CW: Incest talk)

The biggest obstacle for Dany is to relent a little on her goals and her vision in obtaining it. She needs time to think, prepare and adjust to the various changes she'll face. Westeros is different than Essos and she's not freeing slaves but overthrowing a current ruler in an extremely misogynistic society. She's also hurtling towards learning the truth about her lover, that he might technically be the heir to the throne. (The incest is his issue, less so for hers.) This displaces her goals as well as her long held belief that gaining the throne is her security, right and home.

Most Likely: Dany doesn't react well. She'll be focused less on what it means for her emotionally, since she tends to distance herself from that in an effort not to feel weak and vulnerable. She'll only pay attention to Jon's place as heir, the dangers it presents to her, the problems it creates and that there is another candidate for people to rally around.

She won't discuss with him what he might be feeling, thinking or going through. So it will appear she only cares about power, rather than her making an effort to not look back at her vulnerabilities. When something is such a fervent goal, maintained and held for years so firmly, it's not easy to let that go and she's very "work obsessed". So this will put a strain on her relationship with Jon, distancing them from each other. They don't talk about things, suspicions and paranoia arise.

People will continue to play the game of thrones and Dany will face betrayal and schemes, which further raise her paranoia and stress. With so much emotion and trauma not reflected upon, it builds and builds. There are losses, casualties. In the show, she loses her closest friend, two of her dragons and her mentor/protector. Add in the love of her life pulling away from her, seemingly in disgust, as well as her advisors looking at her like she's a growing threat. That much pressure and stress eventually will break someone. Either a mental break or an emotional one.

Dany will respond as anyone might, but because she's a woman, the men of Westeros will see her as hysterical and turn to Jon as the better option for the throne. Further betrayals, further attempts to kill her and every fear she has seems more real. If no support is offered or comfort, we head into the worst path.


Worst: With no sense of control or means to deal with the powerful emotions overwhelming her, Daenerys breaks. In canon, this comes in the form of her burning King's Landing, rather than letting Cersei Lannister simply surrender. Grief and pain take control and she doesn't think, everything simply comes out in a volatile way. She's not in possession of her senses or morals, she's out of control of her emotions and they can't be put back in the box.

The goal has also lost its gleam. It would be hollow. With everything she lost, suffered and endured, it's harder to crawl back from it than it was before. She has no family, no close friends and no lover. She's alone and still not secure after fighting and scraping to get the throne. It's not a balm for her pain and it's not a means to keep her emotions secured firmly away. It's a lost ideal and those sort of crushed dreams are all the more painful.

Her actions will confirm for people she's a tyrant and "mad" like the other Targaryens. Tyrion will quit as Hand, her soldiers will sack the city and kill prisoners without thought or regard. Jon, who is already dealing with a lot, will be more influenced to think that Daenerys is a threat to his family. There will be whispers put into his ear or someone else's and, inevitably, Dany will be killed. The most likely of the worst path is Jon killing her, but there was the potential that Arya could do it as well. Either way, if Dany goes down her worst path, she won't live long.

It leaves a legacy as well that takes away the good she did and the reason she was loved by the people. That one action would render her a different person and put blood on her hands in a way she would have been disgusted by before. It would be a complete loss of self.


Best: Dany somehow manages to reflect a little on her emotions and actually tells Jon what she's thinking and feeling. The two of them have a long conversation about the obstacle in their path, the options ahead of them and what they could do to fix it. The obvious solution to claim would be marriage, also solving the issue of how to bring the North into the Seven Kingdoms again. Dany would have the chance to let everything out, breathe a bit and mourn the way she should. She'd have her support system, someone to listen and encourage her, as well as keeping her moral compass sturdy. It's a different thing to have someone for emotional support and just an advisor telling you what you should and shouldn't do.

Dany attacks King's Landing, but doesn't burn it to the ground. She simply attacks the fleet and the front gate, the city is seized with minimal blood. The bells ring, Dany accepts Cersei's surrender (though she's still probably executed after a trial). Jon becomes her consort and Dany learns to share her power with him. The pair have a long, prosperous reign. She finally finds a home she feels secure in, has a family that she loves and the dreams that she held so fervently.

A happily ever after.

3. How do they behave within a group? What role(s) do they take? Does this differ if they know and trust the group, versus finding themselves in a group of strangers? Why?

Dany feels comfortable with larger groups, especially if the groups know her and trust her. She falls easily into a leadership role, focusing a great deal on the people she cares about and ensuring they're protected and happy. If she doesn't know them, she still does her best to get on with them and get along. She reaches out, trying to make connections and friendships. She'll ask questions about their lives and who they are. Despite not reflecting on her own emotions, she's more focused on others and how they feel.

Strangers aren't an obstacle to her. The only trouble is when the group views her with suspicion or absolute disdain. If she feels threatened or that her life is in danger, she's less congenial and more stand offish. It's only ever been in Westeros that she's come across a situation where she has to fear the masses and their response to her. But those were extenuating circumstances. For the most part, she's absolutely fine.

4. What do they need and want out of relationships, and how do they go about getting it?

Much like everything else in her life, with relationships, Dany wants security. Her brother was her only family growing up and he abused her. She struggled to get Drogo to love her, but once he did, their life was happy. His death was sudden and caught her by surprise, leaving her vulnerable again. Since that point, the relationships in Dany's life had a measure of power imbalance, with her being the one in control. Her arranged marriage, her love affair with Daario, she chose these things and controlled them. She decided when to make these bonds and when to end them.

Her emotions were largely kept at a distance. In the show, she remarks (after ending things with Daario) that she sent away a man she thought she loved but felt nothing. Only eager to move forward. That sort of control gives her security and keeps her from feeling small and vulnerable again.

It's when she meets Jon that everything changes. Her wants, her needs, her sense of self. She becomes less the queen and more the woman. Jon is her equal in everything, but gives her respect she's never fully had before. He doesn't want to control her or own her as other men might, he simply wants to be at her side. He offers her reinforcement, encouragement and acceptance. He becomes an emotional support so quickly that it catches her off guard. She's unaware of her feelings for most of Season 7 until she believes he's dead. It's a very overwhelming feeling that she's never had before and she's not in control of it. Jon becomes her weakness and her strength.

Oddly, the best relationships she has are the ones that she doesn't "go about getting". Jon comes to her and slowly lowers her defenses. It's very subtle, but genuine and honest, something that moves her. Her friendship with Jorah was something she didn't seek, but gained over time. His complete devotion, despite her anger and attempts to send him away, became a large source of her comfort. So his loss ended up breaking her. Missandei joins her in Astapor and elects to stay at her side. In a way, before Jon, Missandei was Dany's first equal. They shared their pains together, their strengths and took comfort in each other at the most dangerous moments. So again, that loss is another emotional break for her.

Genuine love and friendship is frightening because of how quickly it can be taken away, but once she has it, she never wants to let it go.

5. How do they understand the world–what kind of worldview and thought processes do they have? Why?

Dany knows the world is a hard, unyielding place where people act with cruelty and brutality. Her desire is to forge a part of it that would have justice, kindness and mercy. Unfortunately, to achieve those dreams, you have to act ruthlessly. You walk the moral boundaries and do things that are questionable to honorable men. Waiting and patience can lead to disaster. It's better to always keep moving and working towards what you want.

She doesn't want to be like her brother Viserys, relying on others for an army or the chance to go home. She understands that you must be proactive towards your goals. This doesn't mean she's not compassionate, she is, but the ways and means of doing good don't matter as much as the outcome. She's Machiavellian in that sense.

6. How much do they rely on their minds and intellect, versus other approaches like relying on instinct, intuition, faith and spirituality, or emotions?

Dany uses her intellect, but instinct and intuition tend to be her main focus. Many of the times she tried to plan something, it fell apart because of unseen variables. This is especially true in Season 6 and 7. Rather than figure out how to fit a square peg into a round hole, Dany uses force. She forces the masters into submission in Essos and lands a powerful blow on the Lannisters in Westeros by using her dragons. This can backfire, like with Season 8, but so far it has given her results and a confidence to trust her instincts.

This gives Dany a sense of being untouchable and that she will easily overcome obstacles, which give her a rude awakening when she comes across them. Whether it's the coldness from the Northerners, the lack of respect from Westeros and the loss of her allies and friends. She doesn't think about what could go wrong, setting herself up for disappointment and tragedy.

Her emotions, as stated previously, are kept under control. There are times she cries and expresses what she feels, but for the most part, she hardens herself and keeps moving forward. Loss isn't reflected on long, nor are vulnerabilities. If she looks back, she's lost.

7. What is something others might find intolerable about them?

Probably her sense of authority, self righteousness and stoicism. Because her focus is so much on the throne, that tends to be all she talks about and her experiences less so. Her ambition could rub people the wrong way. Currently, she's a bit more level and happy, especially since she just became lovers with Jon Snow. But depending on circumstances, these negative traits could come to the forefront again, as well as worse tendencies brought on by stress.