It’s been months since the finale of Game of Thrones and, look, I’m not going to lie, I’m still salty at how poorly the TV show handled Daenerys Targaryen’s character arc and the unearned “Mad Queen” turn she ultimately took.
The way Daenerys’ “Mad Queen” arc unfolded in the show’s final season was baffling to us (and millions of other fans) to say the least due to a bunch of weird narrative and character turns that made little to no sense.
As it turns out, the Game of Thrones showrunners cut bunch of scenes from the final product that would’ve drastically improved Daenerys’ downfall. Well, relatively speaking anyway.
All six scripts for the final Game of Thrones season have been released for all eyes to read at the Writers Guild Foundation Library in Los Angeles (via Insider) and it seems like many lines, scenes and stage directions were changed or cut altogether from when the show was in production to when it aired.
While there was a bunch of interesting but ultimately inconsequential stuff cut – such as Euron kissing a captive Yara (more incest, yay!) and Tyrion and Sansa killing wights while in Winterfell’s crypts – the excised Daenerys scenes were the most intriguing as it all helped better lay the foundation for her “Mad Queen” turn.
In episode four, ‘The Last of the Starks’, a scene involving Grey Worm and Missandei spending time with each other and leaving Daenerys on her own was cut. It was just a few scenes but they not only highlighted the couple’s love (which would’ve made her death even more tragic), they also would’ve helped emphasise how lonely Daenerys felt at the time.
Another important deleted scene from the same episode took place during Jon and Daenerys’ conversation following Varys’ execution. The original version was longer, saw the couple openly talk about their incestuous relationship, and emphasised how isolated she felt after noticing Jon slowly backing away from her.
The tone is far tenser than what we saw and when they kiss at the end, Daenerys outright says “It disgusts you” in direct reference to their relationship before saying the “Alright then, let it be fear” line we all saw in the final version.
The last deleted scene was a short but pretty key stage direction involving Daenarys riding Drogon after burning King’s Landing. Whereas we never saw her again after she made her decision to lay waste to the city, the script originally had a short, dialogue-less scene where she sees the Red Keep’s throne room. After seeing the Lannister lion sigils in the window, she is overcome with rage and proceeds to attack the castle.
Do all these cut scenes improve Daenerys’ unearned “Mad Queen” arc in season eight? Most definitely.
Does it make her character arc easier to accept? Oh hell no.
Sure the deleted scenes add some much needed nuance to her decision to break bad, but it’s still not enough to entirely justify her rapid descent from moral defender to a crazed conqueror.
Given how rushed the last season of Game of Thrones was and how stuffed each of the final four episodes were, all those Daenerys scenes were likely cut for time.
It’s a shame Dany’s story ended the way it did and while even the best case scenario would’ve still seen her “Mad Queen” turn be unearned, it would’ve at least helped the bitter disappointment go down just a little bit easier.