An integral element of Game Of Thrones' big twist was on an "Inside The Episode" commentary
If you, like Aaron Rodgers, are still fuming over the finale of Game of Thrones, then The Take has a treat for you. In a new video, the essayists offer some solace over Daenerys’ fate and delve into what would have made her turn feel earned or worth it in the end.
Few would argue that Daenerys turning into the Mad Queen and destroying King’s Landing wasn’t fitting, as it was foreshadowed multiple times through the show’s fascist imagery and her increasingly unhinged punishments. But, as many have pointed out, foreshadowing only feels worth anything if you can logically follow through on it. And, as The Take states, her final episodes and steps to becoming this totalitarian ruler were flustered and rushed, only seen in the look on Daenerys’ face as the bells are ringing. They do, however, note that co-creator D.B. Weiss’ comments regarding Daenerys’ reasoning help illuminate those actions. The problem? We only hear them in the episode’s commentary. We don’t see it onscreen. In the episode’s “Inside The Episode” installment, Weiss says that the Red Keep, in that moment, symbolized all she and her family had lost, and the sight of it turned things personal for Daenerys. Emilia Clarke’s tremendous acting, though, can only convey so much.
The Take goes in-depth on why this was always Daenerys’ fate, though, and one could argue they do a much more satisfying job at it than season eight did. They also explain how Daenerys’ story is actually the “true heart and soul” of Game of Thrones, it being the metaphor for the show’s “cautionary” exploration of how people can’t “stand the temptations of ultimate power.”