This is, perhaps, a silly question that has been discussed from time to time, but I had this debate with a few friends lately and was pleasantly surprised at how polarizing the debate was. Half of my friend group believed Dany was not truly evil. She simply was a good, well-intended person with very questionable tactics towards the end of her life and fell victim to circumstance. The other half believed Dany was evil, that she was a villian who never actually had any good intentions and was arguably the most self-serving character on the show. I took the side of the latter half. This will be a somewhat long post, but I will be making my case here.
My pro-Dany friends argued that she couldn't possibly have been a villain because she was well-meaning and did so many good deeds in her pursuit to the Iron Throne. However, I don't think this argument is entirely valid. Human history is FILLED with evil people who genuinely believed they were right. Very few evil people actually see themselves as evil. Intentions alone are not enough to justify a person's gruesome actions. When you publicly execute the innocent along with the guilty parties, burn people alive for not "bending the knee", and completely burn a city to ash in a blind rage of fire, you are evil.
Also let's examine a lot of these good deeds that Dany carried out in her pursuit to Westoros. She claimed she was doing all these things for the sake of creating a better world and for the prosperity of the people. She VERY rarely (if at all) did anything in the entire story that was not for her own personal gain.
"She freed the slaves" and made sure to constantly remind them of who it was that freed them to ensure their undying fidelity.
"She overthrew tyrants." Yes and these tyrants conveniently happened to be ruling over a city that she wanted to rule for herself. A lot of her evil nature was masked or overlooked because, at the time, the actions of those she was killing were worse than her own.
She constantly touted that she wanted to "break the wheel" and create a better world but could not fathom the mere possibility that this could happen without her being the ruler. She didnt want to BE good, otherwise she would have at least considered the possibility of this better world being created without her being at the top. She wanted to APPEAR good and be revered as the selfless, benevolent "breaker of chains"
Her goals were always to seize the throne and be adored by her subjects. Sure she seemed to be gentler than many other monarchs depicted in the show, She showed kindness when she knew it wouldn't make her life harder, and seemed somewhat capable of compassion, but never if it even slightly interfered with the power she sought.
Remember when Jon Snow's true parentage was revealed? She knew that he would be a great ruler because he was selfless, a proven leader, and trusted by the Northerners, but she could not tolerate any future in which she was not the one sitting on the throne. The possibility of a "better world" being completely feasible with a different ruler was not something she would stand for. She didn't welcome the potentially prosperous reign that Jon could have; she simply saw him as a threat because it was entirely possible the people of Westoros would prefer his rule to hers.
Samwell Tarly's line to Jon perfectly encapsulates this concept: "You gave up your crown to save your people. Would she do the same"
Daenarys also displays a LOT of narcissism in that she seemed to genuinely believe she is some omnipotent entity that is the singular judge of what is good for the world. Before the march on King's Landing, Jon finally saw (or perhaps just stopped ignoring) the fact that her lust for power was far greater than her desire to create a better world. He believed that the people of the Seven Kingdoms could be entrusted to decide what is good and what is not. Dany immediately dismissed this idea and said very plainly "They don't get to choose."
In conclusion, yes, Daenerys Targaryen is evil.
Submitted July 26, 2021 at 09:25AM by NawfSideNative https://ift.tt/3l1ByPV
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