I wanted to build off a similar post and elaborate on Dany's motivations for what she does in S8E5.
The prologue at Dragonstone is essential for setting the scene for the battle to come. After executing Varys, Daenerys tells Jon "this is victory for her, now she(Sansa) knows what happens when people find out the truth about you" so from this we understand that Sansa wanted and suspected that Varys/Tyrion would support Jon. We also learn that Daenerys thinks others (High lords) would rally around him given the chance, which will almost certainly be presented to them thanks to the ravens Varys sent.
We've established that Daenerys is afraid of Jon usurping her. In a previous episode she tells him that "it will take on a life of its own and you won't be able to control what it does to people no matter what you swear" which is clearly foreshadowing the actions of Varys and is consistent with the sentiment said later that "she'll lose the North. And the Vale, Sansa will see to that". So we can gather that Dany's paranoia is not completely unfounded.
So how does this all translate in to burning alive thousands of people?
Well the last line Daenerys says in the episode is "let it be fear", she says this after Jon refuses to embrace her, a scene which further fuels her paranoia that Jon will betray her twice over. The concept of inspiring fear to subjugate the masses can be found all over real and fake ASOIAF history. One example that comes to mind is Aegon and Visenya burning Dorne in the hopes of inspiring enough fear in the Dornish people to overcome their loyalty to princess Meria. Of course there are differences but it's a good example none the less.
In the Bells, Daenerys must make an example of Kingslanding to dissuade the country from rallying around Jon Snow or offering any such resistance to her rule. When news of what happens spreads, high lords will see very clearly what can happen to their own cities and holdfasts if they dissent in any way.
Now the most common rebuttal is "Daenerys has always cared about the innocents" and I'll admit she has a proclivity towards them with many examples to choose from. However what I'd like you to consider is the exchange between Dany and Tyrion, "mercy is our strength, our mercy towards future generations who will never be held hostage by a tyrant". Here Daenerys believes the people that die tomorrow are necessary sacrifices because of the supposed "paradise" that her future subjects will live in. So in a warped sense, yes she does still care about the innocents but just not those that "live in their old world" but "live in her new one".
Another interesting point I'd like to raise is whether Daenerys considers the citizenry of KL accountable. Now there is a line where she says "now they are being held hostage by a Tyrant, whose fault is that. Mine?" which implies she does have some Viserys-like expectation (perhaps brought on by a grief stricken mental state) that the people would cast Cersei aside. Greyworm - acting under the Queens orders - executes Lannister prisoners because they're free men who chose to follow her. So these two scenes make me think that on some level Daenerys wants to make an example of KL to not only send a message to high lords but also to the people who follow them.
I'd like to end by touching on what Tyrion tells Jon in the series finale. He says "everywhere she goes evil men die and we cheer her for it" along with "she believes her destiny is to create a better world for everyone". Here it seems that Daenerys has conflated the devotion of her followers with some divine providence. The same "destiny" that made Stannis kill his daughter made Daenerys believe the world should bend to her version of paradise. And "what happens to things that don't bend?"
Submitted July 13, 2022 at 02:27AM by MadAssassin5465 https://ift.tt/vMjYWxi
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