HUGENORMOUS SPOILER WARNING FOR GAME OF THRONES yes i know it’s been out for years but this part is too significant to not have a warning
i’m rewatching GOT and i just got to the season 4 finale when Daenerys had to chain up Viserion and Rhaegal after Drogon k*lls a child
and it really hit me in that moment how much deeper this goes than just chaining up her children.
moments before this scene, when the man comes to her with his dead child, she is introduced with all her titles, the breaker of chains included.
Dany, seeing this one man’s pain, makes the choice to do the very thing she fought so hard to end to her own children, because she cares so deeply for the people that she freed. she has no desire to watch them be hurt because ultimately, dragons are wild animals.
of course it hurts her heart to do this to her dragons, her children, the beings that have been with her since she lost her husband. you can see how much she hates this choice, and you also know she has to make it for her kingdom. she is the mother of dragons but she is also queen of her people, and she understands grief.
Dany actively choosing to chain her dragons up in the catacombs because of one child is true sacrifice.
this whole scene honestly just makes the season 8 finale feel even more ridiculous and out of character. yes i get the whole “she has the Targaryen madness!” bit and i implore you to look past the bad writing and know in your heart that season 8 Dany does not speak for season 4 Dany.