“What do dragons eat, anyway?” meta.
The more I think about it the more I realise how much Sansa’s question to Dany, “What do dragons eat anyways?”, was a very subtle hint at what was to come with Daenerys in 8x06.
Obviously, there is the main point that Daenerys seemingly no longer cares about the damage her dragons can cause to people because of their eating habits, it’s not clear but we can presume that “Whatever they want” extends to people if the dragons want them. If it doesn’t extend to that extreme, then it might have been a noble thing of Dany to make a statement about the threat they might pose to human life, if only to appease the people, but she doesn’t. Why? Because the dragons are her power, she no longer cares if people fear them, because if people fear them she remains powerful. Arguably, the scene of her smirking/smiling as the northerners run from the sight of her dragons at the beginning of 8x01 supports this, she is proud and glad that the people run. If Dany only chose fear after 8x05, why did she not frown here? Would she not want the northerners to be awed and cheer instead? This reaction from her cannot be excused as a response to how the northerners reacted to Missandei and Grey Worm either because Dany is riding in front of them and did not witness it. So this is in no way Dany serving a small vengeance for their treatment, it’s purely a response to how they react to her, and her alone. She expected veneration from the northerners and amazement, but instead, she received suspicion and some hostility. Understandable when you consider that the King they chose gave up his throne to a Queen they do not know. So here it is very clear that Dany was already beginning to rely on fear for power and not love, and her little regard for how the people felt or what they wanted was already showing.
Secondly, Daenerys on many occasions calls herself the Blood of the Dragon, Mother of Dragons, and Olenna tells her to “be a dragon”. Daenerys views herself as a dragon personified, alongside her ‘children’. Moreover, there is the obvious fact that her sigil is a three-headed dragon, and Dany has been incorporating her House words into her dogma more often, as well as wearing more of her House colours. Dany gradually became a full dragon. So let’s rephrase Sansa’s question: “What does Daenerys ‘eat’ anyway?”, well, whatever she wants. In her final scene with Jon, she tells him that the people get no choice, it’s whatever she wants that matters. She will build a ‘better’ world, but it will be ‘better’ in the ways she sees fit. Daenerys will ‘eat’ as many Lords and Ladies she likes if they oppose her in any way. So really, that ‘petty’ question from Sansa, as many like to call it, becomes much more important and sinister within the context of the final episode. When I first watched 8x01 I thought that this question must mean that the dragons were going to eat some innocent northerners, an example of Chekhov’s gun in play, why even bring up the question of what they eat unless it was going to be revisited later. Plus, if they wanted to showcase Sansa’s political and leadership prowess with her knowledge of the needs of the people, they could have done it in many different ways than this. It’s clear that the gun going off in this situation was Dany’s final decision to give in completely to the power being feared gave her. Daenerys could only be one of two extremes, completely and utterly revered or completely and utterly feared. Regardless of the consequences, she would have what she wanted. This is in parallel to her ‘children’.
