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Thoughts and comments on GoT costumes 4
7 min read
Hello and welcome to this thing I'm coming back to. I'm gonna talk a bit about the outfits the women of "Game of Thrones" wear. None too detailed, and none too qualified, it's just thoughts about their looks and how they fit their characters and situations. In this context, I'm also going to say the one or other thing about the characters themselves, so beware, as this series of blahblah is dark and full of spoilers. And full of my personal opinion, which not everyone needs to share or like, but we can exchange thoughts if you feel like it. Today, we go mostly with the ladies who are of Westerosi nobility to varying degree but for some reason I cannot fathom just don't look the part.
Starting off with the Frey girls. Oy. What are those outfits? I know everyone tries to make a point of how ugly Lord Walder's offspring is, but really? They aren't. They need to wash their hair, put up less doleful faces and be given something nice to dress in, for heaven's sake! Why would one of the richest lords in all Seven Realms dress his daughters in those rags? And why green? Green doesn't appear on their sigils. And those belts make at least two of the girls look pregnant when they really aren't. I suppose they were given those dresses and terrible hairdos to hide the fact that even the least pretty of these girls are plain at best, but it makes no sense whatsoever story-wise.
That's Walda Frey, Lord Walder's granddaughter and Lord Bolton's most recent wife. And possibly the only one of them on which this look kind of works, because she has the figure for a dress in such a loose cut and the belt is put in the right place and not laced tight under her chest. And credit where it's due – the green doesn't look all that bad in daylight. Still. Granddaughter of the new Lord of the Riverlands, bride to the new Lord of the North. And she runs around like this? That cloak wouldn’t look amiss on a peasant. There can be some point made for the Northeners not being into chic as much as the Southern nobility, but that’s a bit meager.
Lord Walder's wives don't look any better, either. Their names are Joyeuse and Kitty, I think? And Joyeuse just changed hair colors from blonde to black between seasons for no good reason, but she also got rid of that awful cap some of the Freys are prone to wear. I liked the first dress better, though. The lighter green looked nicer, and the wide sleeves gave at least some impression of wealth. The second is another of those kitchen wench dresses. Kitty's dress is an itty bitty bit better, because despite the bad lighting, I see a bit of a pattern / structure on the overdress, which means the fabric is probably something a noblewoman would use for her dresses. She still would use a nicer cut. Bleh.
Roslin, my pretty, such an over-advertised extra. Personally, I prefer Alexandra Dowling playing Queen Anne, but here we go: A Frey girl wearing something that looks like a noblewoman's gown. Still not overly ostentatious for a wedding, but the flowery fabric is very nice, and I like the embroidery at the hem and the silver pin – at last, some jewelry! The cleavage is deep enough to have tolerated a necklace, though. Not much to say about the lace veil. I know it serves the purpose of keeping her covered up until the very last second, but it kind of looks like my grandma's old curtains…? Love the hairdo – I found that nice picture of someone replicating it. The coils are arranged symmetrically, reflecting the Twins theme of the Frey sigil a bit, and the cords are a pointer to the rivers theme.
Talisa Maegyr, Queen in the North. She wore an entirety of three dresses throughout the two seasons she lasted, and they were hardly better than rags, despite her being a rather prominent figure and marrying Robb Frickin Stark. First was her blue nurse dress – admittedly, it looked nicer without the blood-sullied apron. The color combination is an odd choice. Blue and white for nurses is a theme from real life Europe starting in the middle or late 19th century, so what's it doing in a fantasy series? Eh. I don't really understand the construction of her arm-protect thingies, either. Why not wear gloves, since you're at it? The brown one is supposed to be a nightshirt, I think (I hope). And there's not really anything to say about that, either.
Last one she wears in her life, another greyish-blue one. I don't really get it. I mean, yes, it's cut nicely for her figure, but there is no embellishment whatsoever, no pattern, no jewelry. She's Queen in the North, invited to a high lord's wedding! Best I can say is that the cloak seems to be made of some silk material and is nicer than her everyday cloak (next to it) which is gray and has some frayed-ish pattern that doesn’t really care what it wants to look like. Hm. But Talisa also gets a nice hairdo before she dies – and it's been quite obviously designed in parallel with Roslin's; the same cord elements return here. The one single thing about here that's ever been any elaborate.
Selyse Baratheon is kind of the opposite – she gets a godawful, unflattering hairdo, but a nice dress. Yes, it's grey, but it's also velvet, and there's the silver belt which is fine work and a fur collar and a cloak that's actually been cut into some shape. Leather gloves, too – that is an outfit that's sensible for travel in the North and still manages to look somewhat fitting for a noblewoman. And that is as much approval as Selyse will ever get from me. Die in a fire, woman. Moving on.
Shireen Baratheon. Daughter of the rightful King. One of an entirety of two people in this world Stannis has any true affection for (and we're not talking about the fifth season ending here, unless you want to agree that it was stupid, pointless character derailment of Stannis Baratheon that was in no way built towards before). And… she looks like a ragged street urchin. Ugh. Why is this lovely child dressed like that? I suppose Kerry Ingram was once again too adorable for her role (Shireen was said to be not pretty in the books), and they tried to tone down her appearance by dressing her hideously. Which makes no sense, because her mother dresses, while practically, still queenly. There's this other kid, Teela, a commoner girl, that reminds Ser Davos of Shireen later, and I think what she wears is about as nice as what the princess wears.
Single nice one to end the post – Lollys Stokeworth. A lady of lower nobility who's only seen in one scene and… actually manages to look appropriate. When much richer and much more prominent lady characters didn't. Ah, well. I like the light yellow blouse since she's a Southern lady, gives her a summerly touch, and the shawl is a nice match, with a leaves pattern of yellow silk. The dress is nothing overly fancy, but the fabric is patterned, and the subtly greenish-blue hue fits her hair and blouse. Some simple jewelry, too, although it's kept simple since she's not a queen or princess. In other words? That's how a lady of a noble house is supposed to dress on casual occasions! Why do they sometimes get it right and sometimes just… not?
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Thoughts and comments on GoT costumes 3
17 min read
Hello and welcome to... a thing I'm going to do for a while. I'm gonna talk a bit about the outfits the women of "Game of Thrones" wear. None too detailed, and none too qualified, it's just thoughts about their looks and how they fit their characters and situations. In this context, I'm also going to say the one or other thing about the characters themselves, so beware, as this series of blahblah is dark and full of spoilers. And full of my personal opinion, which not everyone needs to share or like, but we can exchange thoughts if you feel like it. Today, we go with the warrior women.
Starting with Yara, who is an excellent example for the clothes of the Ironborn. I think she is the only Ironborn woman we ever see in the entire series, but it doesn't matter anyway, as she dresses 1:1 like the men, which makes me think that even on the Iron Islands, women would probably wear traditionally dresses, and Yara doesn't because it's impractical for her sail-and-plunder career. I mean, just look at her – she's a Lord’s daughter, a princess even, and her jacket looks like it has had saltwater spit over it for three years. It's flattering for her figure, but it serves to make her look like a physically fit, robust pirate / warrior rather than a lady.
See that there? Theon's and Yara's jackets look precisely the same. Rough, durable material, studded, dull colors – Ironborn never wear anything different than brown, worn-out black, and varying shades of grey. The straps are curious – if they are only meant to hold the sleeves on the vest, they are way long? Perhaps they can tie into the breastplates, holding armor more tightly. My regards to the people responsible for the casting by the way; the chosen actors look good as siblings. Hair color, eye color, chin, nose, cheekbones. This shot serves to underline their similarity, and so do the outfits: It's season 6, Yara and Theon are a functional unit now; they represent the Iron Islands together.
Which is the same with their armors; they look nearly the same. The Greyjoy kraken is scratched into the leather, a bit clearer (fresher) on Theon's armor; Yara sure has worn hers for longer. The gloves look the same as well. Then there are the shoulder straps which seem to be leather studded with metal plates. There's nothing fancy about these outfits. Everything serves a purpose, the belts hold the weapons (Yara carries a sword, a dagger, and an axe), the material is as durable as it can be, tough as nails to stand through a storm. A notable difference is that Ironborn cloak. Theon does wear one, too, in a few scenes, but not nearly as regularly as Yara does. That's her bit of "Ironborn-ness" she has over him. Balon and Euron wear these cloaks as well. Not 100% sure if they are practical though; could have made that a hood instead of this weird short shoulder-cape? Oh, well. Carry on, warrior queen.
Alys Karstark was very toned down from her book version, which is a right shame. I liked that girl's fearlessness. Having her intimidated and shaking as she kneels alongside Baby Boy is a bit... disappointing? But alright, she's still the young Lady of her House, and she's got the looks of a Northern Lady. Black cloak with shoulder pelt, a practical dress, simple fabric in a dull grey. A bit too dull, perhaps. I'm really not a fan of everyone going all in grey and black for the last season. Now, the Karstark sigil is a white sun on black, so that's no reason to dress her colorfully, but come on, she's the heir to a noble house! A tiny bit of embroidery at the sleeves would have been too much? A sun-shaped pin to hold her cloak? One of those high, richly embroidered collars we have seen Catelyn and Sansa wear in the North? Eh.
She's back in armor, boiled leather over chainmail, I think. There's not much more to be seen, also because the light in that episode is awful and every-damn-one is running around in the same three variations of black. Well, at least she's dying as a warrior. Though I sure would have liked to see her jump over a fire with a Thenn lord...
Lyanna, my darling Lady, Little Bear. She seems to wear a skirt of structured leather, dark grey, and a doublet (is that the right term?) of black fabric. That horizontal stripe across her chest with the cross stitching is interesting, it's something that appears 1:1 on Jorah's armor as well. A neck armor thingie (again, I'm in lack of a term) which is made of leather, as are the fanciest gloves this hall has ever seen. Black cloak with black fur – it's winter colors again. Simple cut and style, and in direct comparison with her mom, you can see that Maege Mormont preferred leather as well. Still, Lyanna's skirt shows a bit of a wavy pattern, her shoulder fur looks way more posh than Alys', and then there's the stripe of gold. It doesn't have a direct reference in the Mormont sigil, but it serves to subtly show that we have the head of a noble house before us.
Little She-Bear seems to always wear the same simple hairdo, I noticed, braided back from the sides and open over the back. Sansa and Alys sport similar hairdos, though Sansa's is a tad more fancy. Anyway, back to Lyanna; her second outfit is still one for practicality. It looks way less stern, though, as it lacks the neck cover and has a bit more fabric instead of leather, shades of grey and brown instead of black. I love that it's solely Bella Ramsey's acting that makes Lyanna stand out – visually, she's completely synchronized to the Northmen around her.
Last but not least, her armor, the outfit in which she dies, as is fitting for a warrior. Where Alys' badassness from the books was cut short, the character of Lyanna went from "unseen, just one written line" to "I'mma throw some serious shade on Stannis Baratheon, Ramsay Snow, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and my stupid ass cousin, that's what I'm gonna do! And give Daenerys some well-deserved bitchface! And then I'll kill a giant!" Look at the details on her armor, bear head on the sternum and bears on the shoulderplates. She represents her house in that armor, and – compare with her men in the background. Their armors look nearly the same, including this angular shape on the breastplate and the bear head. Lyanna is a fierce lady, and she stands with her men until the end. Though this shot is from the one scene where she also shows a tiny bit of softness, a tiny bit of love for a man to whom openly showing her contempt she hasn't shied away from. "I wish you good fortune, cousin." Excuse me while I write mournful ballads on her and praises on Bella Ramsey.
Here we go with Brienne, who wears armor to begin with. It's a nice armor to look at, too, gilded steel (I think?) and a fitting chainmail, and this sweet goldish-brown cloak in Renly style she’s wearing over it. Later, when the Bolton men take her armor, we see the gambeson she's wearing beneath, made from leather and a blueish-grey fabric. It's doubtlessly armor, and it's doubtlessly made to hold off sword strikes, but it's quite a contrast to the northern outfits above. Bright metal, colored fabrics, a bit of elegance due to the pleated cloak – this is definitely an outfit that says "I'm a part of Renly Baratheon's army." What did Catelyn call them, the knights of summer? That's what Brienne starts out as, dour face or not. Then she gets stripped of her golden armor, and her idealism starts to crumble away.
The pink dress. Oh, well. As much as Gwendoline Christie tries to look harsh and masculine (anyone else thinking of young James Wilby?), and as much as they tried to put a dress on her that looks like it doesn't fit (too tight around the shoulders, too short around the ankles), it just doesn't look as awful on her as the book describes it to be. Even the color is kinda nice in combination with her hair. I think the dress in and of itself, with the odd fur stripes, is ugly as fuck, but instead of looking awkward, Brienne the Unironical Beauty makes it work.
She was wearing some rags when she and Jaime returned to King's Landing, but I couldn't find a shot of those, and there was nothing special about that anyway, so right on to her new King's Landing outfit. Someone (Jaime?) made sure she got something alright to wear. Boots and belt from dark leather, doublet from light brown leather, and a blue skirt for good form, though at least it's only a shin-long skirt, not an ankle-long one, so I guess it's endurable for Brienne. If I'm not mistaken about the cut, it's also a riding skirt, no? The doublet on the other hand is most definitely one for a man. I think I have seen Robb wear one like it, laced up the entire front. Makes her chest look flat and her shoulders wide, and the outfit sweetly balances between "I can wear this in public around a court with a certain ceremonial" and "If some b***h here comes near me with silk and lace, I'll strangle them with it!"
Her dress for the Purple Wedding – is that the same as before, only she took off the doublet? Because it has the exact same color. Works well with her baby blues. I suppose this is what the previous outfit looks like minus the leather doublet. Also, Brienne darling, stop frowning like that, it makes you look like an old woman. This dress is literally the only one she wears in the entire series that represents her family, with the sigil of Tarth stitched on her sternum. Well, it's the only time she's in a situation where representation like that is asked for, as she's currently sworn to no one.
Then Jaime gives her the blue steel armor which she'll be wearing for most of the further series. It's her Shining Knight armor. Blue, for the color of her eyes, I guess, or Jaime had it made that way to honor her Sapphire Island. The breastplate has the same angular decoration her golden one had, I'm not sure if that serves a concrete purpose or has a symbolic meaning I'm missing...? The new gambeson is a perfect fit in color, boiled leather plates on chainmail, by the looks of it. I like that it's so dark, makes the belts and the Lannister sword, especially the golden hilt, really stand out. Oathkeeper, the sword that Jaime insists that she keeps. I feel like this armor and the sword are kind of a unit, as they represent a bond between Jaime and Brienne. It's the armor in which she finds the Stark girls on his behalf, saves one of them, fights for both, the armor in which she's knighted and which represents all the best she brings out in Jaime.
(Little aside, skip this if you don't like rants: It's also the outfit in which she's her dumbest, admittedly. Sansa Stark is looked for and her head is at risk? Sure, talk to her loudly in a public tavern. She's in that castle with her sworn enemies? "Light a candle in that tower when you're in danger", well, I guess Sansa couldn't possibly be in permanent danger and need help right now. Kill Stannis while blathering about Renly being "the rightful king"? Eh, no. Whatever Renly might have been as a king, he was never rightful, and Brienne knows that. I may be getting a bit defensive here because I love the hell out of Stannis and hate how D&D ruined his character arc in barely two episodes, but Renly WAS an ursurper. He had no right to take the throne his older brother was heir to, and he was willing to kill Stannis on the battlefield for this – Stannis just happened to be quicker. I am fine with Brienne wanting to take vengeance for her dead king and crush, and I am fine with Stannis accepting death at this point, but I am not fine with Brienne acting like Renly had any right to be the entitled brat he was. I am also not fine with her shitting on Davos and rubbing it up his nose that she killed Stannis. Girl. That is just a man who served a Baratheon, and was deeply loyal to him, and now serves a Stark, and is deeply loyal to him. And has survived a ton of shit and loss. Davos is literally only a cock away from being you. Stop being like that and focus on being awesome, please.)
In Winterfell, Brienne gets a new everyday outfit. It's a leather doublet again, laced up the front again, though this one is from a darker leather. Over it a dark grey cloak in Northern style, with a wolf pelt – I like this outfit for her, she looks like she's been adopted by the Starks. She's still wearing her red belts, though, signing that this may be a new episode in life for her, but not a loss of identity. At least for a time, she is at home in Winterfell.
I don't even know if this one is black or dark blue. It is, however, the most feminine Brienne looks in the series, as it fits her better than the pink Bolton dress. A dressing gown, so I guess she's cold standing in the courtyard in that, but of course she wouldn't bother to really get dressed before she runs after Jaime. The scene fits her character as well. It was criticized harshly – nyeh-nyeh-nyeh, why does strong, cool Brienne suddenly get so whiny over a man? Guess what, she was whiny over Renly, too. Brienne is an emotional person, and people cry when they are left by someone they love. I don't know what's so wrong about this. Ygritte cried, too, when Jon left her. What, is Brienne weak now because she doesn't shoot Jaime full of arrows for goodbye? BS. I like how the scene is played. Jaime is being an idiot, but Brienne being there as his woman, that's alright with me. He's literally the only guy in this world she wants to be a woman for, the only one for whom she took off her armor. The soft dressing gown is a good fit for that. It compliments her figure, but it doesn't hide how tall she is. Jaime is no one she hides herself, her emotions or opinions from.
Last severe Brienne scene, last Brienne outfit. Her third armor, and chronologically the sixth King's Guard armor we see in the series. Brienne is Lady Commander of the King's Guard now, and she's in gold again. The breastplate shows a stylized raven, and I think the symbols on the metals plates her gambeson is studded with are a variation of the raven theme, too. That armor will probably be her last – chances are that the position in the King's Guard will be her job for the rest of her life. Her journey has come to an end, and she ends her part of the story by writing down Jaime's story.
Even that got criticism. Something about Brienne whitewashing Jaime's deeds... she isn't. She's telling about the events from a certain point of view. She's not the first. All Commanders who wrote in the White Book were biased in some way, otherwise the book would have mentioned that Jaime killed his king to end a war and save lives. I don't think her tribute to Jaime is inappropriate or weak. It is the way she wants to remember Jaime, and after he was spit on for half of his life, she wants people to honor him at least in death.
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A Wiki of Ice and Fire
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Thoughts and comments on GoT costumes 2
11 min read
Hello and welcome at... a thing I'm going to do for a while. I'm gonna talk a bit about the outfits the women of "Game of Thrones" wear. None too detailed, and none too qualified, it's just thoughts about their looks and how they fit their characters and situations. In this context, I'm also going to say the one or other thing about the characters themselves, so beware, as this series of blahblah is dark and full of spoilers. And full of my personal opinion, which not everyone needs to share or like, but we can exchange thoughts if you feel like it. Today, I'll go with the dresses of commoners and prostitutes (except Braavosi; their outfits get a journal of their own).
I think I'll start with Myranda here, because I can't stand her and want to get it over and done with – why did we get that one-dimensional sadistic brat instead of Mya Stone? Also, her dress looks way ridiculous. What's with that cross pattern, a Bolton reference? Then why is it blue on brown, not red on fleshy pink? Eh. We know she's the kennelmaster's daughter, and at least quality-wise, the dress is fitting. It's nothing particularly fancy, the leather vest is fitting for a hunter, and the skirt is loose enough to run in it. And then, the open cleavage. Yay, we all need to see her sternum. Because she's a Northern girl and Winter is Coming (TM Stark), and Sansa is wearing fur in the same scene as her, so it makes sense that Myranda runs around half-naked... Not to mention that, by this, she literally echoes the look of whores. Ros and Shae, namely, as we'll see. Geez. Myranda, desperate much? Difference is that Ros actually has a rack to show. Why is Myranda running around like that?
Ros – yes, I know, she's naked in half of her scenes, but she lives long enough to wear four dresses. First being this which she wears in the North. It's obviously an old, worn dress, but it is one that fits her well, compliments her figure, and the greyed blue has her red hair shining. (Shame she only wears it in that one inconsequential travel-to-south scene.) And the infamous prostitute cleavage. Which, different than Myranda, is actually sort of appropriate, because attracting sexual attention is Ros' job. The red ribbon is curious. That supposed to draw attention as well, or is it meant to be a signature of her status? And the necklace. Heh. Cersei says in some later episode, there are only two Lannister lion necklaces in the world, hers and Myrcella's. Nevermind that Sansa got one from Joffrey. Nevermind that random Lady of the Night Ros got one from Tyrion...
The new dress is barely visible in this picture, but I wanted to have this because of the nice shoulder wrap. Anyway, her first King's Landing dress, the yellow one, and it is cut in THE most common shape for King's Landing fashion. Several prostitutes wear that style, but also the handmaidens in the Red Keep and most of the middle and lower class female citizens. She wears it when Cersei's guards beat her up and imprison her in the Red Keep, when she's at Pycelle's service, in the awful give-Joffrey-two-sex-workers-to-abuse scene, then when she meets up with Varys to inform him about Littlefinger's schemes, and finally in her death scene, ripped and ruined, when she's tied up to Joffrey's bed post. Three of these scenes show her as a victim of abuse, bleeding, helpless, frightened. The time with Varys however, she's unharmed, has her hair nicely done, and does a job as a spy, not as a sex object. And in that one scene alone, she covers her shoulders and yellow dress with that wonderfully embroidered shawl. Lovely thing, where'd you buy that, girl?
Not sure if I've ever seen a dressing gown that looked so... cheap? Embroidery can make a dress look elegant, or, as can be seen here, it can apparently be used for the same effect as tacky glitter. Some random flowers and leaves, and a lot of metal beads, and a few cheap, clunky rings to top it off. She wears this one exclusively in the brothel, and she wears it like it's supposed to be taken off at any second. Suit yourself, girl, it's her job after all. The pale peach shade is incredibly dull, though. I think it's meant to give an impression of naked skin, but it doesn't, and the color just doesn't compliment her.
Why are her prettiest outfits always the de-sexualized ones aka the ones she wears only once? That aquamarine is just gorgeous! She wears it while Littlefinger chats with Sansa and Ros herself chats with Shae and plots to carve out Littlefinger's liver (or should). A rather simple but nice addition, the red-golden patterned hem. Gotta say, with the wide sleeves (which are not visible here) and the voluminous skirt (and no ginormously deep cleavage), it looks rather fancy. Not sure if Ros still works on her back at that time, she says she helps Littlefinger manage his affairs. The shade is a tad too garish for a noblewoman, but other than that the look is fit for the court.
Shae starts out in a blueish-grey dress, simple cut, deep cleavage. Echoing Ros much? When you look closely, you can even see the eyelets around the hemline – Ros has the same, only hers hold sleeves on them. Shae gets a nice pelt for her shoulders, though it isn't large enough to cover much (and probably isn't supposed to, either). And the odd red ribbon again. It's not the only time Ros and Shae wear very similar dresses, though they interestingly don't once they actually meet. Ros does get to point out their similarities though.
Second is her signature style, her pink handmaiden dress during all of the time she works for Sansa and is her confidante. She's not the only one to wear one like that – the girl next to her is Cersei's handmaiden Bernadette, who has a fancy King's Landing noblewoman hairdo but whose dress looks 1:1 the same. Ruffled neckline, held by a string around her neck, light, fluttering fabric. And then there's the stripe in the middle, made from a different, embroidered fabric, which I think is the same at Shae, Bernadette and also on Ros' yellow dress. Shae gets to add a fitting flowery belt to it, a few bracelets and, in some scenes, a necklace that's way too simple to be anything but her own. If Tyrion gave her jewelry, she's smart enough not to wear it in public. (Sorry, Ros.)
Immediately before the battle of Blackwater Bay, we see Shae wearing a fancy shawl – another parallel to Ros. Wish I would have found a picture of it in higher definition, to see the embroidery. Seems to be something flowery again, but more symmetrically composed than Ros' shawl pattern. I'm not sure if it really is that cold when Shae's walking through the Red Keep that night, but she looks more motherly with the shoulder wrap, which ties nicely into the emotional support she's for Sansa.
Two more Shae pieces that kinda belong into the same context, though she wears them separately. The golden braided necklace she gets from Tyrion, which, swoon much? Yes, it's also the thing he kills her with, but it's such a damn pretty thing to look at. (Also, the scene is played way more sympathetically for Tyrion than in the book; he still murders her, but it does start out as self-defense – I mean, she attacked him with a knife, duh!) She doesn't wear the thing at the trial where she betrays Tyrion, but that's probably for the best. The dress she wears is not her usual style, but it's her usual color, and like the jewelry, it's simple and toned-down. Honestly, I think it's Sansa's old dress, hemmed new to fit Shae. Sansa had a wrap dress of that color when she lived in King's Landing, and even in this low-definition pic you can see the shade of spirals on her arms – where Sansa's dress had spiral embroidery. If it really is that one, shame on Shae, because she's also betraying Sansa and their trustful relationship in that scene.
Anyway, that neckholder dress style is really common in King's Landing and apparently in other parts of the world, too – even Daenerys wears one in season 1. I actually wonder why it can be worn by citizens and handmaidens alike when it seems to be such a common dress type for prostitutes. Daisy wears it (in peachy pink), Marei wears an interesting variation of it (in a blueish-grey, again – is that a whore customized color?) with several braided holders and a few tassels stitched on the front, Mhaegen wears it (in green) though it’s hard to see beneath her shawl. And then there's Clea, sweet Clea from Volantis. She wears a dress of that style which, frankly, confuses me a bit? Because she's Essoshi. The other Essoshi prostitutes we get to see don't wear dresses like this – there's the Daenerys imitator, the Braavosi brothel girls, and Vala from Meereen, see below, whose dress imitates the ring-knot styles of Meereenese citizens in a more liberal way. So... Clea, my dearest, how comes you as a Volanti girl wear a dress in King's Landing style? However, she combines it with jewelry and a hairstyle I just love, and she was such a sweet girl. Shame we never got to see more of her.
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Thoughts and comments on GoT costumes 1
11 min read
Hello and welcome at... a thing I'm going to do for a while. I'm gonna talk a bit about the outfits the women of "Game of Thrones" wear. None too detailed, and none too qualified, it's just thoughts about their looks and how they fit their characters and situations. In this context, I'm also going to say the one or other thing about the characters themselves, so beware, as this series of blahblah is dark and full of spoilers. And full of my personal opinion, which not everyone needs to share or like, but we can exchange thoughts if you feel like it. We start out with the duller and Wildling costumes, and then work our way to the fancy gowns.
Ygritte... well, she only has the one outfit (even though Jon Snow once promised her a silk dress from Tralalalalaleeday). Makes sense, she's a Wildling woman and a spearwife, I wouldn’t know where she’d ever get another outfit than the one she’s wearing. One thing about this I don't understand, though, and it becomes apparent in the cave where Ygritte strips down before Jon: She's wearing only two layers, the one beneath her jacket being merely a loose, sleeveless shirt. Which, what? In the Lands of Always Winter? Yeah, I guess leather and fur do a nice job warming, but with no isolation in between whatsoever? The way her jacket and the undershirt fall around her ribs, you'd think she'd freeze to death at least when climbing up the wall, when she really is surrounded by a damn lot of cold wind. Oh well. On the plus side, she really rocks the rough Wildling look.
Osha starts out wearing very similar rags to those of Ygritte, so I won't bother go over her first outfit. The only thing notable about it is the state of the hair, and... Osha, what did you do with your hair? Ygritte seems to possess a hairbrush, so don't tell me that's just the Wildling look... Anyway. In Winterfell, she's given new clothes, a simple dark green dress and leather boots, shirt and belt and socks, rough and practical clothes, fitting for a working hand. Add a cloak, and it's her travelling outfit. She still wears the same when she shows up again at Winterfell, sold out by the Umbers. Girl, didn't you ever change clothes the past three years? Whatever. It's nothing inappropriately fancy, but I find the color curious. Why a green dress? The only people who I distinctly recall wearing green are the Frey girls, and Osha never even encounters a Frey.
Second, her white shirt dress. Uhm, why do they keep sexualizing Osha in dresses like that? Not that Natalia Tena isn't an attractive woman, but the way she's presented... She's to be seen as a Wildling, as a hunter, as a strong, no-nonsense sort of woman, and this new dress, white as it may be, does nothing to compliment her figure or something. Why do we get precisely three scenes of this woman making herself a sex object? It's not in line with her character, and it's not in line with her presentation. Though I guess the white dress serves to make her death look more gory. Wonder if that was the showrunners' idea or specifically Ramsay's.
On we go with Meera Reed, my lovely girl. I like that first outfit of hers. Even though it is mainly brown and beige, cut for practicality, it is subtly different from Ygritte's and Osha's wandering outfits, in a way that point to her being a Northern Westerosi girl. The blouse she wears beneath, for example, tied close around her neck in the same way Arya's, Sansa's and Catelyn's blouses are. The material is alright, too, a pale greenish-grey fabric with a kind of circle pattern. For the daughter of a minor lord, it's fitting. Jacket and trousers are simple and rough again, of course, and have less color than even the surroundings, but that does serve its purpose. The silver buckle and the shoulder pelt still give away that she's way better off than some. At least for a while.
Cue Lands of Always Winter, cue begin of Meera's ordeal. Cue Wildling look. She gets a leather-and-fur patchwork jacket in Ygritte style, which I guess she made herself, because she didn't have one when they were wandering towards the Wall. The Wildling look kind of serves to underline her growing despondency. More rugged clothes, face going paler every episode, her beautiful curls flattened and her smile dying away – Meera was always one of the characters who caught most of my sympathies, because in the end, things don't get better for her anymore. Brilliant, she survives, but to which price? Y'know what I would have liked? Meera showing up in the Dragonpit Council, alongside her father, in a nice enough dress, to show that even after all she's been through, after all the terror and toils, life goes on for her, and as the strong, unbreakable girl she is, she could have given Bran the Ungrateful some bitchface when the Reeds stick with the Northern Realm instead of bowing to him. Because, f**k you, Bran. Meera deserves Qartheen silk and Myrish lace and people who love and appreciate her.
Gilly... looks seriously the most ragged and squalid of all the Wildling girls we meet. And like my poor girls Meera and Arya, she has to wear the same rags for three full seasons. Craster, aside from being an abusive piece of s**t, also doesn't seem to take good care of his family, because Gilly looks like she's wearing sackclothes. Lined with fur at least, she's living beyond the Wall after all, but the thing barely even has the shape of a dress.
Which is why she's finally put into something nice at Hornhill. I'll give that to Sam's chatty little sister, she chose a very pretty dress for Gilly (and thanks for the hair conditioner, sweetie, it was direly missed!) The dress isn't perfectly Gilly's size, as can be seen around the waist and at the arms, but the color combination dresses her excellently, and I like that ornamental pattern. The cleavage is cut the same as Talla's own, only the puffy sleeves strike me as a tad odd – because neither Talla's nor Lady Melessa's sleeves are shaped like that. But more on that later. Gilly initially feels a bit uncomfortable in the dress (and at the place), but really, Lord Randyll's behavior aside, her stay there isn't a catastrophe. Gilly may be a stranger there, but she's lovable and sweet and has good manners for someone who technically never learned them, and she has a bright head and a mouth to speak for herself. I think the dress says something along these lines, too: Gilly is not just "standing out" when she's the only woman around, she really can shine when she's given the chance. (Girl has to work on her puns, though.)
Her next dress is much simpler again, and a great deal more practical as she and Sam are on the move again. Though I have seriously no idea how she came to possess this new dress, she wore the fine one when she and Sam left Hornhill... Anyway. Blueish-grey fabric, simple cut, but the dress looks rather new and well-sewn. Short sleeves are sensible, seeing as the Oldtown Citadel is very much in the south. Also in the picture, Little Sam who's growing like a weed. Wonder where she's getting new clothes for the baby?
New place, new dress. I like this one, it has a light, airy look to it. It's possibly something the middleclass citizens around Oldtown wear, too; at least I haven't seen that sort of fashion around Dorne or King's Landing. Even more ginormous sleeves – I smell a theme there with Gilly. This might be my favorite for an everyday look for Gilly. It looks pretty, but also practical and comfortable. Would have liked to take a closer look at the stitching details, but this is the best picture I could find. She even gets to wear a simple necklace, and the ringlet design might reference the Maesters' chains a bit. After all, Gilly is learning and reading alongside Sam.
Last but not least – gorgeous winter cloak is gorgeous. Read somewhere that the costume designer uses blue to express hope. Gilly is wearing that cloak even before the Battle for Winterfell, and if someone is to be associated with hope, it's her. She's kind to the children in the courtyard, she helps cooking, and right before the battle, we see her with Sam and Little Sam, the family united. What we barely see is the gorgeous lining of the cloak, pelt aside, but I found that behind-the-scenes picture. Such a beautiful pattern! It's a bit of a shame they didn't turn the cloak inside out to show off the golden flower embroidery. But alright. The light blue is lovely on Hannah Murray, she looks very feminine in it. And after the battle, we learn that she's pregnant again. Hope ever growing, indeed.
Talla Tarly wears a red-striped dress when we meet her, and... honestly, I'm wondering why she gave Gilly one of her seemingly best dresses but then didn't bother to change for dinner herself. Because I swear what she is wearing looks less fancy than what Gilly got. I like the sleeves though, the flower print fits her mirthful personality. And they are not nearly as puffy as Gilly's sleeves, kinda bringing up the question on how variable Tarly styles are. Because...
Melessa Tarly is wearing yet another style. A rich, flowery fabric, like the front and sleeves of Gilly's dress, unlike Talla's. Sleeves short, like Talla's, unlike Gilly's. Kinda-sorta puffy, but not like Talla's or Gilly's. The cleavage ruffled like that is something neither Talla nor Gilly have. Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty dress, and it fits Melessa's look and status. I just would have wished for a bit more of an identifiable style norm.
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Daenerys rant 2.0
39 min read
Beware, for this post is dark and full of spoilers for Game of Thrones up to season 8, episode 4.
...I told you so. I know, people shouldn't say "told you so", but why is anyone surprised? Many, many people on the internet complaining about Daenerys' "sudden villainness" and "complete turnaround" and "ruining her character arc"... ehm, no? Absolutely not. Her character arc is reaching the logical conclusion it has been building up to since... I'd say, at least since Meereen. Possibly earlier. I don't find her recent development strange, I don't find it out of place. Infuriating, yes, I want to strangle her whenever I see her on screen (which, by the way, has nothing to do with Emilia Clarke - she's a good actress, and she's playing her character excellently; it's just that her character is an awful b***h, kinda like Jack Gleeson with Joffrey). But it is consistent. Game of Thrones has not always been great with consistency, but I'll applaud it for following through with Daenerys' development.
She is insane. She is megalomaniac. She is a tyrant. And she became it gradually, not all of a sudden:
Season 1:
Daenerys is a shy girl who has been raised by Viserys aka Walking Nutjob Out Of Throne, her older brother with crumbling delusions of grandeur who needs to assert his dominance by emotionally / verbally / possibly sexually abusing his sister. Note that Daenerys is initially very quiet around Viserys because she doesn't want to provoke him. She is fully aware that he's cruel and crazy, and, as she later notes when she starts standing up to him, she is also aware that he's weak.
She is sold off to marry Horselord McMuscles, who proceeds to rape her for a few weeks... and then she falls in love with him or something. Stockholm syndrome, I guess. Though the circumstances of them developing their relationship to a loving couple are interesting: Drogo starts considering her his queen and partner when she gains his respect - by asserting herself. It's only then that Daenerys begins to see him in a positive light as well - after she has gained a certain control over him. First only sexually, but then she learns to manipulate him. She demands slaves for herself so she can protect them, dismissing the other Dothraki's claims, and Drogo lets her have them, and she gets him to promise her the Iron Throne, not instantly, but after some incentive Drogo makes this grand speech about travelling across the sea and conquering the Seven Kingdoms. Note that Daenerys brought up this subject as soon as Viserys' corpse was cold. First this "all I want is a home" charade and her feeling oh-so-at-home among the Dothraki, but when the (in her opinion) rightful heir of the Iron Throne, Viserys, is out of the way, she wants the thing for herself. She doesn't actually need it, arguably. Drogo adores her, and she's a damn powerful Khaleesi of a damn powerful Khal, worshipped by the other Dothraki and mother-to-be of a baby that's praised in his own prophecy. She has people there, she is about to build a family there. She doesn't know Westeros, not one bit. But she wants it anyway.
Enter Mirri Maz Duur, and Daenerys fails to see how someone whose home has been raided by Dothraki may not be too inclined to actually be friendly to Dothraki. Cue loss of her husband and protector, cue loss of her child. Cue downfall, cue pyre, cue dragons. I give her that, it was a nice move, risky and it paid off. It was the first time Daenerys experienced a sense of invincibility. Girl stepped into a fire and all she got was a bit of grime on her. She brought dragons back into the world. Sweet so far.
She killed a person for them. Fair enough, Mirri Maz Duur killed her child and practically killed Drogo as well. I understand that she wants vengeance. It's her method of execution that bothers me: She has Mirri Maz Duur burned alive. That is an extremely painful, cruel death. Mirri Maz Duur screams half her lungs out before she dies. And Daenerys' reaction to someone suffering at her hand is... absolutely nothing. Her face is blank. It was blank as well when she allowed Drogo to kill Viserys. One could argue that Viserys was cruel to her, so her sympathies are, of course, limited. But Viserys also raised her, kept her alive when she was a little girl who fled from one city to another. He was a constant in a world of uncertainty and paranoia. She didn't feel anything when he died. No empathy for his pain, no grief.
There's also the length she is willing to go for Drogo. Blood magic. She knows it's a dirty business. She's being told so from several Dothraki, her people, that they cannot support her in that. She shouldn't be surprised that they abandon her after she crosses lines that they consider an absolute taboo. Daenerys will dismiss a lot of taboos yet.
Season 2:
Uh, can we ignore the Qarth arc? It was boring AF... of course, Daenerys has a few occasions to show anger. When her bloodrider Rakharo loses his head, she swears vengeance on those who did that. I don't think she ever follows through on that. She later meets the Dothraki again, but does she bother to find out who killed Rakharo and execute those who did it? Eh.
Then she gets pissed when Irri is murdered, and the infamous "WHERE ARE MY DRAGONS?!" You don't want anyone to steal from you, don't flaunt, girl. What does she expect when she walks into a city full of profit-orientated strangers? She seems to assume everyone is super-eager to throw ships and wealth at her. What did she do to deserve that? Right. Nothing. She held a couple speeches, duh.
We're going with a couple more killings here. Pyat Pree in the House of the Undying, and Doreah and What's-his-face-again. It's still people who personally wronged her. And again, she kills them with very cruel methods, for the latter two a prolonged death by starving / suffocating. She does it, again, showing the emotional range of a statue.
And then struts off to new adventures, after her Dothraki raid What's-his-face-again's house. Eh, I guess he doesn't need the stuff anymore. But she relies on the Dothraki way here. She originally reprimanded two of her warriors for their suggestion to rob their host, but in the end, that's exactly what she does so she can buy a ship, so she can reach her next goal. That's okay, she has lived with the Dothraki for long enough to consider them her people... except she wants to take them with herself to Westeros. Dothraki are not Westerosi. Daenerys knows nothing about Westerosi, as becomes evident later. But she never realizes that, with Dothraki methods, she can't get the respect of the people of Westeros.
The vision in the House of the Undying... hm. Interesting was the part in the throne room of the Red Keep. "Snow on the throne", yes, I see the symbolism, it's not too subtle. Read somewhere it's ashes raining down, but come on, there are icicles growing in the room. Yes, the Red Keep is in ruins in that vision, but that's definitely winter in that hall, perhaps after Daenerys made her big dragon attack.
Season 3:
Arguably my favorite season in regards to Daenerys. Girl does good. Very, very good. Collects new advisors around her who know what they're doing, gets an army, frees cities. Liberates slaves. Conquest of Astapor - yes, please, anytime! "Kill every slaver, every man who holds a whip, but harm no child" - THAT'S how you liberate! Why couldn't you stay like that, Dany? Fulfilling her mission, but taking the necessary precautions not to harm innocents. And the first big "Dracarys", way before I began to hate that word and what it means. She burned one more person. An evidently and shamelessly evil person, a man who is responsible for I don't know how many dead babies. He deserved to die, she killed him. Also note that she has a facial expression this time - disdain and repugnance. Slavery is something that really gets to her, and she really wants to erase it.
It is a great moment for her, gathering a following she actually earns and offering the Unsullied the choice on whether they want to follow her or leave. They choose her for their queen and follow her out of Astapor and to the rest of Slaver's Bay, which still leaves me with the question on how she ever manages to feed her troops, but whatever. A great victory, and Dany is undeniably the good guy there. And off she goes to Yunkai, to repeat the procedure. Well done there, too, though it doesn't really need that last shot of her, the White Savior, crowd-surfing... though even that comes back to bite her. I respect that, it makes sense. Give her a sense of grandeur now, and let her pay for it next season.
That title of "Mhysa" really bugs me, though. Mother? What is she, Saint Mary? I get that they love her and are grateful, but this holiness stuff... doesn't feel good. She's a person. Highborn, perhaps, but a human woman. Elevating her like that is not healthy - it feeds right into her idea of herself as someone who's above and beyond normal people. Of course, Dany loves that shit.
Short non-sequitur about Daenerys' usual smartass brags: When Missandei comes up with "Valar morghulis", Daenerys replies: "Yes, all men must die. But we are not men." Does that even make sense? I thought High Valyrian was gender-neutral - in fact, it becomes actually a plot point later that a prophecy could talk about either "the prince that was promised" or "the princess that was promised". So... Daenerys, who fancies herself to be an excellent speaker of her mother tongue (eh, no comment about her orator skills), should know that "Valar morghulis" does, in fact, mean "All people must die", not "All males must die". Or did I get something wrong?
Season 4:
Going right on with liberating, Daenerys marches to Meereen, taking a good, long look at 163 crucified slave children. Which is awful and evil on so many levels. Fair. Which is why Daenerys decides to pay that back to the slavers. Fair. By finding out who were the owners of these children and then executing them? Ha, no, she just picks 163 people entirely at random. Wait, what? Yeah, that's right. She doesn't ask who's guilty, who's innocent. She takes a big, stinking dump on every sane justice system. "I will answer injustice with justice" - my ass! That is justice?!? Killing random people? Based on assumptions? Forget about season 7 and 8, she's going off the rails right then and there.
I'll say that her becoming Queen of Meereen was legit. She rallied up the slaves, they decided to follow her. Their choice. They made her their queen, they love her, good and right. But what she does with that power is NOT good and right. It's despotism.
There's also her failure in ruling. Daenerys is good at conquest, not at being queen. Which she doesn't realize. She's resting on her laurels, "breaker of chains" and whatnot. While Astapor and Yunkai are falling into chaos, while the citizens of Meereen start to rise against her. And then there's that lovely sentence about the masters of Yunkai: "They can live in my new world, or they can die in their old one." Of course, at that time Daenerys refers to a world without slavery. Which is still noble. But she'll start to apply that to everything she wants. Either follow her way, or die. If your opinion differs from hers, it is a wrong opinion and you can die for it.
Cue the citizens of Meereen - her face when she hears that the nobleman Hizdahr zo Loraq wants to talk to her. She's all sugar and caramel when she's talking to the slaves, but when a highborn wants so much as an audience, she develops immediate bitchface. I don't know where she gets that high horse from that she's sitting on. She's highborn herself. What right does she have to hate people for their blue blood when her claim of power rests entirely on her lineage? Hypocrite. Well, back to Hizdahr. He is honest, but he's consistently polite. And yet, Daenerys snaps at him, unloads her outrage about the crucified slave children, learning about her slaughter of innocents much belated and with NO CONCESSION WHATSOEVER that what she did was wrong. She doesn't say she's sorry. She doesn't say that she had no right to kill men who had nothing to do with those atrocities. She allows Hizdahr to bury his father, but she doesn't ask his forgiveness for her wrong.
And then there's the big fat dragon fail. First scene of Daenerys in season 4... shows the Dragon Queen frightened of her dragons. Which, crazy big beasts they are, but didn't she ever try, even once, to train them? Drogon gets all pissy when she tries to calm him down over some food, and she has clearly no control over him. That's kinda lame. Before she claims anything else, she should be in command over those who are her own more than anyone else, the dragons. But she lets them go rogue, and they feed on the livestock of her people. And then on a child. Which is adequately alarming for Daenerys. She steps in - and comes up with an utter failure of consequence. Train the dragons? Nah, lock them away so they can get angry at her and accustomed to being left alone by their "mother". Reign in Drogon, the one who actually killed the little girl? Nah, put Viserion and Rhaegal in chains and let Drogon fly free where ever he wants. WTH, Dany? How did that come topass?
Also, did anyone notice how she's playing Jorah and Daario out against each other? She goes to bed with Daario, which, suit yourself, girl. She doesn't want to bed Jorah, so she keeps him at an appropriate distance. And then... "Tell him it was you who changed my mind." Directed at Jorah, regarding Daario. She just went to bed with Daario. She just discussed war matters with him. She just took his advice about her reign. And now she sets Jorah in front of him like: "Look, here's this guy, my loyal advisor and friend who's OBVIOUSLY IN LOVE WITH ME and I regard his advice higher than yours, nyeh!" That is a weird mind play she has going on with her lover there. And it's harsh on Jorah, who must know that she uses him to demonstrate power over Daario. I don't like this one bit. It's Daenerys lording over Jorah and Daario both that she can do with them as she pleases.
Not much later, she banishes Jorah because she finds he has broken her trust... eh, I think she's overreacting. Jorah pretty much gave up on his spy job after the wine merchant episode, and I can't count how many times he saved her life. And he didn't cost her the baby. Mirri Maz Duur cost her the baby. So what exactly is she pissed at him for? That he served Robert? She doesn't banish Barristan, does she? At least, she reacts emotionally to Jorah's betrayal. She overreacts, but she looks genuinely hurt and upset. And feeds her paranoia.
Season 5:
New season, enter the Sons of the Harpy. Well, Daenerys just overthrew the city's ecology and trade, and the society is in the process of reshaping. Of course that's problematic, and of course there's resistance. Pretty bloody resistance, too, but then, Daenerys didn't exactly sack the city with cookies and hot chocolate. So, kind of appropriate response? Causes more problems than it solves, but I get the impulse. The smarter people around Dany get it, too, and advise her to have a trial for the arrested Son of the Harpy. Legit. Which doesn't happen because Slave Boy kills him without a trial, for which he must be punished. Legit. By... well, just executing him in public, I guess? Without a trial? Ehm? Dany, why should the Son of the Harpy get a trial, but Slave Boy doesn't? That would have been a great opportunity. Carry out the queen's justice in public, hear arguments, correct the impression that you don't give a shit about laws. He even confessed, you still could have had him executed after proving him guilty. But no. It's just that, beheading before an upset crowd. That's... dumb.
Also, she lets Daario do it. That's very Essoshi of her. The Westerosi way is the Stark way - "the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword". Daenerys doesn't do that. She lets people carry out her executions for her, thus distancing herself from the act of killing. Which is not healthy. She should have looked at Slave Boy, hear his last words, kill him with her own hands, know and feel what it means to take a human life. She's losing touch with the people.
What with the dragon issue: Daenerys visits Rhaegal and Viserion in the crypts shortly at the begin of the season - then flies immediately when they hiss at her. She's clearly afraid. Which is why it's clearly a good idea to lead a bunch of highborns down into their dragons' crypts and have one of those men burned alive. Yes, it's clearly a good idea to play around with a weapon you know you cannot control. But there's also the man she killed. With no interrogation, with no investigation if he was ever involved with the Sons of the Harpy. After she has already learned that she killed innocents with a similar action before, without bothering to find out if he had anything to do with Ser Barristan's death in the riot at all. Ser Barristan, who told her that her father burned people alive and called that "justice" because it made him feel powerful. Ser Barristan, for whom she takes revenge by burning someone crisp and calling that "justice". Lesson firmly not learned.
Now, one could say she acted in fury. Everyone's hot-headed once in a while. But Daenerys is a queen and holds responsibility for several hundreds of thousands of lives. One of which she just ended for the sake of her frustration. She has no right to kill people on a whim whose guilt is not much more than an idea in her head. The only thing that proved this man guilty was that he was highborn. If that's enough, Dany should go and execute herself, as she feels she's the highest born of all.
And then Hizdahr again, whom she orders to be her next husband. Daenerys. You killed his father, unjustly. You sacked his city, ruthlessly. You dismissed all of his people's traditions and his pleads with you to try and be a bit more careful. You threatened his life. You threw him in a cell. You tortured him psychologically with your dragons. Have you ever ONCE considered that, perhaps, he doesn't want to marry you? Have you considered that you didn't like to be forced into a marriage without your consent? Have you considered that forcing people into marriage without their consent is an evil thing to do? How can you do that to another after you have suffered it yourself? Yes, she tends to dismiss other people's opinions and knowledge, but right here, she is dismissing her own experience for the sake of holding onto her power, rather than justice.
There's also "I'm going to break the wheel". Yes... but only if that means she's on top. She is willing to build a better world, with no slavery and all. But only with her as the queen. Which begs a question: If everyone is equal, except in relation to her - doesn't that simply mean that they all become her slaves, and hers alone? She doesn't want slave masters to stop existing. She just wants to be the only master in the world. That's not noble anymore, that's just her weird idea that, somehow and for reasons, the rules that apply to everyone else shouldn't apply to her.
I really think the situation only gets better when she makes a run for it and Tyrion takes on ruling the city. He completely fails to estimate the slave masters' intentions, but it is still him who gets Meereen back on tracks. No, of course he's not perfect. But trade starts again, the riots and alley fights stop, at least for a while. It's not Daenerys who reinstalls peace. She's off on a ride with Drogon. On a whim. Or because the situation was too much for her. So much for "I will rule". She doesn't have the cool head and endurance it takes.
Season 6:
Daenerys is imprisoned by the Dothraki and thus back down in the dirt. Subsequently, her next big triumph is just around the corner. I wasn't very surprised by this, and it impressed me less than her hatching of the dragons did. It was pretty obvious that Daenerys' big fat ego wouldn't be satisfied had she become one of the Dosh Khaleen, which is only the most powerful institution in the Dothraki society to whose laws and words every Khal bows. Obviously, not enough for the mighty queen. I don't really mind that she burned the Khals. Bunch of rapists and killers, the lot of them, and the world is a better place without them. What bothers me is that this deed brings her the immediate obediance and fealty of all the Dothraki. She should have opponents, the number of the Khals times three, at least. The bloodriders. Yes, Dothraki follow the strong, and she has proven her strength, but bloodriders are sworn to take vengeance for the death of their Khals. None ever did. I don't get it. "Look, she has burned the temple and she kicks our traditions into the dirt and she just took away the leaders who held thousands and thousands of people in line and protected them, which means now they are exposed to be killed or go rogue - let's follow her, whatevs." Or what exactly is the logic behind that?
Well, she's Daenerys, she gets what she wants, and she can hold another grand speech. I'm a bit bored by her speeches at that point, but at least she's only after conquest this time, not killing innocents. So, fine.
She's also falling out of character for a moment there, adressing one of the other Dothraki girls as "Khaleesi" - "Queen". It's very untypical for her to call anyone else that, but it's a void courtesy anyway as, a couple hours later, said girl kneels before her like the others and Daenerys expects all of their subordination and gets it. And feeds her sense of superiority.
Daario and Jorah are present during her power demonstration and victory over the Khals. Jorah kneels out of habit, it's what he does when he sees Daenerys. However, Daario usually doesn't. He did when he promised her the Second Sons, but after they started their affair, Dany did usually not have Daario kneeling before her. When he sees her there, stepping out of the fire, he's awestruck, fair enough - but there's that look she gives him, hard, distant. She looks like she expects, demands him to kneel, and he does. She's reasserting her dominance over him with one glance, even though she doesn't need to, even tough Daario's subordination is not at all what she is after right now. She wants him to kneel simply because everyone else kneels, so there.
And later she breaks up with him. And admits that she felt nothing. A strange statement about a man who was her lover for approximately two years. I mean, I know it was never the great love, but feeling nothing at all just makes clear how immensely detached Daenerys is from the people around her.
She retakes Meereen, which kinda leaves me with a massive "WTF?" Because she lets Viserion and Rhaegal out again, and the three dragons go on a rampage at the ships beleaguering the bay. But... those are hundreds and thousands of men burning on the ships. Does she think that are the masters of Slaver's Bay? Because, no. Those are slaves she's burning there. She's letting her dragons loose on them. Her still not trained dragons, who still do what they want. Except now, they do what she wants, for no special reason. Because it's convenient. Either way, thousands of people burning in the bay. Breaking chains or something... and she wants to keep doing that, delete the entire army. Tyrion has to remind her that "burn them all" is not a good philosophy, she's far enough gone to not remember that by herself. I'm not sure if Daenerys is still aware that an army consists of soldiers, and soldiers are people. She doesn't count the lives she takes.
Towards Yara, she claims that she's going to leave the world a better place than she found it. Another nice brag. Sounds sweet. I think not, though. She's leaving corpses right and left. People burned alive. Still an awful way to die, and Dany still has no care in the world.
Season 7:
Lucy, I'm hoooome! Meaning Westeros and more specifically Dragonstone. And now it goes steeply downhill.
The blatant hypocrisy of her actions: She has held onto her blathering of free choice, she has let the Unsullied join her if they wanted to and leave her if they didn't. She has let the slaves of Yunkai and Meereen choose whether or not they wanted to support her. She has talked about freedom for years. And now she comes to Westeros, where slavery doesn't exist and thus doesn't need to be obliterated. Westerosi are free people by default. And she WILL NOT LET THEM HAVE A CHOICE. She doesn't allow them to decide if they want her as her ruler. She decides she is their ruler, and they have to accept this. If they don't, they have to die. How does that even work? How do the Essoshi have the choice but the Westerosi, who she always claimed are her people, don't? "Bend the knee" becomes her new mantra - Jon Snow, bend the knee. Cersei Lannister, bend the knee. Randyll Tarly, bend the knee.
And at the same time, she is so incredibly disrespectful towards Jon. I once read an article that speculated on whether or not Jon was sexist to her at their first meeting because he wouldn't recognize her authority as a queen. Seldom laughed as much as I did on that. Jon calls her "Your Grace" from the first moment on. She calls him "my Lord". It is her who disregards his authority. At every damn second. Why? Because Jon has faced creatures that haven't been seen in centuries? Nope, dragons clearly exist whereas White Walkers are clearly BS, as by decree of Her Grace. Because Jon has united the Wildlings behind him and they are willing to fight for him... what, did anyone say "Dothraki"? No, I guess that's something different. Because Jon was installed as a ruler in his realm after freeing his people from a tyrannical reign... what, certain parallels between Bolton-North and Slaver's Bay? Nah, that can't be.
Except it is. Jon can name pretty much exactly the same achievements she has under her belt. He has a large army behind him, people who want to follow him. He is a warrior, and he has been named King in the North. Which Daenerys won't acknowledge.
There's also how she snaps at him for Robert Baratheon sending assassins after her when she was an innocent girl. Which, great. Isn't Ellaria Sand one of your most important allies? She murdered Myrcella. An innocent girl. How can Daenerys not realize, not even ask about the fact that she's surrounding herself with people who did things that she, by all her claims, utterly despises?
And her complaints about heroes like Jon, Daario, Jorah and Drogo doing stupid, reckless things? After she just rode into a battle with no armor and no helmet on? Which she keeps doing, three times over. Girl is being ludicrous.
Her increasing paranoia: All of a sudden, she's wary of Varys. I get that she has a reason to be wary, he has betrayed rulers before if he thought they were inefficient. But why does she remember that now? Varys has served her for a while already. It only now dawns on her that he's not exactly reliable? If she had been distrustful from the moment she's met him, I would have understood, but having it kick in so belatedly smells of paranoia.
Same for Tyrion. Out of the blue, she accuses him of going lightly on his family and trying to undermine her victory. I'll admit that Tyrion's military decisions haven't been great around here, but instead of recalling that Tyrion is her Hand and not a strategist and military commander, her twisted mind spits out the idea that he's plotting against her. After he has given up literally everything to come and be her advisor. She has a very selective hearing for his advice. For example, she hears that she has no heir, but she does not hear that she has literally no idea what to do with the Seven Kingdoms once she has conquered them.
Her growing priority of presenting herself as something superior to other people: Melisandre appeals to her when she tells her of "the prince / princess that was promised". Daenerys takes to the idea immediately. A prophecy that potentially presents her as a pseudo-Messiah? Yeah, of course that's sugar for her ego. And all she does when Jon comes to her, doing for the sake of his people what she would never do, giving himself into his enemy's hands because he hopes for help against the army of the dead... all she does is threaten him, try to intimidate him ("Oh, look, I've got dragons! And Dothraki! And Unsullied! I can destroy you anytime!"), lord her five billion titles over him. Hold him captive on the island. For no good reason, because he hasn't threatened her. He doesn't want to fight her, he doesn't want the Iron Throne. She just has to assert her dominance once again.
She still does when she finally offers her help - only if he bends the knee. "Shouldn't your people's survival be more important than your pride?" Whut. Does she even hear what she's saying? Because, obviously, their survival is NOT more important than HER pride. She claims they are her people, but she's not willing to protect them unless they have sucked her metaphorical c**k first. Jon has told her that she'll be ruling over a graveyard at that rate, and she seems to believe him now. But her ego is just more important. She'll rather rule over a graveyard of kneeling people than over living people who stand.
She wins at the Goldroad, which I'll applaud her for. At least this is military against military, free men against free men. She still burns countless people alive, but admittedly, they know they are at war. The battle is impressive to look at, but when she wins, it doesn't really leave an impression of justice and triumph. Because those are her people she's killed. She has already claimed them as her people before she even came here. Apparently, she doesn't mind killing them by the thousands.
Plus the Tarlys, which was not only an unnecessary cruelty added to insult, but it was also dumb as hell. Randyll Tarly, alright, if needs. But she should have taken the son as her war prisoner. By erasing the heir of the House, she's only doing further damage to her reputation among the rest of Westeros. She's not collecting sympathies by burning a scarcely-of-age boy just because he's not so bright and loyal to his father. Why does she expect the people in Westeros to root for her like the Essoshi did when she is treating them so cruelly?
Last episode of that season has her meeting with Cersei. I'm not impressed with either's behavior. The most important thing Daenerys has to do is obviously staging herself. That big entry on her dragon... wow, soooo awesome. Not. Why did she bring Rhaegal? Had she left him at home and come only with Drogon, nobody would have suspected that she's a dragon short of her package. They would have just assumed that she only brought her personal mount. But no, she brings two dragons, having everyone rightfully assume that she doesn't have three anymore, just because she had to flaunt what she has. Jeez.
Oh, almost forgot: She takes another lover. A man whom she could only accept, of course, after he knelt before her.
Season 8 so far:
Up she goes to claim the North. Sansa got a lot of shit online for her behavior when she and Daenerys met first. Which I don't get. I have to side with Sansa here. What does she know of Daenerys? That she is Aerys' daughter. That she has burned people alive, most recently father and son Tarly because they wouldn't kneel (which sounds awfully similar to what Sansa knows Aerys did to her grandfather and her uncle Brandon). That she is conquering Westeros by force. That she wants the entire North, proud people with whom Sansa has been working and living for a long time now, to give up their pride and their choice of a leader, namely their King in the North Jon, for her sake. That Jon has given up the North to her without consulting the other Northern lords. That Daenerys comes up there with thousands of men and two dragons and demands to be fed. No, she doesn't even demand it. She expects it. She is there, she's come to save y'all, be grateful or be quiet. Sansa has been called petty for pointing out the food situation. That's not petty. That's realistic. At that time, they expect a long, hard winter. Sansa has to feed the Northmen, and she has prepared for it. Daenerys messes up these plans, giving no f**k at all. But what good is it to win the war if the survivors starve?
"What do dragons eat, anyway?" - "Whatever they want."
That's not only an incredibly arrogant statement, it's also true. Apparently, Rhaegal and Drogon eat 18 sheep and 11 goats when they "barely eat anything". I don't know how many people could live on that for a month, but for the dragons, it's only a little fraction of their daily ration. Sansa is not petty, she's right. Such an immense need of food threatens the survival of people. Then there's some thousands Unsullied. Daenerys has never paid a thought to that. It's probably beneath her; it's more important that she could ride into Winterfell with that big, smug grin plastered across her face. Remember that farmer in Meereen who brought her the bones of his dragon-roasted goat, way before dead toddler shenanigans? She paid him back for his losses, three times over. For perhaps a couple goats. I don't think she plans to compensate for what massive amounts her dragons and troups are devouring at Winterfell. Because she's the queen, b***h, be grateful for her meer presence and stuff her big mouth, dammit!
Jon's first dragon ride - okay, I'll admit, for him, it was a pretty awesome scene. But for Daenerys? Not so much. Jon utters concerns on what'll happen if Rhaegal doesn't want him on his back. Daenerys replies: "Then it was nice knowing you." WHAT. IS. WRONG. WITH. YOU? That man is her most valuable ally, one of her most important advisors, and over that, he is her lover. The possibility that he might die trying to ride the dragon... causes her to make a callous, disinterested, even scornful quip. That's how far she's gone. Her lover doesn't mean enough to her that she'd even reassure him like "He likes you, he won't throw you off" or even "Eh, if he drops you, I'll catch you". Nope. Not Daenerys. In her eyes, Jon isn't worth that, it seems.
Jaime's "trial" is a thing of ridiculousness. She comes up with Jaime killing her father... after she has acknowledged, time and time again, that her father was insane and should not have ruled. In fact, Jaime did the right thing. Perhaps not a noble thing - stabbing someone in the back never is - but the right thing all the same. She knows that. She disregards it here to make a point, to keep up her pretty picture of reality, in which she is right and someone she dislikes is wrong.
Or someone who dislikes her is wrong. Sansa obviously dislikes her, and as Daenerys can't just burn her (it's Jon's sister after all), she tries to ingratiate herself to Sansa. Cue invading personal space. Has nobody told her that it's impolite to just touch someone who's made it obvious they don't like you? Keep your hands to yourself. She keeps blathering on how they both made their way to power in a world where usually men rule (uh-huh, like the Dosh Khaleen, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes, Olenna and Margaery, Yara, Cersei, Lyanna Mormont, Alys Karstark...), trying to reduce the matter at hand to a sexist issue (which it is not, but more on that in the next paragraph). I wouldn't give too much on your similarity, girl. Sansa does not have thousands of corpses paving her way. Then there's this cringy and kinda out-of-place joke about Jon being her second love and the first having been "someone taller". I don't know why everyone is commenting on Jon's height recently, but I also don't know why Daenerys thinks that's funny. Has she now acquired an idiotic sense of humor on top of it all? Anyway, Sansa is not impressed, and Dany is not pleased that Sansa won't eat her shit.
And then the big reveal. Gosh, that almost had her snap. Someone else with the last name Targaryen. And her point is that Jon might "have a claim on the throne" (he doesn't have a claim, he's the rightful heir, period) because he's male? Bull***t! Everyone's suddenly trying to turn this into a sexist thing! It has never been one to begin with. Jon's birthright has nothing to do with him having a penis. He is the trueborn son of Rhaegar, who was the firstborn son of Aerys and thus heir to the throne. The crown and throne are always passed down the line of the firstborns. Jon doesn't have the stronger claim because he's a man and she's a woman, he has a stronger claim because his father was her elder brother. Simple as that. Why does she act like she doesn't know the rules?
She says a lot more on that, like how convenient it is that, of all people, Jon's best friend and brother found this out, and now of all times... she's standing on the verge of an abyss here. All her efforts may be worth nothing after all. If her claim on rightfulness is built on her blood, then she has to acknowledge that Jon is more rightful an heir than she is, because of his blood.
Truth be told, there is no sexist double standard at play. The double standard she tries to have set in stone is that between Daenerys and Literally Everyone Else. See her actions and the consequences she has to bear in comparison to what others did...
Cersei blew up the Sept of Baelor - Daenerys set Slaver's Bay ablaze. Cersei earned disgust, fear, dismay. Daenerys... revalidated her reign in Meereen. Hundreds of people died in flames at either occasion. For either of them it was a victory, respectively. Cersei's action is used as negative propaganda, Daenerys uses hers as positive.
Robb beheaded Rickard Karstark - Daenerys beheaded that overzealous Slave Boy on her council. For Robb, his deed sealed his doom. For Daenerys, it led to her having kinda a harsh time... from which she ultimately emerged unscathed. After publicly executing an important member of her council, speaker of a lot of her supporters.
Margaery underestimated the power of the Faith - Daenerys entirely disposed of all cultural norms of the Dothraki and Meereenese. Margaery got overthrown by the High Sparrow and his militia, falling prey to people who are driven by their convictions dialled up to fanatism. Daenerys ended up with all the Dothraki following her, leaving their land and all ideals of their culture behind to adjust to the wishes of a foreigner who has murdered their entire leadership.
Jon upset the brothers of the Night's Watch with his decisions - Daenerys upset the Meereenese highborns with her decisions. Jon got murdered for it (yeah, he got better, but that was not his idea or responsibility). Daenerys ended up having the Sons of the Harpy and their allies extinguished good and large.
Melisandre set Shireen on fire - Daenerys set the guy in the crypt of Meereen on fire. Melisandre was subsequently called "evil" for murdering an innocent person who had nothing to do with the issue at hand. Daenerys suffered no consequences whatsoever for feeding a man to her dragons whose fault was ultimately that he was highborn, as far as we know.
Daenerys has never had to suffer full consequences. It has never gotten to the core of her brain that she's not a goddess, not an invincible heroine blessed and justified by prophecies, but simply a conqueror. Now she looks around herself and realizes that the people of Westeros don't love her as her Essoshi entourage does. And that they love Jon. And that, no matter how she dishes out Lordships, smiles her plastered-on smile and ingratiates herself to people, they don't accept her as they accept Jon. This ticks her off. Not only does he have the birthright, he has the people's love - were there an election, Jon would win.
Which is why she begs him to never tell anyone of his ancestry. Begs him, with wide, insane eyes and a shaking voice, clinging desperately to the reign she's been working towards. She's ridiculous and just a tad pathetic, and the scene would have made me laugh if I wasn't so concerned for Jon. Because she doesn't trust him anymore. She's begging him to keep it a secret because she views him as a threat, even though he's already said he doesn't want the damned throne. She won't let him ride Rhaegal anymore (which, in my opinion, led to Rhaegal's death, but that's another speculation). She doesn't trust him anymore now that she knows he's at least potential competition - and as she doesn't trust him, I think she will try to kill him soon.
Then there's the loss of Rhaegal, Missandei, and Jorah. Not her first losses, but the most recent and possibly those that have the largest impact on her. Her "baby", which she apparently didn't look after very well, and the two people whom she trusted the most. And Jorah could at least soften some of her crueller impulses. Missandei not so much - on the contrary, even with her last breath she fueled Daenerys' murderous rant. Eh. I used to like Missandei. What happened the last two episodes that she suddenly went full Why-won't-you-love-her-and-be-grateful? Whatevs, she's dead, and her death may have been the last straw for Dany, if it wasn't Rhaegal's.
And now I'm reading that Daenerys is getting a "villain upgrade"? An "unearned turn in her story"? No, it doesn't feel like that to me. It feels like a character arc that was built up over a long time is now finally paying out. She has never been "an unabashed hero". She has grown towards callousness, paranoia, cruelty and megalomania over a long time now. She's on the breaking point. So far she has been hungry for power. Now she's desperate for it, now that it might be taken away from her.
There has been quite a lot of talk about Daenerys being such a strong feminist character, and that her story is one of empowerment. To me, it reads like the story of her descent into madness. Killing people is not empowerment, it's murder. A woman forcing a man into marriage and mistreating him verbally is not empowerment, it's abuse. A queen giving the choice of "kneel before me or die" is not empowerment, it's proof of an awfully unhealthy, tyrannical hybris.
Daenerys has reached her logical conclusion. She has never been pure and unadultered good, she has gotten worse and worse, and now she is a Mad Queen, not a bit better than Cersei and four years past her last truly heroic deed. I hope someone pulls a Jaime Lannister on her before she pulls an Aerys on Westeros.
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