WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for that latest episode of Game of Thrones, "The Bells."
It's never easy to watch your heroes fall, especially when you've rooted for them for years. Many fans of Game of Thrones were dealt an emotional blow in the series' penultimate dragon, when Daenerys Targaryen became the "Mad Queen" and laid fiery waste to King's Landing, even after the Lannister forces surrendered.
Her turn to from protagonist to antagonist came as a shock to many viewers, some of whom had gone so far as to name their daughters Daenerys or Khaleesi. However, that's the direction Dany has been headed, perhaps all along. The series planted the seeds for her fall at an early stage, and foreshadowed the events of "The Bells" on multiple occasions. If there was ever any doubt Daenerys would turn from the Breaker of Chains to the Queen of the Ashes, one needs only go back to the beginning of Game of Thrones.
Fire and Blood
Daenerys Targaryen was originally positioned as one of the series' protagonists, although she was seldom a virtuous hero. Yes, some of her actions were heroic, such as when she freed the slaves of Meereen. However, there was always another side; she burned her enemies alive, and declared war on anyone who stood in her way.
Reclaiming her birthright, the Iron Throne, has been Daenerys' ultimate goal from the moment she married Khal Drogo and stopped being the pawn of her cruel older brother. Her desire for power, and to reclaim what she believes was taken from her, as always been there, as has been the desire for revenge. Although she views herself as a just ruler, Daenerys isn't motivated by altruism to seize the Iron Throne; she does so because she believes it belongs to her.
Daenerys has repeatedly warned viewers of what she was. In the Season 2 episode "Garden of Bones," she essentially said what she would do years later, in "The Bells." Standing in front of a small army, she declared, "When my dragons are grown, we will take back what was stolen from me and destroy those who wronged me. We will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground."
That's far from the only time when she warned that those who oppose her will perish. Daenerys' willingness to execute her enemies has often been interpreted as heroic because they were terrible people. However, her methods were frequently cruel. As an example, look no further than the Season 7 episode "Eastwatch," in which she orders Drogon to burn Randyll and Dickon Tarly, Sam's father and brother, who refused to bend the knee.
Despite repeated assurances by Daenerys that she wasn't like her father, the Mad King, there were plenty of clues that she was. The more we learned about Aerys, his paranoia and his fondness for burning his enemies, the more the series revealed that his daughter was indeed following in his footsteps, even if neither she nor the viewers necessarily realized it at the time.
Daenerys rarely hesitated to use her dragons, whether to intimidate or to punish, and she repeatedly indicated an eagerness to unleash their fury on King's Landing. However, her advisers were usually able to guide her hand, and hold back her more destructive impulses. With Jorah and Missandei dead, and her trust in Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister and Varys broken, there was nothing to temper her rage. Not even the bells that signaled the surrender of the Lannister forces.
However, with or without her closest allies, the ghastly events of "The Bells" were virtually inevitable. Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Protector of the Seven Kingdoms, the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, the Breaker of Chains, guaranteed it. Fire and blood, that's what's promised by the words of House Targaryen. And Daenerys delivered, in spades.
Visions of the Future
Game of Thrones didn't simply warn us that Daenerys would destroy King's Landing through her declarations and her actions; the series showed us, through visions of the future.
When Dany visited the House of the Undying in Season 2, she saw a vision that spelled doom for the Westerosi capital: She found herself in the Great Hall of the Red Keep, overlooking the Iron Throne. The building's roof was destroyed, the windows smashed as snow fell. In that moment, she was the only one remaining, standing before the empty throne. Now we know that was foreshadowing the events of the penultimate episode. Whether that was falling snow or ash doesn't ultimately matter, because either seems applicable.
Another vision came in Season 6 when Bran Stark peered into the past and the future of Westeros. He views his father's death, the birth of Jon Snow, and the shadow of a dragon flying over King's Landing. It was difficult at the time to discern whether what Bran saw had already occurred or would come later. However, as that same scene took place during Daenerys' attack on King's Landing in "The Bells," we know for certain it was another vision of the future.
So, while the extent of the devastation, to say nothing of Daenerys' disregard for the lives of the innocents, may have been surprising, the razing of King's Landing shouldn't be. This was no abrupt turn, no writers' cheat; Game of Thrones has been telling audiences for years this would happen. It's just that some of us weren't watching for the signs.
Returning Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO for its series finale, Game of Thrones stars Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister, Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister, Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen, Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark, Maisie Williams as Arya Stark and Kit Harington as Jon Snow.