‘Game of Thrones’ Showrunner Reveals Why Daenerys Has Become So Ruthless

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Game of Thrones! Read at your own risk…

While there is no shortage of ruthless characters on Game of Thrones, one key player who typically refrained from displaying a merciless attitude in past seasons was Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys Targaryen. However, in the current seventh season of the HBO series, the Mother of Dragons has shown exactly how brutal she can be.

Even though Daenerys has a formidable army and a trio of fire-breathing dragons, she still feels like she is fighting at a disadvantage, according to showrunner David Benioff. During an “Inside the Episode” segment, Benioff explained why Dany’s seemingly merciless behavior may be necessary to achieve victory in the battle for the Iron Throne.

“One of the things that Dany has found immensely frustrating in the beginnings of this war against Cersei is that she is being asked to fight on a certain moral standard and Cersei isn’t,” Benioff said. “Because of that Cersei has an advantage over her. The more ruthless opponent will often win.”

On last Sunday’s episode, “Eastwatch,” Dany, alongside her most fearsome dragon, Drogon, and her Dothraki army, had just defeated the Lannister forces in battle. The Breaker of Chains then offered her surviving enemies the choice to either “bend the knee,” or die.

“I wouldn’t say she’s acting like the ‘Mad King’ because it’s rational. She’s giving them a choice and they choose not to bend the knee to her. She accepts that choice. And she does exactly what she told them she would do,” Benioff said.

He continued by saying, “From her standpoint, she’s not acting insane in any way. She’s just being tough, which is what she needs to be to win. That’s one perspective. Tyrion has a different perspective. Hopefully, people watching will have their own and they’ll decide for themselves whether they think what she did was just or immoral.”

While Dany seems to have the upper hand in the battle to rule over the Seven Kingdoms, there are those that predict she might be doomed to never sit on the Iron Throne. Read why here.

Tune into Game of Thrones on Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.