Fans are furious about a change 'Game of Thrones' made to Daenerys' character
HBO
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Sunday's episode of "Game of Thrones" season six.
The fourth episode of "Game of Thrones" season six ended in a literal blaze of glory, as Daenerys Targaryen showed her would-be Dothraki overlords that they were mistaken to take her prisoner. Despite the general badassery of the scene — Daenerys killing every powerful khal in existence with one fell swoop — some fans were left annoyed.
Daenerys managed to kill the khals by locking them inside the temple of Vaes Dothrak and lighting the place on fire. While all the men burned alive, Daenerys emerged from the hut unscathed (though naked, because fire burns clothes just not Daenerys).
HBOYes, this happened once before in the series — the season one finale when Daenerys' dragons were born. But author George R.R. Martin, the creator of "A Song of Ice and Fire" (the books on which the show is based) has explicitly stated that Daenerys' survival in the flames was a one time thing.
Targaryens are not immune to fire, not according to Martin. Clearly the showrunners have taken a different approach, and some fans are not pleased.
NowThis editor Matt Saccaro tweeted out the discrepancy.
Khal Drogo's pyre was more than just a cremation — Daenerys was burning the witch Mirri Maz Duur. This blood sacrifice, along with the magic of her dragon's eggs, created a perfect storm of sorcery that left her unburnt.
Of course it's natural for the show to take a different course from the books — this has already happened with several significant characters such as Sansa's marriage to Ramsay or the Sand Snake's mutiny in Dorne. The immunity-to-fire thing may be a particular thorn in book readers' side simply because we've been telling show-only fans that this is wrong for years.
Redditor adziki wrote out a hypothetical conversation which illustrates this point:
Wife: Oh, so Danaerys will just burn it down and be fine since she's fireproof.
Me: Well, she's not really fireproof, just a one time thing
*Dany burns the hut down and walks out unburnt*
Me: oh goddammit
HBOWe even published a list of common misconceptions among "Game of Thrones" fans, and Daenerys assumed immunity to fire was one of them.
Redditor StannisIsNoMannis brought a sense of logic to the discussion, though. "The hardest thing to swallow was Dany being fireproof," they wrote. "That said, unlike with the books, we never had [the showrunners] explicitly show us that the season one miracle was a one-time event. We brought that assumption in from the books, when it's perfectly fair to assume that it's just a [Targaryen] power in the show."
This is true. The show has given far more indication that Daenerys is extra-tolerant (and now outright immune) to heat and flames. Early in season one, we saw her enter scalding hot baths and handle the dragon eggs when they were scorching. This scene is just confirmation of what show-only fans would have been picking up on.
HBOPlus, seeing Daenerys take control of the Dothraki without the help of Drogon was a surprising twist. Many viewers — myself included — believed her dragon would be the key to escaping Vaes Dothrak. But instead we got the powerfully independent Daenerys we've come to love, one who loves her dragons but doesn't depend on them for her strength. She is literally the Unburnt, just as she's said all along.
Now she has the loyalty of the entire Dothraki people — not just one khalasar. When they see her walk out of the flames, naked and unharmed like a god, everyone bows to her. She's right back where she ended season one, in command of some of the greatest fighters of Essos.
Hopefully this time she can use them to start heading west again, toward the Iron Throne she so desperately wishes to claim.