31 Things We Learned from the Game of Thrones Women

Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO

7. Nothing is black-and-white.

Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys learns this the hard way. After learning that the masters of Meereen crucified slave children, she does the same to them. However, this is done without trial or inquiry. As a result, Daenerys is guilty of torturing innocent people as much as the masters were. While plenty of them were guilty of the children’s deaths, some were not, as evidenced by Hizdahr zo Loraq’s father. Hizdahr pleads on behalf of his family, to have his father’s body returned, because he had strongly opposed the mistreatment of slaves. Of course, a slave is still a slave, but Daenerys’ method of dealing with the slavers is in direct conflict to her desire to be a compassionate, benevolent ruler.

In a nutshell, it is important to have all the facts, if possible, before you act out. Otherwise, you can be in major danger of becoming what you’re fighting against. Game of Thrones is full of character who are on the verge of doing just that. They don’t know how to respond to what is going on around them so they strike back. It is just a vicious cycle watching each character almost become what they hate most in the world of Westeros.