History
Daenerys is the last member of the Targaryen dynasty. Her family ruled Westeros for hundreds of years before Robert Baratheon mounted a rebellion that killed her crazy father and forced his followers to smuggle Dany across the Narrow Sea, where she grew up in exile under the thumb of her unstable brother Viserys.
Viserys, eager to reclaim his father’s throne, sold Dany to the warlord Khal Drogo in exchange for an army. It was a good plan in theory, but Viserys adapted to life on the road rather less well than he’d hoped, while Dany adapted far better. By the end of that adventure, Viserys and Khal Drogo were both dead, and Drogo’s army was scattered. However, Dany found her calling as a leader, and got three baby dragons out of the bargain, so it all worked out.
Over the next few seasons, Dany amassed armies of her own and built a reputation as a benevolent if bloodthirsty conqueror, someone who could free downtrodden slaves in one breath and crucify their masters in the next. She tried her hand at more benign leadership during her reign as the Queen of Meereen, but after she got run out of town on a dragon, she embraced her old fire-and-blood tactics and returned to the city in full control of a new Dothraki army and all three of her three dragons, each of which were now big enough to do serious damage.
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Status
From the beginning, Daenerys’ stated goal has been to sail to Westeros and take back the throne that Robert Baratheon took from her father. At the end of season 6, she was finally making good on her promise, standing at the head of a massive fleet and sailing west. Cersei Lannister, who now sits the Iron Throne, has much reason to be concerned.