Iain Glen (Jorah) refutes idea that Daenerys will become a villain

On a couple of occasions, characters on Game of Thrones have compared Daenerys Targaryen to her father, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. And between the time she burned down a hut full of khals and the time she almost destroyed Meereen before Tyrion talked her out of it, it’s not entirely unfounded. What if the show takes that comparison and runs with it? What if, gods forbid, Daenerys becomes a villain?

It’s possible, but you can count on long-time Daenerys supporter Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) to step up for his queen. Speaking to the Huffington Post, Glen called the “Mad Queen” theory “highly unlikely,”

"I mean, this is Iain speaking and Jorah speaking ― we share the same voice ― my belief in her is such that I can’t see her going that way myself, so I think that’s highly unlikely. It becomes academic whether I would stand by her or not because I don’t believe that would happen."

If Glen is anything like Jorah, his opinion is obviously biased. But as he points out, at the end of the day, no one but showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss know for sure which direction this story will go, so we’ll discover whether Dany slips into villainy together. “We have a sense that things are moving toward their end game,” he said, “but no one knows.”

Elsewhere, fellow adviser to the stars Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) brought up a key component of his character’s moral compass while speaking to Asian media outlet InterAksyon,

"Like Samwell, Davos is one of those characters who will put their hand up and say, ‘You can’t do this, this is wrong, this is morally and ethically wrong.’ There are a lot of morally ambiguous people on the show, so you need some characters to speak up for the audience."

Davos’ devotion to keeping it real is appreciated. Just don’t ask Cunningham about spoilers. “One of the wonderful things about ‘Game of Thrones’ is the surprises,” he said. “It is beautifully written, constantly surprising, scary, dangerous, and sometimes very difficult to watch. There are very few shows that challenge you as a viewer and it’s amazing the way this show draws your emotion.”

As it ends up, Cunningham has some opinions about Daenerys’ status as a villain, too, although not stated in so many words. “Daenerys has done some questionable things using those three big weapons,” he said. “She’s still a young lady even though she is a queen.”

"To win something you have to beat something and that’s a difficult decision for a young lady to make. And Cersei has done terrible, terrible things but you understand why she does it. She has this love for her children and this love makes her crazy. Power can be an isolating thing."

With Davos, Daenerys, and Cersei all in different camps, we’ll see if he lend either of them any of his wisdom when season 7 kicks off on July 16.

Next: Game of Thrones season 7 preview

Other fun notes from Cunningham’s interview:

• In season 5, Davos joined Jon Snow and the rest of the Northern cast members at Castle Black. Cunningham said it felt like “going into another show,” and admitted to missing working with Stephen Dilane (Stannis).
• How does Cunningham introduce people to Game of Thrones? “I usually show them a YouTube video of people’s reactions towards the Red Wedding episode. The video is quite famous, it’s six minutes long and then they will see people horrified and screaming and that’s when I say, ‘That’s why you should watch this show.'”

That would certainly show off the passion fans have for the show, although we’re not sure ruining one of its biggest moments is the best strategy. It’s perhaps the only questionable decision Ser Davos has ever made.