20 takeaways from Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon, behind the scenes of Game of Thrones
By Daniel Roman
Image: Game of Thrones/HBO
18. Many people on the creative team had no idea Dany’s heel turn was coming, including Emilia Clarke
Throughout Game of Thrones, little was as much of a gut punch as Daenerys Targaryen’s descent into pyromaniacal madness. Thrones received a lot of flack for how it handled Daenerys’ heel turn in the series’ penultimate episode, “The Bells.” Many claimed the show rushed her transformation, giving us the bib moment without taking the time to really earn it. Whether you agree or not, it’s a plot twist that makes you watch the rest of the show in a different way, because there are quite a few hints early on that Dany could end up like this.
Still, fans weren’t the only ones left scratching their heads. Cast and crew members also didn’t know this was where things were heading. Take director Alex Graves, who helmed great episodes like “The Mountain and the Viper” and “The Children.” He also shot “Breaker of Chains,” the episode where Dany begins her conquest of Meereen. “I actually did not know we were telling the story of Daenerys going the way of her ancestors,” Graves said. “I thought were telling the story of her not doing that.”
Of course, no one was more taken aback by Daenerys’ fate than Emilia Clarke, the actor who played her for nearly a decade. Benioff and Weiss knew where Daenerys’ story was headed and tried to steer Clarke toward playing up Dany’s “cold expressionless” during her more ruthless scenes, but it was often done without explaining to her the why of it all.
It all culminated with her receiving the scripts for season 8, and being totally floored by what lay in store for her character. “I genuinely did this, and it’s f***ing embarrassing and I’m going to admit to you,” Clarke said. “I called my mom and said, ‘I read the scripts and I don’t want to tell you what happens but can you just talk me off this ledge? I just went walking and I’m having a little cry. It really messed me up.’ And then I was asking my mom and brother really weird questions, and they were like, ‘What are you asking us this for? What do you mean, ‘Do you think Daenerys is a good person?””
It makes some sense that the show would play its bigger twists close to the vest considering all of the issues it had with leaks…but at the same time, it feels pretty unconventional that even the actor playing Daenerys wasn’t told where her arc was heading. The fans who were blindsided are in good company.
