If you're looking to avoid SPOILERS for the most recent episode of Game of Thrones, back away immediately.
"The Bells," the penultimate episode of the eighth and final season of HBO's critically acclaimed juggernaut, was controversial for one major reason: Daenerys Targaryen went full on Mad Queen and the citizens of King's Landing paid for it.
To be fair, we all saw it coming during last week's episode, when Daenerys's trusted friend and adviser Missandei yelled "Dracarys" mere seconds before her execution. But the carnage that unfolded just after the Lannister army already surrendered was horrific, apocalyptic and nowhere near as cathartic as anyone anticipated.
And the show gave us two big hints years ago that Daenerys would mirror her own father's legacy.
Back in Season 2, Daenerys had an unsettling vision in The House of the Undying. She saw herself in a destroyed throne room, the roof broken, the room's contents exposed to falling snow. The vision shows Daenerys walking toward the throne but turning away before she touches it.
Many interpreted the scene to foreshadow Jon Snow's claim to the throne, but now it appears that wasn't snow at all: It was ash.
Game Of Thrones - Daenerys Vision Sceneyoutu.be
As we saw in this week's episode, Dany destroyed the Red Keep. It's highly likely we'll see a similar scene in next week's episode, the final episode of the series. Despite everything, she might not sit on that throne at all.
But will she face consequences? We don't know. If there's one thing Game of Thrones has always done, it's subvert expectations.
The second major hint the series provided was a vision Bran Stark had in Season 6 foreshadowing the destruction of King's Landing.
The vision shows Drogon, Daenerys's dragon, flying over King's Landing.
The vision also draws connections between the births of Daenerys's three dragons with scenes of her father, the Mad King, yelling "Kill them all!"
Bran sees Death of the Mad King Game of Thrones 6x06 - Bran's Visionyoutu.be
Suffice it to say that all of this has been written in stone––or shall we say, fire and blood––for quite some time now, and fans are all over it.
Things next week are going to be more lit than a King's Landing barbecue.
Travis Whitfill
Travis Whitfill
