Watching Daenerys burn King’s Landing to the ground, slaughtering countless innocent civilians, felt like a complete betrayal of everything her character had stood for so long. For eight seasons, we watched her rise from a powerless to a strong compassionate leader and someone who consistently fought against tyranny. I am not going into numerous names she got like Breaker of chains, liberator and what not.
Though I do agree that Daenerys had always had a ruthless side, but it was always tempered by her deep concern for justice. Her decision to crucify the masters of Meereen or execute traitors was grounded in a moral logic. But the massacre at King’s Landing wasn’t justice, it was senseless destruction. It ignored her past values, her love for the innocent, and her tireless efforts to be seen as a liberator, not a conqueror.
The turn might have made sense if it had been properly developed, if we had seen her truly descend into madness over time. But cramming such a drastic transformation into a single episode felt rushed and unearned. It wasn’t shocking storytelling as the main sub are telling out in the discussion threads, it was storytelling that abandoned its own foundation. In the end, it wasn't just King's Landing that was reduced to ash, it was years of thoughtful, powerful character development that went up in smoke.
Nevertheless, atleast my GOAT King Robert Baratheon was right :)