It’s been several months since HBO’s Game of Thrones completed its eight-season run, but for many fans, the conclusion to Daenerys Targaryen’s storyline left a little or a lot to be desired. After the discovery that she was actually Jon Snow’s aunt, she became paranoid that he would attempt to steal her right to the throne. However, the big twist came when Daenerys burned King’s Landing to the ground. It seems that a newly discovered deleted scene would have helped to explain her decision to go the mad queen route.
While Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys rode Drogon all the way to King’s Landing in the Season 8 episode “The Bells,” no one expected her to make the decision to kill thousands of people and burn the capital of Westeros to the ground. After all, the Mother of Dragons only meant to overthrow Cersei Lannister as queen and take her rightful place on the Iron Throne.
When Game of Thrones’ series finale was nominated for an Emmy Award, the script for the episode was made available. Now, the Writers Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb in Los Angeles (via Insider) has released the scripts for every Season 8 episode and a key moment from “The Bells,” in which Daenerys looks upon the Lannister sigil with rage, was deleted from the episode.
The scene in question sees Daenerys flying Drogon over the Red Keep. The script draws focus “on flying Dany as she looks at the exterior of the Throne Room, the room her ancestors built.”
The scene presumably had no dialogue, but after Daenerys sees the Lannister sigil, the script describes it as a “symbol of everything that has been taken from her” and it’s only then that she decides to unleash her anger on King’s Landing.
Many fans criticized the episode for not giving Daenerys Targaryen enough perspective. After the destruction of King’s Landing begins, Daenerys’ face is never seen again, so the audience’s connection with her reasoning was essentially cut off. If the cut scene had been left in the episode, fans may have understood the feelings behind Daenerys’ actions. As it were, many Game of Thrones fans called the scene out for setting the Mother of Dragons back in her development.
Personally, I think the scene from “The Bells” lacked an overall interiority. Game of Thrones went from wanting Daenerys to rule over King’s Landing to eviscerating it without offering a single moment to account for the abrupt change. The cut scene could’ve worked to bridge the gap between one scene and the next. Otherwise, Daenerys burning a city she had fought to rule for so long fell flat.
Elsewhere in Game of Thrones news, HBO is currently working on several spinoffs to the hit drama series, though only one has been confirmed so far. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on filming, casting, and more. In the meantime, be sure to check out our complete guide to every new and returning show premiering through November.
