All the times ‘Game of Thrones’ foreshadowed Daenerys becoming a ‘Mad Queen’

Dany agreed to reopen Meereen’s fighting pits as a sign of goodwill and respect of the city’s history — but she was attacked and nearly killed as she was in the midst of compromise. The slave masters went on to kill random civilians and burn Dany’s ships.

“I will crucify the Masters. I will set their fleets afire, kill every last one of their soldiers, and return their cities to the dirt,” she decided. “That is my plan. You don’t approve?”

“You once told me you knew what your father was,” Tyrion responded. “He had caches of wildfire hidden under the Red Keep, the Guildhalls, the Sept of Baelor, all the major thoroughfares. He would have burned every one of his citizens. The loyal ones and the traitors. Every man, woman, and child. That’s why Jaime killed him.”

“This is entirely different,” Dany said.

“You’re talking about destroying cities,” he replied. “It’s not entirely different.”

Dany did give the masters an opportunity to surrender first, but this scene proved to be important. Not only did Tyrion draw a clear connection between Dany and her father, she also went on demonstrate her willingness to ignore his peaceful counsel.

Ultimately, Daenerys only managed to end her conflict with the masters of Slaver’s Bay when she let go of her advisors’ strategies and decided to simply burn them and their resources. She learned that her enemies take mercy as a sign of weakness, and that power — especially in the form of dragonfire — is extremely effective.