Daenerys Targaryen's Power Plays

[Rondo]

The decision to stay in Mereen is a good idea.  It's hard and it's slow but it is the right thing to do for many reasons.  Gives the dragons time to grow, gain battle experience for the soldiers in training (which is the bigger part of her army), learn how to rebuild after a major social overhaul (might be needed in Westeros if feudalism falls apart).

[Roswell]

On 2/2/2018 at 1:56 AM, Amris said:

In my opinion her most efficient political ploy is her fight to abolish slavery.

While at the same time causing enormous upheaval and bloodshed - it also provides her with a huge, h-u-g-e amount of loyal followers. And the ploy is even more effective (on her followers that is, if not on her enemies) because it is sincere. Because it actually is not a ploy at all.

It is who she is and she can't help it.

Someone who actually believes in something and does what she believes in to help people who have been hopeless and abused all their lives is very attractive to those people. Especially when she actually does change something.

And this 'ploy' which is no ploy attracts huge masses to her not just in Meereen or even Slaver's Bay but all over Essos. Of course this power also is a 'sword without a hilt' as Melisandre would say in that a revolutionary crowd is very hard to grasp and keep control over. But power it is nontheless. And on a continental scale.

It could be the great beginning of a future empire.  An empire built by the free people under her leadership.  This could be the dawn of a new Valyrian Empire but instead of one built with forced slave labor, it will be built by the people she liberated from captivity.   I hope this is the direction the story is headed.  I'm not really interested in what happens in the northern parts of Westeros.  I would much rather for George to focus the story in Slaver's Bay, the Reach, Dorne, the Free Cities, and dare I hope, to change his mind and take us to Asshai.

[Bowen Marsh]

How about surviving the hard life of someone on the run.  She traveled the free cities with her king for years and looked for allies before ending up at Illyrio's home. 

[Darth Sidious]

16 hours ago, Aline de Gavrillac said:

Me too.

Very impressive indeed.  What's more, she made use of Doreah's knowledge.  One of Dany's skills is learning from other people.  She showed Drogo a thing or two about lovemaking.

 

It must have been quite the shock for a man of the Dothraki horde to be mounted by a woman.  It's not a position they find themselves in.  But as the saying goes, don't knock it until you try it, and she must have rocked his world.  

[Damsel in Distress]

On 2/2/2018 at 11:04 PM, Allardyce said:

Dany is witty and you only have to read her verbal exchange with Mero for proof.  The Titan's Bastard was vulgar and insulting.  I thought Dany held her own and used her wits to spar with the man.  We know how it ended.  She outplayed Mero and won the fight with little loss to her side. 

Mero:  I believe I fucked your twin sister in a pleasure house back home.  Or was it you?

Dany:  I think not.  I would remember a man of such magnificence, I have no doubt.

Mero:  Yes, that is so.  No woman has forgotten the Titan's Bastard.  What say you take those clothes off and come sit on my lap?  If you please me, I might bring the Second Sons over to your side.

Dany:  If you bring the Second Sons over to my side, I might not have you gelded.

Mero:  Little girl, another woman once tried to geld me with her teeth.  She has no teeth now, but my sword is as long and thick as ever.  Shall I take it out and show you?

Dany:  No need.  After my eunuchs cut it off, I can examine it at my leisure.  It is true that I am a young girl, and do not know the ways of war.  Explain to me how you propose to defeat ten thousand Unsullied with your five hundred.  Innocent as I am, these odds seem poor to me.

Mero:  The Second Sons have faced worse odds and won.

Dany:  The Second Sons have faced worse odds and run.  At Qohor, when the Three Thousand made their stand.  Do you deny it?

I really enjoyed that exchange.  Dany has a sharp mind and thinks fast on her feet to come up these verbal jabs.  She gave back just enough insults to get his interest up but not enough direct aggression to worry the man. 

Many of George Martin's best writings are in those Dany chapters. 

 

That's just too good.  This is one of the best conversations in all of the books. 

[Damsel in Distress]

On 2/1/2018 at 7:48 PM, Moiraine Sedai said:

"Strong Belwas was a slave here in the fighting pits.  If this highborn Oznak should fall to such, the Great Masters will be shamed.  If Oznak wins it is poor victory for one so noble."

Psychological battle tactics.  Sun Tzu would be proud.  The Art of War being skillfully employed.

[Rosetta Stone]

On 2/2/2018 at 1:56 AM, Amris said:

In my opinion her most efficient political ploy is her fight to abolish slavery.

While at the same time causing enormous upheaval and bloodshed - it also provides her with a huge, h-u-g-e amount of loyal followers. And the ploy is even more effective (on her followers that is, if not on her enemies) because it is sincere. Because it actually is not a ploy at all.

It is who she is and she can't help it.

Someone who actually believes in something and does what she believes in to help people who have been hopeless and abused all their lives is very attractive to those people. Especially when she actually does change something.

And this 'ploy' which is no ploy attracts huge masses to her not just in Meereen or even Slaver's Bay but all over Essos. Of course this power also is a 'sword without a hilt' as Melisandre would say in that a revolutionary crowd is very hard to grasp and keep control over. But power it is nontheless. And on a continental scale.

Dany hid her ability to speak the language from the start of the negotiations.  She had a plan.  To give herself a bargaining advantage probably.  Hearing about the making of an unsullied from boy to man  turned her off and so she passed judgement on the slavers.  Every move she made in Astapor was smart.  It's too bad we haven't seen Dany play cyvasse.  Can you imagine a cyvasse tournament between Dany and Robb?  My money is on Dany but it will be a close game. 

This is off the topic but I'm curious how many languages she speaks.

[Varysblackfyre321]

How about burning one of the wise masters? 

She did that in order to avoid having to kill one of her wards.

Also her last exchange with Xaro, Xaro Daxos has her coming out the clear winner.

[Darth Sidious]

1 hour ago, Rosetta Stone said:

This is off the topic but I'm curious how many languages she speaks.

Three or more.  High Valyrian.  Dothraki.  Common Tongue.  

[The Lord of the Crossing]

On 2/1/2018 at 7:04 PM, Mon ami said:

I have been and always will be a Daenerys admirer.  So looking back at her character development from thirteen-year-old bride to Khal Drogo to Queen of Meereen, (and by rights the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men), Most Beautiful Woman in the World, and Mother of Dragons;  I cannot help but be awed by her many power plays.  I know the big moments are what most of her other fans think about but she made a few subtle but important plays early in her rise to power that are also almost as impressive.  Winning the love of Khal Drogo and establishing herself as the Khaleesi is very impressive concerning she was very young and forced to adapt to a hard, nomadic culture.  I want to know your favorite Daenerys power play.  Do you have any more examples of her subtle but effective power moves?

Earning the loyalties of her bloodriders and handmaidens is subtle but important.  Making Missandei part of the package deal with her Unsullied was crafty. 

 

On 2/3/2018 at 11:09 AM, Bowen 747 said:

I am of the opinion that Daenerys knew what she was doing when the dragons hatched.  It was no accident. 

I get the same impression. 

Daenerys -  "Thank you, Mirri Maz Duur, for the lessons you taught me."

Mirri Maz Duur - "You will not hear me scream."

Daenerys - "I will, but it is not your screams I want, only your life.  I remember what you told me.  Only death can pay for life."

Dany saw the contempt gone from the maegi's flat black eyes.  In its place was something that might have been fear.  Then there was nothing to be done but watch the sun and look for the first star.

She knew what she was doing.  How?  Well, Daenerys is special.  A distant memory passed down through her genes maybe.  I believe reincarnation is part of aSoIaF. 

[Darth Sidious]

She was waiting for the red comet.  The red comet appeared in the sky during Drogo's cremation.  I believe the red comet heightens the power of magic.  

 

[The Lord of the Crossing]

Per Old Nan's answer to Bran, the Red Comet announces the return of the dragons.  So yeah, the Red Comet was part of the cooking ingredients to "wake dragons from stone" and the rebirth of Dany into the new Azor Ahai.  And because the symbol of House Targaryen is a red dragon it also heralds their return. 

[The Lord of the Crossing]

One more thing about the Red Comet.  The strawhead (yellow blonde) slave girl, Doreah, told a tale of a broken moon and dragons pouring forth.  It's too outrageous a story but I am now believing this was how it actually happened long ago.  To be clear, I do not mean the dragons actually came from a broken moon.  The Red Comet/bleeding star looked like an injured moon and its appearance coincided with the appearance of the first dragons.  Both events happened  at the same time and the primitive people of the past naturally associated one with the other.  Lacking an understanding, they thought moons are large eggs and the bleeding comet is an injured moon.  Maybe it happened during an eclipse where it appeared the moon and the son collided.  The bleeding star appeared soon after.  The primitives made the conclusion that a giant eggs in the sky hatched.

[Moiraine Sedai]

1 hour ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

How about burning one of the wise masters? 

She did that in order to avoid having to kill one of her wards.

Also her last exchange with Xaro, Xaro Daxos has her coming out the clear winner.

I'm sure Xaro wept a river.  It's the manly thing to do in the greatest city.

 

 

[Son of Man]

1 hour ago, Noble Lothar Frey said:

Earning the loyalties of her bloodriders and handmaidens is subtle but important.  Making Missandei part of the package deal with her Unsullied was crafty. 

 

I get the same impression. 

Daenerys -  "Thank you, Mirri Maz Duur, for the lessons you taught me."

Mirri Maz Duur - "You will not hear me scream."

Daenerys - "I will, but it is not your screams I want, only your life.  I remember what you told me.  Only death can pay for life."

Dany saw the contempt gone from the maegi's flat black eyes.  In its place was something that might have been fear.  Then there was nothing to be done but watch the sun and look for the first star.

She knew what she was doing.  How?  Well, Daenerys is special.  A distant memory passed down through her genes maybe.  I believe reincarnation is part of aSoIaF. 

Dany knowing doesn't have to involve genetic memory and reincarnation.  She's very inquisitive and astute.  Asking the right questions, listening well, and combining the learned data can lead to wonderful conclusions.   The chain of events is rich with clues and our young lady is very intelligent.  First, dragonlore.  Dany is sure to have heard many stories of dragons from Viserys.  Second, family history.  Great-grandfather tried to hatch dragons with fire.  It ended badly.  Third, Doreah.  The story of the moon and the dragons.   Fourth, Dany had already made two attempts to hatch the eggs.  Firth, MMD.  The Maegi told her 'only death can pay for life.'

1-2) is self explanatory.  Dany has the background knowledge.  At least she has enough to build a theory on. 

3)  Dany is not superstitious.  I don't think she accepted Doreah's story for fact.  She was able to reason out what happened.  The moon got too close to the son.  I agree with the below post on the eclipse.  The moon cracked and dragons poured forth.  Dany must have concluded that the story got twisted over the tellings.  Something got lost in the tellings.  The moon didn't crack.  Dragon eggs on the ground cracked during the eclipse and out came dragons.  

4)  She tried hatching her eggs and failed. 

5)  Mirri tells her only death can pay for life.  Now Dany understood why the eggs failed to hatch.  Not enough heat and three must be sacrificed.  It just so happens Drogo and Rhaego are dead.  Mirri makes three.

 

[Son of Man]

On 2/1/2018 at 7:04 PM, Mon ami said:

I want to know your favorite Daenerys power play.  Do you have any more examples of her subtle but effective power moves?

Favorite - Riding her dragon out of the fighting pit.

Low key power move - Using logic to figure out how to hatch her dragon eggs.

[Quoth the raven,]

From A Dance with Dragons, p. 694.

Quote

"Be patient, my sweet," said hizdahr.  "They are about to loose the lions."

Daenerys gave him a quizzical look. "Lions?"

"Three of them.  The dwarfs will not expect them."

She frowned.  "The dwarfs have wooden swords.  Wooden armor.  How do you expect them to fight lions?"

"Badly," said Hizdahr, "though perhaps they will surprise us.  More like they will shriek and run about and try to climb out of the pit.  That is what makes this a folly."

Dany was not pleased.  "I forbid it."

"Gentle queen.  You do not want to disappoint your people."

"You swore to me that the fighters would be grown men who had freely consented to risk their lives for gold and honor.  These dwarfs did not consent to battle lions with wooden swords.  You will stop it.  Now."

Queen Daenerys Targaryen saved the lives of Tyrion Lannister and Penny.  The dwarfs owed her their very lives.  I would like to see Tyrion pledge his life and loyalty to Daenerys and forsake his Lannister family forever.  This is not a power play but it is an act of heroism from Dany.  You could say it is one of the best examples of compassion.  The dwarfs are nothing to Dany, strangers who have nothing to give and yet she risked irritating her new husband to save their lives. 

Have no doubts anymore about Hizdahr.  He's not a good man by any stretch.

[Varysblackfyre321]

3 minutes ago, Quoth the raven, said:

From A Dance with Dragons, p. 694.

Queen Daenerys Targaryen saved the lives of Tyrion Lannister and Penny.  The dwarfs owed her their very lives.  I would like to see Tyrion pledge his life and loyalty to Daenerys and forsake his Lannister family forever.  This is not a power play but it is an act of heroism from Dany.  You could say it is one of the best examples of compassion.  The dwarfs are nothing to Dany, strangers who have nothing to give and yet she risked irritating her new husband to save their lives. 

Have no doubts anymore about Hizdahr.  He's not a good man by any stretch.

Truly a beautiful scene to be hold. I think the fact Dany had saved Tyrion from the lions foreshadow Daenarys saving Tyrion from his own kinsmen(the lions of Casterly Rock). Though severely flawed she is still capable of great compassion especially to those who've nothing.

[Annalee]

On 2/2/2018 at 0:43 AM, Helena Kyle said:

Most of her moves are epic.  For something on a smaller scale it's harder to find something better than coming out of the Palace of Dust after outsmarting the undying warlocks in Qarth.  Dany's pages made A Clash of Kings exciting for me. 

I agree.  That book would have been boring without Dany's chapters.  She made that book good.

On 2/2/2018 at 10:44 AM, zandru said:

What "slave soldiers"? Dany's first order was to free her Unsullied. She has no slaves, only free men and women.

You make an excellent point about learning to govern! As noted, Robert Baratheon never even tried; he just assumed the Iron Throne was all about his doing anything he wanted to do, kicked back, and had a good time (8 stones of it). Dany buckled down and decided she needed to use Meereen as a "Government 101" school before attempting Westeros. The sudden exit on Drogon cut short Daenerys's training, and her last scenes give (me) the suggestion that she's no longer going to put off the move to Westeros once she gets back. Blood and Fire! Depending on what happens to her next, this could go either way. However, the records show that Dany will do the smart, unexpected thing. It remains to be seen whether the rest of her people in Meereen will be able to hold what they have.

Dany is the hero in the story.  I will find it hard to believe that she will leave the slaves to fend for themselves.  Dany will free as many slaves as possible and help them learn to defend themselves.

On 2/3/2018 at 11:09 AM, Bowen 747 said:

I am of the opinion that Daenerys knew what she was doing when the dragons hatched.  It was no accident. 

She did.  She knew the eggs would hatch. 

[Annalee]

23 hours ago, The Transporter said:

It could be the great beginning of a future empire.  An empire built by the free people under her leadership.  This could be the dawn of a new Valyrian Empire but instead of one built with forced slave labor, it will be built by the people she liberated from captivity.   I hope this is the direction the story is headed.  I'm not really interested in what happens in the northern parts of Westeros.  I would much rather for George to focus the story in Slaver's Bay, the Reach, Dorne, the Free Cities, and dare I hope, to change his mind and take us to Asshai.

This would be so awesome.  Valyria reborn from the ashes. 

8 hours ago, Son of Man said:

Dany knowing doesn't have to involve genetic memory and reincarnation.  She's very inquisitive and astute.  Asking the right questions, listening well, and combining the learned data can lead to wonderful conclusions.   The chain of events is rich with clues and our young lady is very intelligent.  First, dragonlore.  Dany is sure to have heard many stories of dragons from Viserys.  Second, family history.  Great-grandfather tried to hatch dragons with fire.  It ended badly.  Third, Doreah.  The story of the moon and the dragons.   Fourth, Dany had already made two attempts to hatch the eggs.  Firth, MMD.  The Maegi told her 'only death can pay for life.'

1-2) is self explanatory.  Dany has the background knowledge.  At least she has enough to build a theory on. 

3)  Dany is not superstitious.  I don't think she accepted Doreah's story for fact.  She was able to reason out what happened.  The moon got too close to the son.  I agree with the below post on the eclipse.  The moon cracked and dragons poured forth.  Dany must have concluded that the story got twisted over the tellings.  Something got lost in the tellings.  The moon didn't crack.  Dragon eggs on the ground cracked during the eclipse and out came dragons.  

4)  She tried hatching her eggs and failed. 

5)  Mirri tells her only death can pay for life.  Now Dany understood why the eggs failed to hatch.  Not enough heat and three must be sacrificed.  It just so happens Drogo and Rhaego are dead.  Mirri makes three.

 

Good explanation.