Why did Drogo want to marry Dany?

[Maroucia]

I was watching the first episode of a Game of Thrones yesterday and wondered about something after seeing the Drogo/Daenarys wedding.

Why did Khal Drogo wanted to marry Dany in the first place? Viserys said it was because Drogo wanted to marry a princess, but why would he want that? Drogo don’t come across to me as a man who would fancy such things.

Also, the bargain is not really interesting. Drogo gives 40 thousand men, Viserys in exchange offers his sister, but they have no ally or gold; they have nothing…

So why??

[The Swaggering Bravo]

He wanted a trophy wife and she was probably one of those gifts that keep Dothraki from attacking the free cities. I believe there's been a thread on this topic already, though.

[_Oberyn_]

Bragging rights. Dany is just something shinny other khals do not have.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Trophy wife. There is only a single "last Targaryen princess" in the world and the production is unlikely to start over.

[Inigo Montoya the Second]

I agree with everyone.

Also, Dorreah says something like "if he wanted the dothraki way, would he have married you?" So I think he just wanted someone different out of curiosity as well.

[LadyoftheNorth72]

I actually find this question interesting as well (although I doubt it will ever be answered). What we are apparently supposed to assume is that it is due to the fact that she is a highborn princess, and beautiful in a starkly different way from Dothraki women.

I find the first assumption hard to accept. Drogo is already at the height of power among his own people. Dany may be highborn, but she brings nothing to the table that usually makes a highborn girl a desirable match - no alliances, no powerful family, no wealth, nothing but her dubious claim to a throne that Drogo could not care less about.

I suppose it could be the idea of having a "treasure" in human form that no other khal has. But frankly, I would imagine that a man like Drogo would look at frail and childish Dany and assume that she would never survive the lifestyle of the Dothraki, much less be strong enough to bear him strong children.

I also find it peculiar that we never see a mention of any other Dothraki wedding or marriage, ever. That there have been other khaleesi is obvious from the existence of the dosh khaleen, but they are all described as older/crones. None of the bloodriders appears to be married, no other wedding celebrations are ever mentioned (and you would think that in a community numbering 40,000, they would happen with reasonable regularity). In fact, the impression I got was that the Dothraki in general approach the subject of breeding very similarly to a large herd of animals ...the last man standing in a fight over a woman gets her (for a minute), they consider themselves as honoring the lamb men by improving their stock with Dothraki seed via rape - there is absolutely nothing to indicate that romantic love, or formal unions (arranged or not), are any part of their culture at all. Frankly I can't imagine how any Dothraki woman ever has a clue who might have fathered her children.

Perhaps marriage is only for the khals. However, that makes no sense to me either, as becoming a khal has zero to do with who your parents are/were; you have to fight for the right to lead a khalasar. So why even the khals would care what children they fathered with whom is hard to imagine. Rhaego might have taken over Drogo's khalasar if Drogo had lived and ruled long enough for Rhaego to grow to maturity and turned out a fierce enough fighter and good enough leader, but it is made very plain that the khalasar has no interest in following him simply because he is Drogo's son. In fact, they would have killed him to prevent him from growing up to be a rival.

[Maroucia]

(this has been written before reading Lady of the North post)

Yeah but for a guy who wanted something different then the Drothraki way, he didn’t take much interest in his Westerosi girl at first. She had to come and grab him to make him think of her as something more then the girl with whom he did his Dothraki style before he went to sleep after drinking with his friends.

As for Dany being a trophy wife, I think you are all right with that, but isn’t 40 thousand men a lot to pay for a silver hair girl you don’t even want to talk with?

I may just don’t get the Dothraki culture though….

[Maroucia]

I actually find this question interesting as well (although I doubt it will ever be answered). What we are apparently supposed to assume is that it is due to the fact that she is a highborn princess, and beautiful in a starkly different way from Dothraki women.

I find the first assumption hard to accept. Drogo is already at the height of power among his own people. Dany may be highborn, but she brings nothing to the table that usually makes a highborn girl a desirable match - no alliances, no powerful family, no wealth, nothing but her dubious claim to a throne that Drogo could not care less about.

I suppose it could be the idea of having a "treasure" in human form that no other khal has. But frankly, I would imagine that a man like Drogo would look at frail and childish Dany and assume that she would never survive the lifestyle of the Dothraki, much less be strong enough to bear him strong children.

I also find it peculiar that we never see a mention of any other Dothraki wedding or marriage, ever. That there have been other khaleesi is obvious from the existence of the dosh khaleen, but they are all described as older/crones. None of the bloodriders appears to be married, no other wedding celebrations are ever mentioned (and you would think that in a community numbering 40,000, they would happen with reasonable regularity). In fact, the impression I got was that the Dothraki in general approach the subject of breeding very similarly to a large herd of animals ...the last man standing in a fight over a woman gets her (for a minute), they consider themselves as honoring the lamb men by improving their stock with Dothraki seed via rape - there is absolutely nothing to indicate that romantic love, or formal unions (arranged or not), are any part of their culture at all. Frankly I can't imagine how any Dothraki woman ever has a clue who might have fathered her children.

Perhaps marriage is only for the khals. However, that makes no sense to me either, as becoming a khal has zero to do with who your parents are/were; you have to fight for the right to lead a khalasar. So why even the khals would care what children they fathered with whom is hard to imagine. Rhaego might have taken over Drogo's khalasar if Drogo had lived and ruled long enough for Rhaego to grow to maturity and turned out a fierce enough fighter and good enough leader, but it is made very plain that the khalasar has no interest in following him simply because he is Drogo's son. In fact, they would have killed him to prevent him from growing up to be a rival.

You totally get my point and explained it even better then I did.

[Lord Damian]

I do not think that Drogo ever promissed Viserys an army to take Westeros. I think Illyrio lied to him. Viserys did not know anybetter. Drogo was probably wanting a new woman to bed, something different to stinky arid climate slave women. Jorah, who did learn Dothraki, advised Viserys before he went nuts that Drogo views Dany as a "gift", which means not as a payment for an army, meaning he was owed her because he was Khal and he found her pleasing. Viserys was cheated.

[Hear Us Roar]

Trophy wife. There is only a single "last Targaryen princess" in the world and the production is unlikely to start over.

[eyeheartsansa]

I was watching the first episode of a Game of Thrones yesterday and wondered about something after seeing the Drogo/Daenarys wedding.

Why did Khal Drogo wanted to marry Dany in the first place? Viserys said it was because Drogo wanted to marry a princess, but why would he want that? Drogo don’t come across to me as a man who would fancy such things.

Also, the bargain is not really interesting. Drogo gives 40 thousand men, Viserys in exchange offers his sister, but they have no ally or gold; they have nothing…

So why??

It' not that complicated.. she's young, hot, foreign. Drogo must have a taste for the exotic if he is buddies with Illyrio; I don't see why he wouldn't, being a rich and powerful man himself. The bargain must have been lost somewhere in translation if there was any bargain at all; the Doth are used to just taking things they want, in exchange for not killing you. It must have seemed a bit odd that it was so easy this time. As someone else has stated, there's really no indication outside of Illyrio's story that Drogo promised an army at all, which to Drogo would make poor Vis seem more delusional and loony than he already is.

The real question imo is not why Drogo would want Dany, but what are Illyrio's motives? Did he really think they would just hand Vis an army? Did he set up the whole arrangement in order to distract / occupy Vis and Dany while waiting for Aegon to come of age? Does he just find everything very amusing?

[The Drunkard]

Hot.

[Qhorin Halfhand and Yoren]

Trophy Wife.

She is also a child and perhaps Drogo was a pedophile and preferred them that age.

[Teal'c]

It' not that complicated.. she's young, hot, foreign. Drogo must have a taste for the exotic if he is buddies with Illyrio; I don't see why he wouldn't, being a rich and powerful man himself. The bargain must have been lost somewhere in translation if there was any bargain at all; the Doth are used to just taking things they want, in exchange for not killing you. It must have seemed a bit odd that it was so easy this time. As someone else has stated, there's really no indication outside of Illyrio's story that Drogo promised an army at all, which to Drogo would make poor Vis seem more delusional and loony than he already is.

The real question imo is not why Drogo would want Dany, but what are Illyrio's motives? Did he really think they would just hand Vis an army? Did he set up the whole arrangement in order to distract / occupy Vis and Dany while waiting for Aegon to come of age? Does he just find everything very amusing?

I think Illyrio/Varys thought Danaerys and Viserys would die on the Dothraki Sea. This would be evidence that YG is fake Aegon and not real Aegon. If Illyrio and Varys are supporting Targs they should be supporting all Targs. Unless they were unsure of whether Dany and Viserys would be crazy like Aerys. Viserys was old enough to show the signs. If Illyrio and Varys are supporting true Targs, YG is the real deal and they think Rhaegar's line is vetted for sanity. It's still very much up in the air what Illyrio and Varys are up to.

[mmp]

She's his type.

Also, plot necessity.

[eyeheartsansa]

I think Illyrio/Varys thought Danaerys and Viserys would die on the Dothraki Sea. This would be evidence that YG is fake Aegon and not real Aegon. If Illyrio and Varys are supporting Targs they should be supporting all Targs. Unless they were unsure of whether Dany and Viserys would be crazy like Aerys. Viserys was old enough to show the signs. If Illyrio and Varys are supporting true Targs, YG is the real deal and they think Rhaegar's line is vetted for sanity. It's still very much up in the air what Illyrio and Varys are up to.

Yeah, I think Illyrio is actually a central mystery in the series and one of my favorite characters to speculate about. It seems that he would have spent enough time with them to see clearly that Vis was useless and that Dany had some potential .. so why not dispose of Vis and marry Dany to Aegon? Is this option still on the table? I've said in other threads, Dany owes a great deal to Illyrio and I expect her to have to come to terms with this very soon.

[Jern Ormen]

Probably as a trophy wife. A Targaryen princess makes for quite the prestigious wife, seeing as there is only one of them left. Drogo comes to care for her once he realizes that they suit each other, but initially it was probably something like a trophy wife deal.

Illyrio likely has some long term endgame for Dany, but I can only speculate as to what that is currently.

[The guy from the Vale]

I also assume thet Illyrio and Varys are Blackfyre loyalists (Varys potentially a Blackfyre, and Illyrio might have been married to one... Varys' sister perhaps), and Aegon is a Blackfyre too (i.e., Illyrio's son). There are other theories I find plausible, but this one makes the most sense to me at the moment.

Under this assumption, it makes a ton of sense for Illyrio to send Viserys and Dany into their doom: Viserys is probably the one person who can unequivocally out Aegon as fake, and these two are perfect targets for King Bob's Targaryen hate so Aegon can hide better. Also, it makes sure Pentos is unharmed by the Dothraki this time around.

But while Viserys' death is important for Illyrio's strategy, Dany dying is pretty much optional. He probably prefers it that way, but since she survives and becomes a üpolitical force in her own right, she becomes the perfect match for Aegon - the last two 'Targaryens' marry, giving Aegon further legitimacy and 'righting the wrong' of Blackfyre suppression in one stroke... until Tyrion throws a spanner in the works of these two schemers...

[eyeheartsansa]

... double post, mods delete pls.

[eyeheartsansa]

I also assume thet Illyrio and Varys are Blackfyre loyalists (Varys potentially a Blackfyre, and Illyrio might have been married to one... Varys' sister perhaps), and Aegon is a Blackfyre too (i.e., Illyrio's son). There are other theories I find plausible, but this one makes the most sense to me at the moment.

Under this assumption, it makes a ton of sense for Illyrio to send Viserys and Dany into their doom: Viserys is probably the one person who can unequivocally out Aegon as fake, and these two are perfect targets for King Bob's Targaryen hate so Aegon can hide better. Also, it makes sure Pentos is unharmed by the Dothraki this time around.

But while Viserys' death is important for Illyrio's strategy, Dany dying is pretty much optional. He probably prefers it that way, but since she survives and becomes a üpolitical force in her own right, she becomes the perfect match for Aegon - the last two 'Targaryens' marry, giving Aegon further legitimacy and 'righting the wrong' of Blackfyre suppression in one stroke... until Tyrion throws a spanner in the works of these two schemers...

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

This has not occurred to us, dude. It fits. House Blackfyre is a faction that I'd never considered; if there is a place for them in the bigger scheme of things, it is here. And protection for Pentos would have been a fair exchange for Dany, which explains Drogo's marriage pact.