What will trigger Dany's madness?

[hollowcrown]

Targaryen madness seems to be triggered by stressful events.

For example, Aerys was a good king until he was captured by the rebels after which he became mad and paranoid.

Viserys seemed to have been quite a normal guy, not predisposed to evil deeds such as Joffrey's, until he eventually went mad and became cruel and vindictive after years of torment and being on the run.

That leaves the question - has Dany become mad already or is she on the way to madness? Her outcast from the Dothraki - dead son, dead husband, suicide attempt in a pyre, could be the trigger that started her down the road to madness as she has been a lot more vengeful and angry since.

However the events after she rode off on Drogon - ill, dehydrated, living like an animal, seeing visions, could also be indicative of her madness beginning.

What do you think?

[Rhaegars Heir]

how was she eating like an animal she has to eat and I don't think she brought a fork and knife with her. Also your making a huge assumption that every targaryen who has something traumatic happen to them is automatically going to become mad and that simply isn't the case

[The Santa of House Claus]

I think maybe that is the point, to keep her on the fine line between madness and brilliance so as to keep us guessing. I very much doubt she will take the road of madness. I think she maybe stuck a toe over that line, but will not follow it. That would be like having Jon Snow actually be dead. It would make their long, and sometimes boring story arcs kind of pointless.

[Alaynsa Starne]

I spose it depends on whether GRRM plans to make her a villain or a hero.

[hollowcrown]

I think maybe that is the point, to keep her on the fine line between madness and brilliance so as to keep us guessing. I very much doubt she will take the road of madness. I think she maybe stuck a toe over that line, but will not follow it. That would be like having Jon Snow actually be dead. It would make their long, and sometimes boring story arcs kind of pointless.

I think if it's written cleverly it could work ie. justifying everything in Dany's head with logic.

I mean if you went into Aerys' head and thought about some of the stuff he did such as killing the two Starks, it's not THAT dissimilar to some of the vengeance killings Dany does in Slaver's Bay (the 163 masters being crucified), it's just we never see it through Aerys' POV, but you see it through Dany's POV.

You could even argue that Aerys didn't go TRULY insane until he tried to blo up King's Landing at the end of the war.

[Guard of the Rainking]

I think that it's going to be a combination of someone taking her dragon(s) away and her realizing that she can't end slavery, and that she has caused some much death and suffering for nothing.

[Ziggy Targdust]

Nothing, she doesn't have it

[R.O.Edwards]

Barristan Selmy says he saw no taint in her. This could be a good sign for no madness.

[Queen‍‍‍‍‍‍ Alysanne‍‍™]

Aerys already had fits before he was kidnapped.

If anything Targaryen madness is only triggered if you had fits when you were younger. We started the book with Dany at 13 and we have seen no fits, Barristan that has grown up with Targaryens (2 mad ones) has seen no evidence, and Dany herself has been under alot of stress but has still kept sane compared to characters like Cersei.

And lets be real, anyone will have visions if they are hungry and sick in a deserted place.

There is no evidence for Dany being mad or even becoming mad. She even questions herself if she has the taint.

[Consigliere]

I don't think that Dany is mad. It is possible that she could end up going down a darker path in the future. IF that does happen it will not be as a result of insanity.

[The Silver King]

She won't go mad, not every Targaryen has to go mad. Drogon took her back to the Dothraki sea and she found herself there. She has now bonded with Drogon and seems to have at least some idea on the path she should take next. I think her mind is getting clearer and not teetering into madness.

[Tankbuster]

Dehydration.

[hollowcrown]

She won't go mad, not every Targaryen has to go mad. Drogon took her back to the Dothraki sea and she found herself there. She has now bonded with Drogon and seems to have at least some idea on the path she should take next. I think her mind is getting clearer and not teetering into madness.

A lot of fictional mad people seem to have an idea of what they want to do though - no conflict, just clarity. For example characters such as Sylar and Hannibal Lector are very driven despite being quite insane. You could even apply this to real world mad people such as Charles Manson. His family had very clear goals and ideals despite him being absolutely bonkers.

Same with Aerys being absolutely sure that blowing up Kings Landing and being reborn into a dragon would be the right thing to do rather than something else more rational.

[assjfjgjsgjljljglgjfjsduar]

I don't think she's actually mad (yet). Being incompetent is not the same as being mad. Nor is being villainous the same as being mad. I actually think there's something far more terrifying about villainy committed with good intentions and complete lucidity. ETA: To use your example, I think Sylar and Lecter were both aware that what they were doing was considered "evil." Whereas whatever Dany does, I think she actually convinces herself that it's good or done with good intentions.

[Groovemeister]

I think that it's going to be a combination of someone taking her dragon(s) away and her realizing that she can't end slavery, and that she has caused some much death and suffering for nothing.

That would certainly be an interesting route; have this idealistic youth who was striving so hard to do the right thing, and have her end up being nuty, like her father.

I fear for her post ADWD, what with her last chapter having Dany be discovered by Jhaqo's khalasar. Perhaps she'll be captured, and gang raped, who knows. That could be a catalyst leading her into vengeful, bitter madness.

[The Fresh PtwP]

1. Losing her Dragons.

2. Someone with a better claim.

[Guard of the Rainking]

That would certainly be an interesting route; have this idealistic youth who was striving so hard to do the right thing, and have her end up being nuty, like her father.

I fear for her post ADWD, what with her last chapter having Dany be discovered by Jhaqo's khalasar. Perhaps she'll be captured, and gang raped, who knows. That could be a catalyst leading her into vengeful, bitter madness.

I think that if she would burn the Khalassar with Drogon she'd become more ruthless and power mad with the power she wields. And the reaction of having her dragon(s) taken from her isn't going to be pleasant. Maybe even the main reason why she goes to Westeros. If you have read the Princess and the Queen there's a moment where:

Aegon II (a guy who has let his dragon eat his sister and done all sorts of ruthless stuff and has lost a half of his family) cries when his dragon dies.

[PatrickStormborn]

Dany lost her family before she was born, she grew up in exile, her brother abused her, she often lived in poverty, she lost her husband and her son, she faced the Red Waste, she had to banish the man she believed to be her most trustworthy friend, she's faced numerous assassination attempts, she had to witness her people being killed in a shadow war, her city was besieged, she had to lock the pale mare victims out of the city, and she lived for weeks in the Dothraki Sea, alone, dehydrated, starving, and suffering from a miscarriage.

And she still hasn't broken.

GRRM would have a hard time selling Dany as someone who can break after everything she's been through.

[daisyalesounds]

Aerys was a good king until the rebels came? I don't think so, it's said multiple times that he roasted people for funsies. They didn't give him the name "Mad King" for nothing, and remember the scheme where his plan was to roast all of King's Landing never came to light, the smallfolk don't know about that, yet he still got the nickname.

Viserys was a normal guy? You read the books, yes? In the first minute of meeting him, he gives his 13 year old sister an incredibly painful nipple twist. There's like at least 6 things wrong with that sentence.

Dany wasn't outcast from the Dothraki. In fact, if she wanted it, she could've claimed the most honored place held by women in the clan in Vaes Dothrok.

I think you need to do some re-reading, friend. I respect fan theories, especially outlandish ones, but your evidence is highly flawed.

[Guard of the Rainking]

Aerys was a good king until the rebels came? I don't think so, it's said multiple times that he roasted people for funsies. They didn't give him the name "Mad King" for nothing, and remember the scheme where his plan was to roast all of King's Landing never came to light, the smallfolk don't know about that, yet he still got the nickname.

Viserys was a normal guy? You read the books, yes? In the first minute of meeting him, he gives his 13 year old sister an incredibly painful nipple twist. There's like at least 6 things wrong with that sentence.

Dany wasn't outcast from the Dothraki. In fact, if she wanted it, she could've claimed the most honored place held by women in the clan in Vaes Dothrok.

I think you need to do some re-reading, friend. I respect fan theories, especially outlandish ones, but your evidence is highly flawed.

Are we talking about Robert and the gang or the Darklyns?