Between Sansa and Daenerys, who would make the better ruling Queen?

[myhalfgroat]

to the OP: you did a great job of laying out the pros and cons of each character. even though I may disagree with some parts it still seems like a pretty unbiased assessment.

I think right now, Dany would make the better ruler. she has experience and Sansa doesn't. having said that, Dany is a pretty poor ruler. she's got the conquering thing down for sure but she doesn't seem to be able to pull it together. as others have said, she acts impulsively and emotionally without much thought about the long-term consequences of what she's doing. ex. how excited is Westeros going to be when they are invaded by a pillaging, raping, murdering horde of Dothraki? and if she bars the Dothraki from pillaging, raping, and taking prisoners as slaves, why the hell would they travel the ocean and fight for her? they get nothing out of that deal. when GRRM started this series he wanted to talk about the mechanics of ruling. he has a quote along the lines of "ok, Aragon ruled as a good and wise king. but how? what was his tax policy? what did he do with the orcs?" well Dany gets a lot of credit for freeing slaves but now what? economic collapse and starvation. had she given just a little bit of thought to it she could have started with imposing strict laws that forced the masters to treat slaves humanely or they sacrifice a percentage of their wealth.

my point is, yes slavery is bad, but so is starving to death. so that's my biggest problem with Dany's ability to govern. on the plus side she inspires loyalty in almost everyone around her, she hasn't met an army/city/opposition that she couldn't take down, and her dragons alone make her a force to be reckoned with and even demi-godlike to some. all of that makes her a helluva leader I just hope she can translate those qualities into an ability to calmly rule. 

Sansa has grown on me some (which isn't saying much) and her trajectory could bring her into the role of a great monarch. or it could not. she's spent time at court to see how it operates and she has LF schooling  her on the ins and outs of intrigue. she was raised to be a lady and knows extensively about the houses of the 7K. so she has a stellar background for ruling... but she hasn't shown she has the capacity for it. if she demonstrates a knack for playing the game I think she'll be great; but if she doesn't have that ability she'll end up a doormat that people wipe their feet on as they step into the power vacuum.

[Suzanna Stormborn]

On 12/9/2016 at 7:08 PM, Lord Friendzone said:

I don't find it funny. What I find funny is your idea that Jon would 100% hate her for this specific act, if he knew context and he probably will...Viserys threaten her and her child in Vaes Dothrak... he'll have other things to do. She might kill Faegon and here we agree. That seems more relevant but Jon might be getting darker. He might do very questionable acts himself,

 

On 12/9/2016 at 8:34 PM, Maxxine said:

You make this very black & white and it's not. I highly Jon doubt has a like/dislike list that is that rigid. Stannis killed his own brother & burned others for questionable reasons but yet Jon helps bc of the good things & the good intentions Stannis has. If you only mention the kill everyone under 12 thing you completely ignore the good things Dany has done like free the slaves. It ignores the rest of the context. Just equating Alester to Viserys also ignores the context. Those were two completely different situations so it's not guaranteed that Jon would react the same way to both. In regards to Aegon, once it's again you're making too black & white especially considering the mystery surrounding Aegon. Whose to say anyone will believe he is who he says he is. If no one believes it & she kills people will just say she killed a pretender no big deal. If anything I think it would end somewhat like the Blackfyre rebellions. Some people will believe Aegon was the real thing so Dany is a kinslayer but others will be on her side.

 

Exactly!! Jon is a realistic guy just like all the other characters.  Him and Mormont had no problem at all with the torture (to death) of wildings just to get answers about where the rest of them were massing in CoK.  Qhorin literally tells the story that he tortured some people to death, and Jon is like; (total tacit compliance with torturing) and "I'll go with you this time Qhorin".

There are no saints in these books.

[Mladen]

On 12/9/2016 at 9:55 PM, Suzanna Stormborn said:

Yep, it never ends. All the other hundreds of characters in the books who kill children is NBD, Dany is the only one worth mentioning for whatever reason, on whatever thread, no matter what the topic or subject.

It should be noted that on this board, Daenerys, as one of the protagonists, is discussed in great length, so it is quite normal that some arguments are repeated. Also, people think of Dany as one of the heroes of the story. I consider her one of the heroes of the story, and killing children is not what "heroes" are supposed to do. Yes, this is not saga about heroes, but about real human beings, but it doesn't mean some people - primarily Jon and Dany, can't be seen through that spectrum. 

So, while it is established that Tywin, Roose or Randyll Tarly are horrible human beings, that is not the case with Dany. People expect Tywin to do the most deplorable thing in the book, but not from Dany. That is why the Astapor slaughter and Meereen sentence cause so much debate. 

Yes, it is a stale argument, but after 5 years, all arguments become stale

[Suzanna Stormborn]

On 12/18/2016 at 8:19 AM, Risto said:

It should be noted that on this board, Daenerys, as one of the protagonists, is discussed in great length, so it is quite normal that some arguments are repeated. Also, people think of Dany as one of the heroes of the story. I consider her one of the heroes of the story, and killing children is not what "heroes" are supposed to do. Yes, this is not saga about heroes, but about real human beings, but it doesn't mean some people - primarily Jon and Dany, can't be seen through that spectrum. 

So, while it is established that Tywin, Roose or Randyll Tarly are horrible human beings, that is not the case with Dany. People expect Tywin to do the most deplorable thing in the book, but not from Dany. That is why the Astapor slaughter and Meereen sentence cause so much debate. 

Yes, it is a stale argument, but after 5 years, all arguments become stale

That's only if you believe she did order the death or 'mass genocide' of children, which I, and many others, do not. Everyone she killed was a slaver (teenager and older), and slaver's kill and enslave thousands of people.  Doesn't bother me one bit that she killed them. 'These Violent Delights have violent ends And in their triumph die.'

[SeanF]

WRT Viserys, I think that Dany is entirely blameless.  She tried to save him, but like a lemming, he jumped over the cliff. 

But, it's likely that the claim that she connived at his murder, and then murdered her husband, for reasons of personal ambition, will gain currency in Westeros.

[Damsel in Distress]

On 12/4/2016 at 10:11 PM, Heavy D said:

Sansa and Ruling do not belong together.  Sansa is unfit for leadership.  On the other hand, Daenerys is gaining valuable experience in Meereen.  Daenerys also showed effective leadership and got her Dothraki through the Red Waste.  That's not something Sansa could do.  Somebody would have to carry Sansa on their back through the desert and all the while she's complaining about the corns on her feet.  

It's an easy pick for me.  Daenerys would make the better ruler.  I may as well answer another question.  Yes, Daenerys would make a much better ruler than Jon Snow.  

Sansa would be a disaster in a ruling capacity.  The girl is dumb, selfish, and self-centered. 

Daenerys has the best potential out of all the young people in the story.  She led the khalasar through the Red Waste.  She used intelligence and deception to save The Unsullied from slavery. 

Can you imagine Sansa trying to lead people through the desert?  She might walk 200 metres before trying to order one of the men to carry her because her shoes are too tight and the sun is too hot.  I can't believe anyone would even consider Sansa to rule. 

Dany all the way.  It's not a contest.  Dany would make the best ruling queen.