Daenerys: Rethinking and Remapping a Protagonist

[BabyMeraxes]

Dear Onion,

When Dany eventually begins to accept the equation that certain blood = power, do you see that as a character flaw? Because even at this point in her arc, we get some clues that there might be something to the whole “blood of the dragon” thing, most notably in Dany’s dragon dreams. As the series continues, I would argue that blood and power are intrinsically connected, especially when ASoIaF’s more fantastic elements begin to pop up.

[butterbumps!]

Given the timeliness of this thread and the release of this WoW spoiler chapter, it might be productive to address the issue of Viserys' crowning more directly. I'm extremely reluctant to turn this into a debate over "kinslaying;" however, since the spoiler's created something of a stir regarding this issue, it might be good to pull the relevant quotes for the record.

At the end of aGoT chapter 3, Dany's handmaids realize that she's pregnant. When they exclaim that she's with child, Dany says simply "I know." Dany has known she is pregnant for the duration of this chapter, which I believe is a relevant factor in the conversation she has with Jorah a few pages earlier, and her own inner dialogue.

This is the chapter where Dany "submerges" herself in the Dothraki Sea, calling a halt to the khalasar so that she can reflect alone in the grasses. For the first time in her life, she defies Viserys:

Viserys came upon her as sudden as a summer storm, his horse rearing beneath him as he reined up too hard. “You dare!” he screamed at her. “You give commands to me? To me?” He vaulted off the horse, stumbling as he landed. His face was flushed as he struggled back to his feet. He grabbed her, shook her. “Have you forgotten who you are? Look at you. Look at you!”

Dany did not need to look. She was barefoot, with oiled hair, wearing Dothraki riding leathers and a painted vest given her as a bride gift. She looked as though she belonged here. Viserys was soiled and stained in city silks and ringmail.

He was still screaming. “You do not command the dragon. Do you understand? I am the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, I will not hear orders from some horselord’s slut, do you hear me?” His hand went under her vest, his fingers digging painfully into her breast. “Do you hear me?”

Dany shoved him away, hard.

Viserys stared at her, his lilac eyes incredulous. She had never defied him. Never fought back. Rage twisted his features. He would hurt her now, and badly, she knew that.

After Viserys is disgraced by Dany's riders, she speaks with Jorah on Viserys' potential as king:

“He is still the true king. He is …”

Jorah pulled up his horse and looked at her. “Truth now. Would you want to see Viserys sit a throne?”

Dany thought about that. “He would not be a very good king, would he?”

__________________________

But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King’s Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind’s eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind’s eye, all the doors were red.

“My brother will never take back the Seven Kingdoms,” Dany said. She had known that for a long time, she realized. She had known it all her life. Only she had never let herself say the words, even in a whisper, but now she said them for Jorah Mormont and all the world to hear. Ser Jorah gave her a measuring look.

“You think not.”

“He could not lead an army even if my lord husband gave him one,” Dany said. “He has no coin and the only knight who follows him reviles him as less than a snake. The Dothraki make mock of his weakness. He will never take us home.”

I think it's fair and accurate to say that by this point, Dany recognized Viserys for what he truly was, and was no longer apologizing for the abuses he inflicted on her. Importantly, she let herself finally admit that Viserys was neither a good person, nor the "king" who could take them home, the reasons for which have been admirably outlined by OAR.

I think what's important here is that I believe Dany was unconsciously thinking of her unborn child, not herself, as the true hope for the Targ line. The whole chapter is full of natural and rebirth symbolism (including a dragon dream), and I think a strong part of Dany became aware of the fact that her survival and the survival of her line depended on something other than Viserys, who by contrast is highlighted here as decadent and "rotting."

I want to be clear, however, that Dany is not thinking in terms of a power-play, or trying to usurp Viserys. She's explicitly not craving power or titles, and absolutely not as ends unto themselves. She recognizes that a strong leader is requisite for what she believes is the necessary and right goal of bringing the Targs "home." She's subtlety disaggregating the goal of rectifying the "injustice" done to the Targs from the goal of Viserys' kingship. She's becoming aware of the disconnect between "power" and "ruling/ titles," and is developing ideas about meritocracy (at least in a nascent sense).

In the pages between this and the actual crowning, it becomes clear (or at least strongly implied), that she believed Viserys was beyond her help-- even, as Jorah said, that he was "already dead." While she would never actively hurt him, which she proves by repeatedly commanding that no one harm him, I think she expected Viserys to hang himself with his own noose. She tried as best she could to bring Viserys with her as her own success within the khalasar grew, but he was either unable or unwilling to see the opportunities she was offering, and sealed his own fate in his extreme ignorance and hatred. I believe she understood that it was only a matter of time before he got himself killed, and while I don't believe she actively wished for it, I believe she understood that it was inevitable.

Viserys was dead the moment he drew steel at the celebration at the end of chapter 5. Drogo and two other khals were at the head of this feast, and there was nothing anyone could do to prevent his death at this point. That 2 other khals were there (i.e. Drogo's equals and thus not under his charge), there was no way he could let this breach of conduct go unpunished. Dany knew this, and begins thinking of her brother in the past tense, before Drogo even comes off his dais:

Viserys laughed. “They can’t kill us. They can’t shed blood here in the sacred city … but I can.” He laid the point of his sword between Daenerys’s breasts and slid it downward, over the curve of her belly. “I want what I came for,” he told her. “I want the crown he promised me. He bought you, but he never paid for you. Tell him I want what I bargained for, or I’m taking you back. You and the eggs both. He can keep his bloody foal. I’ll cut the bastard out and leave it for him.” The sword point pushed through her silks and pricked at her navel. Viserys was weeping, she saw; weeping and laughing, both at the same time, this man who had once been her brother.

Dany and Drogo then exchange words; we don't have the benefit of knowing what was said precisely, but even in the worst possible interpretation, Dany knew Viserys was about to die regardless of what she said here. His death was an accomplished fact, and she knew that.

Personally, I have always had a very positive view of the way she handled this scene. She knew that Viserys was the walking dead; beyond that, she understood that he could never be a leader. She had already mourned Viserys before this physical death, and when it inevitably came, she is stoic and even relieved. This is definitely not about usurping or kinslaying, but a lesson in understanding that a name doesn't make a king, that there is something far beyond this that Viserys never grasped.

As it pertains, I think that the view of this scene that we see is actually the most honest perspective. I grant that an outsider may side-eye what happened here, but I don't believe that makes their perspective on this the correct one. Viserys killed himself; Dany took up his mantle.

[Winter's Knight]

"this man who had once been her brother"

^ That line gave me a chill when I first read, for it seemed to me that this is the first time Dany openly acknowledges that the boy who had loved and protected her as a child was no longer there. I know I'm projecting here but it seemed to me that here she understands that Viserys is lost to madness.

[Lady Sansa Stark]

Alright, perhaps I am a (known) staunch Daenerys-disliker, but I like this thread. That said, as others already said, I too liked Daenerys at first, but that went wrong quite fast. But; keep up the good work, I am very much looking forward to the rest of it. And, though this is not a Viserys-thread, I found this ehm.. Interesting so I will put it here regardless:

Viserys was weeping. I paused here shortly since I actually always thought he was just being stupid and laughing and drunk as heck. But, did he maybe realize what he was doing, what he had done? Was he weeping for Daenerys, for himself perhaps? Did he actually realize he was committing suicide? Did he weep for the past, for the future? He was laughing as well of course, but weeping and laughing are (most of the time) two emotions not regularly shown at the same time. Mostly it signifies hopelessness, sorrow, uncertainty - I've had it twice during funerals. If anyone cares, any thoughts?

[Kittykatknits]

Very, very much so. I think that Martin's "Bittersweet Ending" may well involve characters we've come to sympathise with dying at the hands of other characters we've come to sympathise with.

Martin uses the POV structure in this series which this thread has done a great job showing how it plays with our sympathies. Dany isn't really unique in this regard, he does it with Arya and Tyrion in the same book as well.

I think your post gets to an underlying theme within these books and that is Martin's interest in the idea of the human heart in conflict. We make choices based upon our emotions, loyalties, and understanding of the world and then we live with the consequences of our actions. Theon went off to Pyke as a hero of the Whispering Wood and the lost son returned. Instead he was greeted by a bitter man who no longer even considered him a member of the Ironborn or worthy of being his heir. As a result, Theon takes WF and we all now the chain of events that follow.

So, the hero really depends on which viewpoint you are looking at in the story. For Dany, this is probably most apparent when it comes to the events of Robert's Rebellion. From one perspective, Ned and Robert saved the realm from a Mad King yet to Dany they are the men responsible for killing her family and sending her in to exile. Dany's heroes were killed.

I'm expecting more of the same later in the books to be honest. Tyrion is a fan favorite yet he is still a Lannister and would likely be in opposition to Stannis and the Starks, another popular character and probably Westeros' most-loved family. No matter what role Dany plays further in the series, whether that is savior, hero, conqueror, or destroyer, I'm certain that she will be in opposition to at least some of the characters. I seriously doubt we will see all this individuals we've gotten to know banding together to fight for the common good and against the forces of evil. After all, that has nothing to do with the human heart in conflict.

Edit for spelling.

[TheZone]

Alright, perhaps I am a (known) staunch Daenerys-disliker, but I like this thread. That said, as others already said, I too liked Daenerys at first, but that went wrong quite fast. But; keep up the good work, I am very much looking forward to the rest of it. And, though this is not a Viserys-thread, I found this ehm.. Interesting so I will put it here regardless:

Viserys was weeping. I paused here shortly since I actually always thought he was just being stupid and laughing and drunk as heck. But, did he maybe realize what he was doing, what he had done? Was he weeping for Daenerys, for himself perhaps? Did he actually realize he was committing suicide? Did he weep for the past, for the future? He was laughing as well of course, but weeping and laughing are (most of the time) two emotions not regularly shown at the same time. Mostly it signifies hopelessness, sorrow, uncertainty - I've had it twice during funerals. If anyone cares, any thoughts?

This actually got me thinking, crying and laughing at the same time...maybe he is bipolar. It would totally make sense, Dany would describe how, he could be the perfect brother, who would let her in his bed when scared, then the next moment he could snap. We see this in AGOT when he snaps over very little things, his emotions change quite easily, he does and says very horrible things(like saying he would let 40,000 men fuck Dany and their horses too, if it meant a crown). With bi-polar people, they can be very moody, anxious,promiscuous,irrational, un-kept, and prone to self medication. Doing things like threatening to kill the un-defeated Khal's wife, would fall into the irrational. He does get drunk quite a lot at the end, and tries to rape Dany the night before her wedding. He has many more symptoms, if only we had his pov, we would be able to see more . Waking the dragon could mean, his illness acting up, it usually does come into fruition around the teens and early twenties. This could be the "Targaryen Madness"

[Lady Sansa Stark]

This actually got me thinking, crying and laughing at the same time...maybe he is bipolar. It would totally make sense, Dany would describe how, he could be the perfect brother, who would let her in his bed when scared, then the next moment he could snap. We see this in AGOT when he snaps over very little things, his emotions change quite easy. With bi-polar people, they can be very moody, anxious,promiscuous,irrational, un-kept, and prone to self medication. Doing things like threatening to kill the un-defeated Khal's wife, would fall into the irrational.Now I am convinced.

Did I actually discover something? Well, you did, but still. It does make sense indeed. It's also reflected in Daenerys' thoughts, yes. One time she is thinking of him how he abused her, how he sells her - while at the other time, she is remembering him fondly, she sees him as ''still her brother'' and stuff. Bipolarity.. Well, it fits Viserys.

[Elba the Intoner]

Alright, perhaps I am a (known) staunch Daenerys-disliker, but I like this thread. That said, as others already said, I too liked Daenerys at first, but that went wrong quite fast. But; keep up the good work, I am very much looking forward to the rest of it. And, though this is not a Viserys-thread, I found this ehm.. Interesting so I will put it here regardless:

Viserys was weeping. I paused here shortly since I actually always thought he was just being stupid and laughing and drunk as heck. But, did he maybe realize what he was doing, what he had done? Was he weeping for Daenerys, for himself perhaps? Did he actually realize he was committing suicide? Did he weep for the past, for the future? He was laughing as well of course, but weeping and laughing are (most of the time) two emotions not regularly shown at the same time. Mostly it signifies hopelessness, sorrow, uncertainty - I've had it twice during funerals. If anyone cares, any thoughts?

I think deep down Viserys realized his cause was lost and that no one was going to follow him once he saw how Dany was accepted by the Dothraki. I don't usually like to use the TV show as a basis for evidence of points in the books, but I have to say the way this was handled in the show felt accurate and was well done. Jorah catches him trying to steal the dragons eggs and flee and Viserys basically is desperate and says they'll (the Dothraki) will never love me as they love her (paraphrasing from memory). Once he saw how Dany became accepted and revered by the Dothraki after she ate the horse's heart, he saw the reality of his situation. He was losing his influence over Dany as well and the only way the Dothraki would follow him would be to follow Dany so he needed to maintain his power over her and that was slipping. He was really really drunk by the time he confronted Dany in the tent and at that point was just desperate and pathetic and subconsciously he knew it and so did Dany.

[OnionAhaiReborn]

Dear Onion,

When Dany eventually begins to accept the equation that certain blood = power, do you see that as a character flaw? Because even at this point in her arc, we get some clues that there might be something to the whole “blood of the dragon” thing, most notably in Dany’s dragon dreams. As the series continues, I would argue that blood and power are intrinsically connected, especially when ASoIaF’s more fantastic elements begin to pop up.

For the purposes of this thread, I'm not interested in labeling aspects of Dany's character as flawed or not flawed. All I am seeking to do is point out what I think is the interesting arc of Dany's view on social status- that even as she sees Viserys' claims of power by virtue of blood as mere farce concealing actual impotence in the form of a lack of material wealth or physical strength, she simultaneously begins to adopt the understanding of status based on blood that he has expressed. I'm only interested in describing her and her opinions as accurately I can, with the obvious caveat that my descriptions will be, well, my descriptions. I can only write it as it appears to me. I welcome disagreement if others think I am inaccurately describing some aspect of Dany's character or arc. Maybe I'll be convinced that I'm looking at something the wrong way.

You reference blood's potential relation to some of ASoIaF's more fantastical elements, but I'm going to avoid the issue of whether certain blood is, in fact, magically powerful. If such a discussion belongs at all in this thread, I think it can wait until we see actual magic practiced. As bloodlines relate to power in the form of social structures, however, I think it is quite clear that blood does not carry the power to enforce itself as the proper and most important determinant of status. The Targaryen dynasty has fallen from power, their claims to having the blood of kings notwithstanding.

[Little Wing]

For the purposes of this thread, I'm not interested in labeling aspects of Dany's character as flawed or not flawed. All I am seeking to do is point out what I think is the interesting arc of Dany's view on social status- that even as she sees Viserys' claims of power by virtue of blood as mere farce concealing actual impotence in the form of a lack of material wealth or physical strength, she simultaneously begins to adopt the understanding of status based on blood that he has expressed.

Onion, what do you think - is this an example of that Jungian "What you hate most in others, is the Shadow within yourself"? You know, about projecting onto others what we actually dislike about ourselves - does Dany see this claim of power in blood as fake when manifested through someone else - Viserys, but fails to see it within herself? I'm not sure if this is the case, but thought I'd ask anyway...

[BabyMeraxes]

I guess flawed was the wrong word to use. What I’m interested in understanding is how you perceive Dany’s change in attitude. Given the events that take place during Dany’s first few chapters, would you say that this evolution in thought is logical, or does it raise concerns, especially considering your thought that, “Rather than becoming alienated from Viserys' ideas about status as she becomes alienated from Viserys, she moves towards recognizing the importance of blood, and forgetting her earlier skepticism.” I think that’s a really interesting point to bring up, and something that really resonates, especially so because it’s one of the first major, tangible changes we see from Dany.

Beyond what I said in my last post about the connection between magical power and particular bloodlines, part of me sees Dany’s transition as justified (if I limit my considerations to Dany’s perspective exclusively) because I feel like the change, as other have mentioned, is tied so closely with Dany’s newly discovered pregnancy. I’m a dude and all, but I think that it might be easier to suppress criticisms of blood=power when you’re a Queen who’s beginning her own family. I think it’ also important to point out that Dany criticized Viserys’s perception of blood=status before she had first-hand experience of that status. Now that she’s Khal Drogo’s bride, and now that she has some experience with the intricacies of ruling (however limited they may be) I could understand how she might make a transition in thought that sounds a lot like Viserys’ initial position; when your child is heir to throne, you’ve got to justify their status somehow.

Now, if expand my considerations beyond Dany’s perspective, things become a little more problematic.

[OnionAhaiReborn]

I guess flawed was the wrong word to use. What I’m interested in understanding is how you perceive Dany’s change in attitude. Given the events that take place during Dany’s first few chapters, would you say that this evolution in thought is logical, or does it raise concerns, especially considering your thought that, “Rather than becoming alienated from Viserys' ideas about status as she becomes alienated from Viserys, she moves towards recognizing the importance of blood, and forgetting her earlier skepticism.” I think that’s a really interesting point to bring up, and something that really resonates, especially so because it’s one of the first major, tangible changes we see from Dany.

Beyond what I said in my last post about the connection between magical power and particular bloodlines, part of me sees Dany’s transition as justified (if I limit my considerations to Dany’s perspective exclusively) because I feel like the change, as other have mentioned, is tied so closely with Dany’s newly discovered pregnancy. I’m a dude and all, but I think that it might be easier to suppress criticisms of blood=power when you’re a Queen who’s beginning her own family. I think it’ also important to point out that Dany criticized Viserys’s perception of blood=status before she had first-hand experience of that status. Now that she’s Khal Drogo’s bride, and now that she has some experience with the intricacies of ruling (however limited they may be) I could understand how she might make a transition in thought that sounds a lot like Viserys’ initial position; when your child is heir to throne, you’ve got to justify their status somehow.

Now, if expand my considerations beyond Dany’s perspective, things become a little more problematic.

I think it's logical in some sense, and quite the opposite of what I would expect in another sense. It's logical in that Viserys is Dany's first influence, a lifelong presence, and the source of most of what she knows about Westeros and her family's history. It's not surprising that his opinions, therefore, loom large over her own opinions. It's also logical in the sense that perhaps her most formative life experience to date is being married off to Drogo, a marriage that she is told, again by Viserys, is based on her heritage. Which, in this case, Viserys happens to be correct about. So that experience I think might have had the effect of affirming what Viserys has been telling her. 'Blood' is also the only model of status she can cling to in order to gather courage as she goes through this trial; she can't very well appeal to her riches or physical strength, having none of these, so she tells herself that who she is born is what makes her worthy and capable. I think this has further effect in affirming Viserys' understanding of Targaryen blood.

I also think you make a good point about Dany's experience with pregnancy functioning to strengthen her appreciation for blood ties- there is certainly some added utility in Dany professing to believe in the deserved status of certain bloodlines now that she will have a child who will stand to benefit from such an understanding. I don't quite agree, however, that her experience with ruling in the khalasar would tend to reaffirm this understanding. If anything, she's being shown that all that matters to status is, essentially, the ability to win fights. And if House Targaryen were embodied as a Dothraki, it would have had to cut its braid and sit far away from the meat at feasts after losing to Robert. Dany has to defy Dothraki understanding of status when it comes to her son's right to the Throne (which she associates with his being a true dragon, having the right blood).

On the other hand, it's surprising that she can see Viserys as a beggar in the eyes of the Free Cities, and the lowest of the lowly and weak in the eyes of the Dothraki, and even come to the conclusion that, in her own eyes, Viserys is not a true leader worthy of the Iron Throne or capable of claiming it, and not draw this insight out to the next logical conclusion. Viserys bases his claim to status on his blood, he clearly does not have the status he claims, but clearly does have the blood that he claims, so it can't possibly be the blood that makes the status. Instead, she decouples Viserys' claims from Viserys experience. I can only conclude that the power of the influence of a 'blood status' understanding over her early years, coupled with the formative experience of relying on that understanding in a time of trial outweighs for Dany the experience of seeing that understanding put to the test and found lacking.

Onion, what do you think - is this an example of that Jungian "What you hate most in others, is the Shadow within yourself"? You know, about projecting onto others what we actually dislike about ourselves - does Dany see this claim of power in blood as fake when manifested through someone else - Viserys, but fails to see it within herself? I'm not sure if this is the case, but thought I'd ask anyway...

I think this is interesting, and I'm not quite sure what the answer is either. Given that Dany sometimes longs to escape- she thinks often of the house with the red door, and considers that she might prefer to be dressed in tatters on the streets of Pentos than married to Drogo- it could be that she dislikes Viserys for avowing the blood claim that draws her away from this escapist tendency, even as she fails to consciously examine that same avowal in herself.

There might also be a case to be made that she despises Viserys for qualities that she dislikes within herself that she ultimately exorcizes shortly before Viserys' death. In a way, she loathes Viserys' weakness only until she becomes fully confident in her own strength. When she is still somewhat unsure of her place among the Dothraki, she admits that she always knew Viserys couldn't conquer Westeros, she reviles the weakness she knows has always been there for her to see. By the time of Viserys' 'crowning,' however, she has become much more confident in herself and her position of strength within the khalasar (secure in the knowledge that she can command others to do violence for her), and feels little strong emotion towards Viserys and remains detached. Perhaps because she is no longer critical of weakness in herself, she isn't inspired to hate it in Viserys.

In any case, those are just some quickly thrown together ideas. But I think you've brought up an interesting idea here that might be worth considering again as we move along.

[GoldenFleece]

I think it's logical in some sense, and quite the opposite of what I would expect in another sense. It's logical in that Viserys is Dany's first influence, a lifelong presence, and the source of most of what she knows about Westeros and her family's history. It's not surprising that his opinions, therefore, loom large over her own opinions. It's also logical in the sense that perhaps her most formative life experience to date is being married off to Drogo, a marriage that she is told, again by Viserys, is based on her heritage. Which, in this case, Viserys happens to be correct about. So that experience I think might have had the effect of affirming what Viserys has been telling her. 'Blood' is also the only model of status she can cling to in order to gather courage as she goes through this trial; she can't very well appeal to her riches or physical strength, having none of these, so she tells herself that who she is born is what makes her worthy and capable. I think this has further effect in affirming Viserys' understanding of Targaryen blood.

I also think you make a good point about Dany's experience with pregnancy functioning to strengthen her appreciation for blood ties- there is certainly some added utility in Dany professing to believe in the deserved status of certain bloodlines now that she will have a child who will stand to benefit from such an understanding. I don't quite agree, however, that her experience with ruling in the khalasar would tend to reaffirm this understanding. If anything, she's being shown that all that matters to status is, essentially, the ability to win fights. And if House Targaryen were embodied as a Dothraki, it would have had to cut its braid and sit far away from the meat at feasts after losing to Robert. Dany has to defy Dothraki understanding of status when it comes to her son's right to the Throne (which she associates with his being a true dragon, having the right blood).

On the other hand, it's surprising that she can see Viserys as a beggar in the eyes of the Free Cities, and the lowest of the lowly and weak in the eyes of the Dothraki, and even come to the conclusion that, in her own eyes, Viserys is not a true leader worthy of the Iron Throne or capable of claiming it, and not draw this insight out to the next logical conclusion. Viserys bases his claim to status on his blood, he clearly does not have the status he claims, but clearly does have the blood that he claims, so it can't possibly be the blood that makes the status. Instead, she decouples Viserys' claims from Viserys experience. I can only conclude that the power of the influence of a 'blood status' understanding over her early years, coupled with the formative experience of relying on that understanding in a time of trial outweighs for Dany the experience of seeing that understanding put to the test and found lacking.

I find this conception of blood interesting. The Dothraki put a lot of weight on blood as well, just differently. Blood of my blood. The Bloodriders. The use of the word blood to speak of the bond between unrelated peoples.

Is there any sign that Dany is affected by this version of the importantance of blood rather than the Westerosi version, especially later in the books when Dany gets referred to as Mother.

Good thread by the way, fascinating.

[Daphne23]

This looks like a great thread so far - I'm genuinely ambivalent about Dany, and unable to decide where I think her story is going, so I'm looking forward to reading some in-depth analysis of her characterisation. Although, am I the only one who liked her more in CoK than in GoT...?

[OnionAhaiReborn]

I find this conception of blood interesting. The Dothraki put a lot of weight on blood as well, just differently. Blood of my blood. The Bloodriders. The use of the word blood to speak of the bond between unrelated peoples.

Is there any sign that Dany is affected by this version of the importantance of blood rather than the Westerosi version, especially later in the books when Dany gets referred to as Mother.

Good thread by the way, fascinating.

I'm glad you brought this up, because I think the bloodriders are an interesting topic for discussion. I think that when the Dothraki put weight on 'blood' they are understanding it quite differently than Viserys does, but, yes, I do believe Daenerys is affected by this alternate understanding.

Every khal had his bloodriders. At first Dany had thought of them as a kind of Dothraki Kingsguard, sworn to protect their lord, but it went further than that. Jhiqui had taught her that a bloodrider was more than a guard; they were the khal's brothers, his shadows, his fiercest friends. "Blood of my blood," Drogo called them, and so it was; they shared a single life. The ancient traditions of the horselords demanded that when the khal died, his bloodriders died with him, to ride at his side in the night lands.

When the Dothraki use the phrase 'blood of my blood' they're referring to a connection closer, even, than an actual blood-heritage connection. Rather, they think of those to whom they are bound by blood as nearly the same person, to the point that bloodriders are expected to die when the khal they protect dies. But the exception to this rule is perhaps as instructive as the rule itself:

If the khal died at the hands of some enemy, they lived only long enough to avenge him, and then followed him joyfully into the grave.

Bloodriders are permitted to live on beyond their khal's death only so long as they seek to avenge his death. They live long enough to continue to project strength on the khal's behalf, and no longer. In stark contrast to the blood connection of a dynasty, where the those connected by blood are expected live to carry on the line, the 'blood connection' of khal's and bloodriders demands that, after the 'blood-bond's' purpose (acting as appendages of the khal's own strength) is exhausted, the 'blood connection' is not carried on.

In some khalasars, Jhiqui said, the bloodriders shared the khal's wine, his tent, and even his wives, though never his horses. A man's mount was his own.

...

Yet they were bound to Drogo for life and death, so Daenerys had no choice but to accept them. And sometimes she found herself wishing her father had been protected by such men. In the songs, the white knights of the Kingsguard were ever noble, valiant, and true, and yet King Aerys had been murdered by one of them, the handsome boy they now called the Kingslayer, and a second, Ser Barristan the Bold, had gone over to the Usurper. She wondered if all men were as false in the Seven Kingdoms. When her son sat the Iron Throne, she would see that he had bloodriders of his own to protect him against treachery in his Kingsguard.

The bolded parts here indicate some fascinating tensions between a Viserys/Targaryen/Dynastic understanding of blood and the idea of the 'blood bond' between a khal and bloodriders. The fact that some khal's share wives with their bloodriders reminds me of Aerys telling Tywin that he wouldn't marry his heir to his servant's daughter- this was, in part, only an insult, but the contrast between Aerys' jab and the custom of some khals having wives in common with their bloodriders stands out to me.

The contrast between Kingsguard and bloodrider is also interesting. Where some khals share their wives with bloodriders, Kingsguard are forbidden from having wives. Westerosi Kings place themselves above the Kingsguard, their servants, who are bound to serve for their- the individual Kingsguards'- entire lives. On the other hand, Dothraki khals consider bloodriders as near extensions of themselves, bound to serve for their- the khal's- entire life.

I don't know exactly what to say about Dany's 'takeaway' from this, at this point, but I do think it's interesting that she tries to negotiate these tensions not by favoring one over the other, but by bringing them together. She plans on having bloodriders and a Kingsguard for her son, and expects the bloodriders to protect him against potential treachery from within the Kingsguard.

[Silverin]

I don't know exactly what to say about Dany's 'takeaway' from this, at this point, but I do think it's interesting that she tries to negotiate these tensions not by favoring one over the other, but by bringing them together. She plans on having bloodriders and a Kingsguard for her son, and expects the bloodriders to protect him against potential treachery from within the Kingsguard.

But what would that actually mean? To combine the two? Would they share the wife? Would they be killed when their king dies?

And are we sure it means they are more loyal?

In theory the Kingsguard are just as loyal, and full of honor. But practice is different.

We know that not all the bloodriders are that loyal either since they didn't all die with Drogo.

Would have Jaime not killed Aerys if he was a bloodrider? He would have died either way with his king, either both burning with the whole city, or he getting killed because he has to die after his king died. I say he would have done the same.

I think what Dany misses is not the difference between the bloodriders and the kingguards. I don't think they are that different after all. What Dany here does not count is that some kings don't inspire loyalty (like her father). She wants Kingsguards/bloodryders who stay loyal at whatever costs, but loyalty often depends on the king as well. And I think that is what Dany does not see here. She maybe because of the "blood of the dragon" seem to think that these people should be unconditionally loyal to their king.

Dany still didn't hear Varys's riddle about power (king, rich merchant, priest, and the soldier).

So I don't think it is about the bloodrider/kingsguard contrast, but Dany's lack of understanding that loyalty is not unconditional.

EDIT: When Dany is thinking about the Kingsguard here we have to keep in mind, that she doesn't know anything about those trecherous KGs and their kings, only what Viserys told her. She has a very twisted picture in her mind.

Btw: bloodriders, the reason why they can seem more loyal is because GRRM didn't give them such individuality with own agendas, with own history compared to the Westeros knights, and it can be said about the rest of the Dothraki. It is not the system that is less flawed.

[OnionAhaiReborn]

@Silverin

For what it's worth, I agree with you on the impracticalities of the idea. And I wouldn't try to argue that bloodriders are somehow 'better' than Kingsguard. I really don't think Dany is thinking very deeply on the subject at this point- I'm more intrigued by her attachment to the Iron Throne/Kingsguard/Targaryen dynasty for her own son, to the point that she ponder combining some very different ideas/institutions in deference to this attachment, even when she sees one thing (the Kingsguard) as flawed in comparison to another (bloodriders). I think it's especially interesting given that, as you point out, she doesn't really know the true history of the Kingsguard, her father, and Jaime's betrayal of his vow. She has a deep attachment that's resistant not to change, but to destruction. But I don't think this attachment yet rises to the level of Dany actively thinking about the 'nuts and bolts' of actually combining social and legal structures, I take it only as an indication of deeply ingrained sentiment.

As an aside on the issue of what she doesn't know about her father, I found it interesting that Jorah, who speaks quite frankly on the subject of Viserys, doesn't choose to speak to her frankly on the subject of her father. Maybe it's because of his relatively new-found hatred of House Stark or maybe because it never came up naturally or even that he felt it would have been gratuitous to speak ill of Aerys while giving his opinion of Viserys might have practical use to Dany.

[Elba the Intoner]

Maybe Dany's idea of combining the Kingsguard and Blood riders for her son is simply her way of combing his heritage - part Dothraki, part Targ.

[GoldenFleece]

Maybe Dany's idea of combining the Kingsguard and Blood riders for her son is simply her way of combing his heritage - part Dothraki, part Targ.

Not even her son. By ACOK, she herself has bloodriders and makes Ser Jorah Lord Commander of her Queensguard. Definite mixing and respect of cultures there, the Dothraki have definitely influenced her, but she also shes their flaws; the superstitions "it is known" and the rapine and pillaging that she unsucessfully tries to stop.

She is borrowing bits of cultures (the Qarth toga, the rabbit ears), because I think even though she says "I am the dragon" (more for assurance than anything) it is a classic symtom of a person who has an identity crisis. Notice Ser Jorah or Ser Barristan iare never influenced by the cultures of the east and rarely wear anything other than Westerosi and in general treat the people of the east with disdain.

[redviper9]

"I don't want to be his queen," she heard herself say in a small thin voice. "Please, please, Viserys, I don't want to, I want to go home."

Daenerys Targaryen spoke the above words to her brother Viserys on the evening she was introduced to Khal Drogo. Dany, panicking at the idea of being Drogo's bride, offers her brother and the readers a glimpse into what she wants: to go home. But when Viserys angrily reminds Dany that their home (i.e., Westeros) has been taken from them, and that it can only be retaken with the aid of Drogo's khalasar, we learn that Dany was not thinking of the continent her ancestors had conquered and ruled for nearly 300 years when she voiced her fears to her brother; rather, she was thinking of Magister Illyrio Mopatis's manse, where the Targaryen siblings had been housed for some six months.

When we first meet Dany in AGoT, she is rootless and adrift, a young girl who has never had a "home" in the way her brother and other characters in the series have. As Dany prepares to meet the Khal, her thoughts drift to Westeros:

[From AGoT, Daenerys I]

Somewhere beyond the sunset, across the narrow sea, lay a land of green hills and flowered plains and great rushing rivers, where towers of dark stone rose amidst magnificent blue-grey mountains, and armored knights rode to battle beneath the banners of their lords. The Dothraki called that land Rhaesh Andahli, the land of the Andals. In the Free Cities, they talked of Westeros and the Sunset Kingdoms. Her brother had a simpler name. "Our land," he called it. The words were like a prayer with him. If he said them enough, the gods were sure to hear. "Ours by blood right, taken from us by treachery, but ours still, ours forever. You do not steal from the dragon, oh, no. The dragon remembers."

But Dany goes on to note that she has no memory of Westeros, having been born on Dragonstone and then fleeing the island shortly thereafter for Braavos. Her early memories aren't of King's Landing and the Red Keep, but rather of Ser Willem Darry's house in Braavos, the one with the red door. And though she thinks of the house with the red door while Viserys is chastising her at the end of her first AGoT chapter, she doesn't use it as a prayer or a source of strength; it's symbolizes a refuge, the relatively idyllic childhood she had before Ser Willem Darry's servants threw them out of the house, before she had to start running from the knives Robert Baratheon is said to have sent after her and Viserys, and before her brother sold their mother's crown and became the angry and broken man we meet in AGoT.

Viserys using "our land" as a silent prayer and rallying cry gives him something in common with other characters we see in ASoIaF. The Stark children, including the bastard-born Jon Snow, always draw strength from the fact that they are Starks of Winterfell. No matter where they are or what they're going through, Ned's children have a place they can remember fondly and draw strength from. We see this trait in the Tullys, as well. Cat thinks to herself following Hoster's death that the Starks can keep the Winterfell crypts, since the Tullys always have and always will draw their strength from the river. The Blackfish realizes after Cat's visit to the Eyrie that his true place is home at Riverrun, not in the Vale of Arryn. And Edmure makes it a point to linger in his father's solar before departing for Casterly Rock. Even the Lannisters display this characteristic to an extent. Cersei always thinks of herself as a lioness of the Rock. Jaime's quasi-prophetic dreams are set in his childhood home. And Tryion admits to Sansa that only a Lannister could love the Rock.

Dany has none of this when we meet her. She belongs to no one place. She cannot draw strength from Winterfell, or the Trident, or the Rock. She cannot whisper "red door" to herself as a silent prayer. And this lack of belonging, this unmoored nature of her character, makes her all the more sympathetic when we first meet her. Even her vicious "shadow of a snake" brother has a place he can think of as home. But not the thirteen-year-old whose maidenhood has just been gifted in exchange for an army.

Things begin to change for Daenerys on her wedding day, however. Ser Jorah Mormont, the Bear Island exile now sworn to her brother, gives her a collection of books on the Seven Kingdoms; this marks the first time she will learn about Westeros from a source that isn't Viserys. And Illyrio gifts her with the three dragon eggs, a reminder of her family's history that she feels immediately drawn to. And despite the initial difficulties of her journey through the Dothraki Sea -- difficulties that are only compounded by the rough nature her sexual relationship with Drogo -- she begins to feel at home in the grasslands (a feeling that coincides with the strengthening connection to the dragon eggs, and one of her first dragon dreams). Whereas Viserys is miserable and constantly complaining, Dany begins to appreciate the beauty of the grasslands. And then, while seeking to escape Viserys's grumblings, Dany orders the party to stop and she rides off alone.

[From AGoT, Daenerys III]

The green swallowed her up. The air was rich with the scents of earth and grass, mixed with the smell of horseflesh and Dany's sweat and the oil in her hair. Dothraki smells. They seemed to belong here. Dany breathed it all in, laughing. She had a sudden urge to feel the ground beneath her, to curl her toes in that thick black soil. Swinging down from her saddle, she let the silver graze while she pulled off her high boots.

Dany's moment is of course interrupted by an enraged Viserys, who also pointedly asks her if she has forgotten who she was. Before she can answer, Viserys is humiliated by Dany's bodyguards, and she then strips him of his horse as punishment. Here we see Dany, who is beginning to feel that she "belonged" in the Dothraki Sea as much as the smells around her, being challenged by Viserys to remember who she really is. But despite Viserys's challenge -- or perhaps because of it -- she realizes, as Jorah already has, that Viserys will never take them to Westeros. When she expresses her desire for home, Jorah tells her to look around her. And while Dany knows she's in the Dothraki Sea, it's Westeros that she sees. Here then we see the beginnings of a new tension in Dany's arc: she wants to belong to Westeros, but Westeros does not bring her the simple joy of curling her toes in the soil or appreciating the beauty of the land that is now hers through marriage.

The tensions between Dany and Viserys only increase when they arrive in Vaes Dothrak. While Dany is awed by the statues and idols that the Dothraki have claimed throughout the years, Viserys dismisses the city as the work of savages, prompting Dany to defend "her people." Viserys is enraged again after a misunderstanding with Doreah, and his mood is not made better by Dany presenting him with Dothraki rainment. He dismisses the clothes that Dany has adopted just as he dismisses Vaes Dothrak, and when he attempts to hurt her after she notes that he is not worthy of having his hair braided, she strikes him with a belt of gold medallions. Here we see Dany gaining strength as she becomes more assimilated into the Dothraki culture, while Viserys -- now farther away from his "home" than he has ever been -- is lashing out as he himself becomes increasingly disconnected from the place and idea that had sustained him in his exile. Dany is now drawing strength from the homeland and culture of her husband (it's significant that it's a Dothraki-style belt that she uses to strike Viserys), but also from her dragon eggs, demonstrating again the tension between her life in Essos and the Targaryen legacy in Westeros. When she goes to sleep clutching her eggs, she dreams of "home," though we are not told exactly which place she dreams of.

Dany's fifth AGoT chapter famously culminates in Viserys's "coronation" and death. But before that climactic event, we see more signs that the perpetual nomad has found her place in a nomadic culture. Dany successfully devours the stallion heart given to her by the dosh khaleen, and she knows to lead Drogo outside before having sex with him, since all important things in a Dothraki man's life must be done outside. She seems content and at peace, until Viserys arrives at the feast brandishing a sword and threatening her unborn child, actions that ultimately cost him his life. And though Dany's actions earlier in the day point to her finding a new home amongst the Dothraki, her thoughts as Viserys died point again to the tension between her life in Essos and the home of her brother and her ancestors. She does not think of horses, or oil, or grass; she thinks of dragons, and how Viserys -- unlike Jorah's description of Rhaegar -- was no true dragon.

Dany has already progressed a fair amount in these first five chapters. The girl who thought of "home" as wherever she happened to be sleeping and had no place she truly belonged to and could draw strength from has found her place amongst the Dothraki. She adopts their rainment; she learns to ride in the Dothraki fashion; she learns the language; and she embraces their ideas and customs. And as she becomes stronger and starts to belong more to the Dothraki, Viserys grows weaker, until his final mistakes cost him his life. But despite Dany's seeming belonging amongst her husband's people, a tension begins to develop due to the idea of returning to Westeros. This tension is best represented by the dragon eggs gifted her by Illyrio, which Dany also draws strength from; but we also see it in her constant thoughts about dragons and her affirmations to Jorah that Westeros -- even though she's never seen it -- and not the Dothraki Sea are her home. The tension of where Dany truly belongs continues in later AGoT chapters and the book, and will be explored later on.