Dany wouldn't be hated if GRRM had kept the 5-year gap

[Victarion Chainbreaker]

George needed the 5-year gap to allow his characters to develop their talents and mature as people. He had so many characters so badly in need of a montage scene (finally set on the path to what they would become, but needing years to get there.) The AFFC and ADWD decision, while understandable, didn't work out for every character, and Dany absolutely got the worst deal in this regard.

For some characters it was great: Cercei's descent into craziness, Jaime's arc towards a sympathetic protagonist, Stannis going to save the North, and Jon learning to lead.

Some character arcs were not universally beloved, but had many strong points and are generally liked: Bran becoming a greenseer, Arya becoming an assassin, Sansa learning the game, the Greyjoys (hopefully) setting out to bring Dany to Westeros, and Tyrion veering back from his status as GRRM's favorite character to a less lovable, more morally grey character.

Then there's Dany. Of all the characters that needed a montage, Dany takes the cake. Her character is built around her dragons, but the dragons were still way too small to have an impact at the end of ASOS, when she decided to stay in Meereen and rule. If the 5-year gap had taken place, she would have come back from ASOS with 3 killing machines fully grown and ready to blaze through some f*cking plot.

Instead, GRRM's decision to have her stay in Meereen and rule completely backfired. I'm glad George didn't have her plot arc be: 'and then she was a great ruler and all Meereen prospered under her rule.' Stories need conflict, and her rule in Meereen needed troubles. But fighting the guerrilla war of the Sons of the Harpy was as tedious for Dany as it was for the readers.

So all through ADWD we get Dany dealing with insignificant skirmishes that we all know will amount to nothing because Meereen isn't significant to the main story. Yes, it's pretty boring, but it doesn't mean that Dany is a bad character. It simply means that Dany's arc has been stretched through a period of stasis because a montage lasting 5-years would have hurt the story as a whole.

So please, stop the hating.

[Steinnis]

Yea, the five year gap would've worked nicely, for Dany, Bran, Arya and the like but here we are. One of the main reasons I think he had her stay in Mereen was for the Dragons to get bigger and show how dangerous they are. By the end of ADWD, they're pretty formidable, and still not fully grown.

[booh]

I really admire your devotion, but although I think she is a great character, I really dislike her and I don't see why this should be a problem.

[N/A]

but it would make other things unrealistic at all, like sansa suddenly being a master of the game and arya a super assassin ... it basically ruins the stark kids

and it would mean that the book would be just a ton of flashbacks, and that's not great when there's a lot of them, they should be rare and precious like the TOJ

[TalalOfDorne]

I dont hate Dany, I hate Meereen.

While I think applying the five year gap would have helped, the main problem to me is that Danys story could have been summed up in less chapters. I think it would have been do-able to go further in her story in the Dothraki Sea by the end of ADWD.

[TheMysteriousOne]

LOL, this isn't the only reason people dislike Dany. Most of the people who have valid reasons why they dislike Dany, dislike her for more appropriate reasons.

[Lummel]

I thought the Meereen story line was good but even with a five year gap some people would dislike Daenerys. Readers are different. We respond to the same characters and storylines differently and not like automatons!

[Jon's Queen Consort]

LOL, this isn't the only reason people dislike Dany. Most of the people who have valid reasons why they dislike Dany, dislike her for more appropriate reasons.

:agree:

[mrunderhill]

This may be part of the reason that people dislike Dany, but the bigger reason is that she is a poor ruler. Brienne's chapters are not found to be the most entertaining by most people including myself. They also seem slightly needless, but this does not change my opinion of her or make me like her more. Cersei on the other hand has some of the best and most entertaining chapters, but this does not change my opinion of her either.

[Jojen Dayne-Reed]

This is the second "why does everyone hate Danny" post I've seen in the last couple if days and I have to disagree.

There is a lot of analyzing and second guessing on the forums. And Danny gets as much of it as anyone. But we need to be careful and not confuse dissent with derision. Dany has made a lot if bone head moves, which we analyze to death ere, but I've seen very few people who flat out dislike the character. She has less "in defense of" threads then some of the others but she also needs less. I think people just feel less of a new to defend her.

Also, if you step back from the forums, Danny is crazy popular among the mundanes (yep that's the word I'm going with). I mean, you can go buy a "mother of dragons" shirt in hot topic but can't find a "stanis is the true king" shirt anywhere.

So long story short: I think she is one of the most popular characters among people without a westeroes.org screen name. And I think grrm anticipated that.

[Northbound]

While the five year gap, would have helped push Dany's story along and may have helped, somewhat with people's feelings toward her. However, there are still plenty of reasons why I dislike her. So, no. I will not stop hating! My dislike for her began in aSoS, not aDwD. She went from one of my top three characters to, not even in my top 15.

[Djinn]

And what would the other characters that don't need a learning period do in the meantime( Baratheons, Lannisters, Greyjoys, Tyrells, Others and Wildings)? If the younger characters use this gap to improve themselves, wouldn't the older characters strenghtened their position? Every other storyline should stop so that Daenerys is in a position to steamroll her oponents. Does tywin have 5 years to increase his control on the Realm? Can Robb have the time to strenghted the Stark power in their kingdom?

It's a Song of Ice and Fire, not a Song of Daenerys and her journeys.

[Dr. Pepper]

I'm glad the five year gap didn't happen. I like that we got to see Dany in some hard places and how she has been dealing with her revolutionary conquests and rule. As a reader, it was important to see Dany's growth, some of it positive, a lot negative. I am thankful we saw her coming to face with difficult questions and how she tackles her own identity. I think her story is richer because we got to read it as it happened rather than a flashback of "well, a lot of that sucked and I sort of sucked but look at me now!"

I disagree with the idea that Meereen isn't important to the story for a lot of reasons. In any case, I think Dany's arc in Meereen will be very important going foward because it's shaped Dany into who and what she will be when she moves towards Westeros.

[Northbound]

It's a Song of Ice and Fire, not a Song of Daenerys and her journeys.

Very well said. :cheers:

[Jon's Queen Consort]

It's a Song of Ice and Fire, not a Song of Daenerys and her journeys.

:bowdown: great point :cheers:

[StannisBamfatheon]

Not exactly sure what the OP is saying, people hate Daenerys because the Meereen chapters are boring? Not so sure about that. Pleeeeenty of boring POVS out there. One of my favorite characters is Bran and some of his POVS can drag like hell. I haven't been a Dany fan since AGOT. And i have a laundry list of reasons why that most people are probably familar with by now. Just know the Meereen stuff was terrible just not the only catalyst for the Dany "hate."

[Nami]

Dany is badass, deal with it

I have to admit she got on my nerves on ADWD

[StannisBamfatheon]

It's a Song of Ice and Fire, not a Song of Daenerys and her journeys.

Bingoooo. Why does Daenerys get a 5 year coming of age gap like it's Boy Meets World while the rest of the characters chill and eat lemon cakes?

[mrunderhill]

Bingoooo. Why does Daenerys get a 5 year coming of age gap like it's Boy Meets World while the rest of the characters chill and eat lemon cakes?

It's not just Dany, the story could do with a 5 year gap or at least an extended time period during AFFC. There is no real reason why the book could not have spanned say 1-2 years.

[StannisBamfatheon]

Dany is badass, deal with it

I have to admit she got on my nerves on ADWD

NOTHING says badass like chillin on your throne dreaming of Daario while your city goes to hell, SO BADASS. Or throwing a tempter tantrum whenever somebody doubts you, BUT I'M BLOOD OF THE DRAGON, FIRE AND BLOOD AND CAPS LOCK AND NOT INDOOR VOICES!!! So Badass.