Game of Thrones/Characters/House Targaryen

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House Targaryen

Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

"I have never been nothing. I am the blood of the Dragon."

The last female Targaryen. Her abusive brother, Viserys, has her married off to Khal Drogo of the Dothraki in the hope that he can use his huge army of savage horselords to take back his father's crown.

Tropes:

  • Abusive Brother: A life being raised by Viserys in place of dead parents would be enough to break most people.
  • Age Lift: Probably inevitable, as Daenerys is only 13 years old at the start of the book. She is 17 on the show, as one History of Westeros features on the Season 1 Blu-ray that establishes 17 years has passed since her father was overthrown, at which point her mother was still pregnant with her.
  • Arranged Marriage: To Khal Drogo, to secure an army for her brother.
    • Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Though her marriage to Drogo did not start off this way, they grow to be very happy together and were expecting their first child before things got worse.
  • Badass Boast: She makes a few of these, but has an unfortunate tendency to make them when she is in absolutely no position to carry them out, so they often end up being disregarded or thrown in her face.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Once you've crossed her there is no coming back.
    • After Mirri Maz Duur successfully manages to kill her husband and son, Daenerys has her tied to Khal Drogo's funeral pyre. Mirri Maz Duur claims that she won't scream for Daenerys. She is wrong. Daenerys has taken Mirri's earlier statement that "only death can pay for life" to heart, and is using Mirri's death in combination with the fire to hatch her dragon eggs.
    • After Pyat Pree tries to imprison her along with her dragons in the House of the Undying, she has them burn him alive, then proceeds to seal Xaro and Doreah in the empty treasure vault of Qarth for betraying her.
  • Bi the Way: How she learned "the arts of love."
  • Breakout Character
  • The Chains of Commanding: Starting to feel them in season 2.
  • Character Development: On the course of four episodes she went from being terrified and submissive to threatening her abusive brother that she'll have his hands cut off if he dares to bully her again. When her husband Drogo dies, she takes on his mantle. Once her dragons are born, she is ready to take back the Iron Throne. By the end of season 7, she commands a vast army and a couple of dragons, and has a loyal court.
  • Cool Pet: she had three dragons. Two ought to be enough.
  • Determined Widow
  • Deuteragonist
  • Eloquent in My Native Tongue: Her Dothraki still needs a little work. "There are many dirts across the sea, like the dirt where I was born."
  • Emotionless Girl: Sometimes shows shades of this, which makes sense, given that she spent most of her life with Viserys in constant fear of 'waking the dragon', making it an impressive indicator of her psychological fortitude that she isn't a perpetually flinching Extreme Doormat.
  • The Exile
  • Fetus Terrible: Played with. Daenerys and Drogo's child is prophesied to become 'The Stallion Who Mounts the World.' After Daenerys resorts to Blood Magic to save her dying husband, something happens in her womb, and the child is stillborn with reptilian features and wings.
  • Foreshadowing: Fire cannot kill a dragon.
    • The Dothraki only respect and follow power: 3 dragons ought to win them over then.
  • Going Native
  • Hatedom: Daenerys has perhaps the largest hatedom of any character on the show. It seems to be most prevalent among female fans who declare Sansa Stark the "audience surrogate character". It bears a striking resemblance to the seething anger some junior high girls feel towards the more popular ones.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Drogo.
  • Impoverished Patrician
  • Love Makes You Crazy: Resorts to forbidden Blood Magic to save Drogo's life in "Baelor". Subverted in "Blood and Fire" - everyone thinks she's killing herself by walking onto Drogo's funeral pyre, but in reality she's hatching her dragons.
  • Magical Abortion
  • Mama Bear: Do. Not. Touch. Her. Dragons. If not you'll be reminded that her father was Aerys Targaryen. She even tells Jorah that they're the only children she will ever have. [1]
  • Marital Rape License: Drogo takes her against her will on their wedding night despite her protests and then continues to take her without her consent and in spite of obvious discomfort. This is a stark contrast to the book. However, it's a somewhat complex situation. Drogo isn't forceful or violent--he seems to think that Daenerys's tears are due to shyness rather than fear, and the language barrier means she can't correct him. Also, sex in his culture seems to be pretty rough anyway, so he very well might not realize how things seem from her perspective.
  • Messianic Archetype:
    • Definitely invokes this. The Dothraki think she will give birth to the "Stallion that Mounts the World" and this seems to connect to a prophesy that she herself believes which marks her as the Dragon of the Targaryens which seems to be confirmed when she successfully hatches three dragons. It's not clear in the beginning if the prophesies surrounding her involve the good kind of messiah or the bad one, but later developments seem to indicate that she is destined, with the aid of her dragons, to save the world from the coming winter, unite the kingdoms and break the wheel of power which rides over all men.
    • Jorah Mormont seems to think this. Out of everyone who's vying for the Iron Throne, Daenerys is the only claimant with "a good heart" and the inner-strength that would cause her to be loved by her subjects and feared by her enemies. And also, dragons.
  • My Parents Are Dead
  • Not So Different: After Mirri Maz Duur managed to destroy everything she has spent the entire season building up in less than a week, she proves to everyone watching, both in-universe and out, that she is her father's daughter.
  • Oblivious to Love: Takes until Mid-Series 2 (and half-a-dozen people pointing it out first), to realise that, yes, Jorah Mormont is in love with her.
  • Pay Evil Unto Evil: A firm believer in this.
  • Small Name, Big Ego: Oh, does she ever have this problem. And she will continue to have it up until such time as she gains a potent army or her dragons become useful. The Spice King of Qarth may be a condescending Smug Snake, but his observation that she doesn't yet have anything to recommend her as a likely conqueror of Westeros is difficult to argue with.
    • She had a bit of this problem during Season 1 as well; once she stopped being Viserys' Extreme Doormat, she seemed to forget that any authority she had as Khaleesi came from Drogo, and she acted as if she were a ruler in her own right until Mago drove home the point that without Drogo she is nothing to the Dothraki.
  • Surprise Incest: Daenerys and Jon Snow are revealed to the audience to be aunt and nephew, although they do not know it yet themselves.
  • White-Haired Pretty Girl
  • Young Conqueror: Wants to be this, but since she currently has only a handful of followers and her dragons are currently helpless, she's got some way to go before she can even attempt to be this.

Prince Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd)

"I am the dragon! I want my crown!"

The last male heir of the Targaryen line, and self-proclaimed rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms. Viserys is obsessed with claiming his birthright at any cost, including marrying his own sister off in exchange for an army.

Tropes:

  • Big Brother Bully: Physically and sexually harasses her.
  • Blond Guys Are Evil: Yeah.
  • Break the Haughty: His time among the Dothraki is not fun for him. Subverted in that it does little to break his haughtiness. Really? The crown he got wasn't really the one he wanted - but maybe he [[Just Desserts|deserved it}}. Either way, his watch is well and truly over.
  • Brother-Sister Incest:
    • One-sided and very creepy. His very first scene involves forcing his sister to undress and commenting on her figure while pawing at her boobs. Cersei later mentions that the Targaryens wed brother-to-sister for three hundred years.
    • In interviews, the actor who portrays him describes Daenerys as his "sister, wife, and daughter" all in one, often mentions that his character feels as though he "owns" Daenerys due to the fact that he would have married her if he still had the throne, and is even somewhat jealous of having to give her up to another man.
  • Bullying a Dragon: If your sister - who is effectively the Barbarian Tribe's queen - is the only person who can ensure you will be tolerated, assaulting her is definitely a pretty dumb thing to do. The irony is that when he Turns Red, he describes it as "waking the dragon."
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Pot of molten gold poured over his head.
    • Death by Irony: Should have been more specific when he demanded a golden crown.
  • The Exile
  • Freudian Excuse: Both due to what happened to his family and the pressure on his shoulders to avenge them.
    • He hints at the reasons behind his behavior in a conversation with Jorah Mormont, expressing the overwhelming pressure of being the “last hope of a dynasty” and his obsession to restore it, as well as bitterness over Dothraki reverence of his sister, “not a piece” of which he’s ever gotten himself.
    • A lot of his behavior is an obvious case of In the Blood... One of Aerys' kids had to have inherited his crazy gene, after all. Blame the inbreeding.
    • After his death, Daenerys reminisces that Viserys actually used to be nice to her. That had stopped after Viserys was forced to sell their mother's crown for gold.
  • Green-Eyed Monster/The Resenter: Is quite jealous of his sister when he realizes that the entire Dothraki tribe loves and respects her.
  • Impoverished Patrician
  • In-Series Nickname: Viserys likes to style himself as the rightful King of Westeros, along with its other titles, but most people simply refer to him as the Beggar King. During his time with the Dothraki, he is also known as the Sorefoot King and Cart King.
  • Insistent Terminology: Referring to Robert Baratheon as "The Usurper."
  • It's All About Me: He's never shares credit that it was his sister and Magister Illyrio that got him the Dothraki alliance, insisting it was his idea. Also he claims that the Dothraki are his people and army to command when they aren't and are actually Daenerys.
    • In the DVD extras, he narrates the history sections, giving the perspective of House Targaryan. While recounting the Sack of King's Landing, he mentions that he was spirited out of the city before it fell as, with his brother Rhaegar's death, he was now heir to the throne. Technically, he was second in line behind his nephew, Aegon. In fact, as his sister-in-law was a Dornish princess, he may well have been third in line behind his niece and nephew.(Dornish law puts women in the line of succession; while Dornish law doesn't officially apply to the royal line, had the Targaryans won, Dorne would have had a significantly stronger army than the Targaryans, having not taken part in the war.
  • Jerkass
  • Kick the Dog: Pretty much every scene with Daenerys involves him abusing her physically and/or emotionally.
  • My Parents Are Dead
  • Promotion to Parent: Has been taking care of Daenerys for her almost her entire life since their exile.
  • Revenge: One of his driving motivations is to punish those who stole the Iron Throne.
  • Small Name, Big Ego
  • Smug Snake
  • Stupid Evil
  • Too Dumb to Live: Maybe he shouldn't have spent most of his time in the company of the Dothraki wigging out at them every few minutes, openly insulting their traditions and threatening his sister, who happens to be carrying the unborn son of their king.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy

King Aerys II Targaryen

"Burn them all."

Daenerys and Viserys' father. He was killed when Robert rebelled, seventeen years before the start of the story.

Tropes:

Rhaego

The son of Daenerys and Khal Drogo, who according to prophecy will unite all Dothraki khalassars under his command.

Tropes:

  • Dark Messiah: He's prophecised to be "The Stallion Who Mounts the World" (in which 'Mounts' doesn't mean 'Ride' but 'Fuck') the khal of khals who will lead the Dothraki to dominion over all the lands of the world.
  • Dead Guy, Junior: Obviously named after the late Prince Rhaegar, with the termination changed to reflect Dothraki naming customs.
  • Fetus Terrible: To Mirri Maz Duur he's one.
  • Magical Abortion: Due to Mirri Maz Duur's Blood Magic, Rhaego is the sacrifice for Drogo's cure. He's born terribly deformed and already dead.

Prince Rhaegar Targaryen

Daenerys and Viserys' elder brother and father of the bastard Jon Snow. His abduction of Lyanna Stark was the spark that ignited Robert's Rebellion. Killed in battle by Robert Baratheon roughly seventeen years prior to the start of the series.

Tropes:

  • Alternate Character Interpretation: In-universe and out of it. Daenerys obviously doesn't think he was as evil as Robert says, and Robert tends to be something of an unreliable source for information on the Targaryens. [3]
  • Arch Enemy: Robert Baratheon viewed him as this.
  • I Have Your Betrothed: His kidnapping of Robert Baratheon's betrothed Lyanna Stark (probably in combination with his father's penchant for burning his liege lords) is what started Robert's Rebellion.
  • Posthumous Character
  • Warrior Prince: He is implied as this by Jorah Mormont, who refers to him as "the real Dragon" of the Targaryen family at the time of the Rebellion. Robert turned out to be a far better one when they met, though.

Prince Aegon Targaryen

Rightful heir to the Iron Throne, otherwise know as the bastard, Jon Snow.

Tropes:

Sworn Knights, Retainers and Household

Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen)

"The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends. It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace. They never are."

An exiled knight from the Seven Kingdoms, who pledged his sword to Viserys and now travels with Khal Drogo's khalasar. He becomes something of a Mentor to Daenerys, and by the third episode has largely transferred his allegiance to her. Known among the Dothraki as "Jorah the Andal."

Tropes:

  • Adaptation Dye Job: Described as dark-haired and balding in the books, but played by blond Iain Glen.
  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Ser Jorah Mormont is explicitly described in the book as "not a handsome man." Iain Glen, on the other hand, is quite appealing.
  • Badass: His duel with Qotho, Drogo's bloodrider, has him overcome his opponent's superior speed by trapping his sword in his breastplate with one hand and cutting his throat with his free hand.
  • Badass Beard
  • Becoming the Mask: Originally traveling with Daenerys and Viseyrs as an informant of Varys seeking to earn a pardon from Robert Baratheon. Gradually, he falls in love with Daenerys, defending her life on several occasions, and becoming a key ally in her plan to retake the Seven Kingdoms, even after he has secured his pardon.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Viserys calls him out on it in "A Golden Crown."

Viserys: You stand there all nobility and honor. You don't think I see you looking at my little sister, hm? Don't think I don't know what you want.

    • Daenerys notices too:

Jorah: Don't ask me to stand aside as you climb on that pyre. I won't watch you burn!
Daenerys: Is that what you fear? [kisses him on the cheek]

    • Further referenced in "The Ghost of Harrenhal." Daxos says it outright to Daenerys that Jorah is in love with her, and Jorah himself all but admits it outright when they speak together later.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Has no qualms about fighting an unarmored foe with his armor on, and in fact makes that a principle piece of his strategy to win the fight.
  • Culture Clash: While the Dothraki call him "the Andal," the Mormonts are actually blood of the First Men. The Andals are the Saxon invaders to the original Briton occupants of Westeros.[4]
  • Disproportionate Retribution: His exile for the crimes he committed, in his mind at least.
  • The Dragon: To Daenerys.
  • Dramatic Irony:
    • Revealed in "The Wolf and the Lion" to be spying on Daenerys on behalf of Varys.
    • In "You Win or You Die," he protects Daenerys from an assassination that he was the indirect cause of.
  • Everyone Can See It: In-universe, everyone and their mums, seems to be aware that he's got a crush on Daenerys.
  • I Choose to Stay: He choses to remain by Daenerys' side even after being pardoned and allowed to return by King Robert.
  • The Mole
  • Perma-Stubble
  • Stalker With a Crush: Has shades of this.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: He sold some poachers into slavery, and fled rather than facing Ned Stark over it. Subverted, as informing on Daenerys has earned him a royal pardon. Which he's ignored so far to continue serving Daenerys.

Rakharo (Elyes Gabel)

"My father taught me how to fight. He taught me that speed defeats size."

A member of Daenerys' personal guard (kas).

Tropes:

Kovarro (Steven Cole)

Another of Daenerys' three bloodriders.

Tropes:

Aggo

The third of Daenerys' bloodriders.

Tropes:

Irri (Amrita Acharia)

"It is known."

One of Daenerys's handmaidens. She is given to her to teach Daenerys the Dothraki tongue.

Tropes:

Doreah (Roxanne McKee)

Another of Daenerys' handmaidens, a former Sex Slave from Lys that teaches her the ways of love.

Tropes:

Jhiqui (Sarita Piotrowski)

The third of Daenerys' handmaidens.

Tropes:

Back to the main character listing

  1. ↑ Daenerys hasn't had her period since she miscarried Rhaego, and doesn't believe she'll ever be able to have children again
  2. ↑ when Aerys was first crowned, he was pretty normal. It was only as time went on that the crazy set in.
  3. ↑ Various people from all different factions speak very highly of Rhaegar, and even though it was his sister who died, Ned never gives any sign of bearing Rhaegar a grudge. In fact, Robert is the only one who explicitly claims Rhaegar kidnapped and raped Lyanna, with everyone else who talks about it seeming to think they were mutually in love and eloped.
  4. ↑ The Andals were a second migration thousands of years after the First Men, bringing (among other things) the seven-in-one god you hear about. They settled primarily in the south of Westeros, and their influence is not felt much above the Neck; northerners claim to descend solely from the First Men, keep the "old gods" by worshipping at a heart tree, and generally do not become knighted because the Faith of the Seven invented that office.
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