With House of the Dragon making waves as the Targaryens wrestle with political marriages and relationships, many fans have come to look back fondly at the complex world of Game of Thrones. With a story spanning from the Wall to King’s Landing to Dorne to Essos, the series covered more heroes and villains in each plot than whole shows contain.
But the plot that House of the Dragon calls back to often is the journey of Daenerys Targaryen. An exiled princess who managed to bring dragons to life, Daenerys proved to be a truly capable queen with a strong love of smashing chains. Yet, despite her good nature, Daenerys had many enemies who drove her to her breaking point.
Viserys Targaryen
The least intelligent of the Targaryens, Viserys was an exiled king, desperate to regain the throne of his father. Though he was Daenerys’ own brother, he was also willing to sell her to the Dothraki in exchange for his crown. Often insulting her, hitting her, and screaming at her, he proved to be a major threat to Daenerys’ safety.
Once Daenerys found herself adjusting to life in Khal Drogo’s band and announced her pregnancy, Viserys became even more unfathomably jealous and brutal. Having threatened to kill her, he proved to be the most dangerous of Daenerys’ early enemies, and it led to Viserys suffering a painful end.
Robert Baratheon
The man who led a rebellion that would unseat the father of Daenerys and cause the extermination of her entire family, Robert Baratheon was Daenerys’ enemy from the moment she was born. After haunting her family for years, thanks to his nerves about Viserys, he even ordered to have the pregnant princess murdered.
Even when Ned Stark, one of the most honorable characters, was begging Robert to let Daenerys go, Robert wouldn’t hear it. Though Daenerys had never done anything to him, he wouldn’t stop until she was dead. While he would recant his order on his deathbed, it was too little and too late.
Tywin Lannister
There are few enemies to House Targaryen worse than the man who helped to ensure the end of the Targaryen dynasty. Tywin was clearly one of the greatest threats to Daenerys’ reign, especially since he was the reason she was forced to live in exile.
After all, King’s Landing might have held longer, and more resources could have been funneled to Daenerys, had Tywin not sacked the city. Daenerys also might have had more allies, given that it was Tywin who was responsible for the slaughter of her nephew and niece and the brutal murder of her sister-in-law. No love was lost between these two.
Xaro Xhoan Daxos
A man who initially portrayed himself as an ally to Daenerys by taking her side in Qarth, Xaro Xhoan Daxos proved to be an enemy worse than any other after he repeatedly pressured her into giving him dragons. When she refused his marriage offers, Xaro aligned himself with Pyat Pree and stole those dragons.
Stealing a mother’s children was horrifying enough, but Xaro also betrayed Daenerys by paying off her most trusted handmaiden as well. His stupid decision to betray Daenerys got him killed, and there are few characters who deserved it more.
Cersei Lannister
By the time Daenerys arrived in King’s Landing to begin a siege against the city, Cersei Lannister was ready and waiting for her. With Euron Greyjoy’s help, she managed to kill one of Daenerys’ dragons, then took Missandei captive and had her head removed while Daenerys watched.
It was one of the most random deaths in Game of Thrones, especially since Cersei had little to gain politically from the murder. Left with little else but Grey Worm and a few treacherous advisors, Daenerys eventually sacked the city in vengeance, leading directly to her death. None of it would have happened if Cersei hadn’t been such an unpredictable threat.
Sansa Stark
The rivalry between Sansa and Daenerys was a fierce one, even if it came out of nowhere. Though Daenerys tried to be welcoming and polite to Sansa, she was met by a cold face who wanted nothing to do with her. It was especially strange given that Sansa desperately needed the help of Daenerys and her dragons.
Though it would be Arya that would kill the Night King, Daenerys still played a major role in the Long Night. Yet Sansa utterly disregarded that and tried to put Daenerys down at every turn. From unveiling Jon’s true parentage to making it clear that she did not wish to bend the knee, Sansa repeatedly worked to undermine the Dragon Queen and became her enemy.
The Wise Masters
The Breaker of Chains was one of Daenerys’ many titles, and it was the one that made fans fall in love with her. After encountering many societies that relied on slavery, Daenerys began to conquer the slave cities and break the collars off of each slave. The Wise Masters of Yunkai utterly despised her for it.
One representative of the Wise Masters, Razdal mo Eraz, even threatened to enslave Daenerys and steal her dragons after she requested that the slaves be freed. It made Yunkai a quick enemy to Daenerys, and it’s why she chose to siege the city and kill many of the Masters. Still, even after leaving Yunkai, they posed a threat to her rule in Meereen.
Sons of the Harpy
Funded by the Wise Masters, the Sons of the Harpy represented the interests of the slave owners by butchering freedmen, Unsullied, and even Ser Barristan Selmy. Their brutality was almost as terrible as the threat they posed to Daenerys’ goal of freeing all slaves.
Few enemies actually posed a major threat to Daenerys, but their guerilla tactics managed to overwhelm even a dragonrider. Their ability to target necessary elements like her fleet, her queensguard, and her loyal Unsullied army made them an enemy like no other.
The Night King
Now that House of the Dragon has revealed that the White Walkers were always the ancient bane of House Targaryen, it’s clear that the Night King was one of Daenerys’ worst enemies before she even knew that he was there. With an army of wights behind him, he was too dangerous to be ignored.
To make matters worse, the Night King managed to murder and steal Viserion, corrupting him by turning him into an ice dragon. Given that it was the only successful attempt to capture a dragon, the Night King was certainly a true enemy. But the fact that the White Walkers murdered Jorah only made him an even worse threat. While the final season is certainly unpopular, the Night King was still Daenerys’ genuine foe.
Jon Snow
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Daenerys’ worst enemy happened to be her own nephew. Though the two clearly had a genuine affection for each other, that love wasn’t enough to keep them from tearing each other apart. With numerous factions using Jon as a tool against Daenerys’ reign, it seemed like their bond was destined to break.
In the end, it was. After being driven beyond the brink, Daenerys destroyed King’s Landing, and Jon killed her for it. While he would quickly be exiled for the act, he proved himself Daenerys’ worst foe. She trusted him implicitly, and he used that trust to kill her.
