Two Game Of Thrones Lines Predicted How Daenerys Would Die, 8 Years Before Jon Snow Killed Her

Daenerys Targaryen’s death was a shock to many, but Game of Thrones laid out the clues for how it would happen in the opening episodes. The HBO fantasy epic was adapted from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire novels, and while the TV show famously surpassed the author in progressing through the story, many of the main story beats were orchestrated from the ground up. Some details were shared with the showrunners by George R.R. Martin, and others were original to the series but were still planned from the start.

The Game of Thrones ending was wildly controversial, and while there are extensively valid critiques for how the television series handled the final seasons, many of the conclusive choices might turn out similarly in the novels. For example, Bran Stark becoming king at the end of the series wasn’t received well, but it was George R.R. Martin’s idea. The choice to make Daenerys Targaryen succumb to madness and her ultimate death by Jon Snow’s hand was another that was met with emotional responses, but it seems to have been a long time coming.

Robert Baratheon & Jaime Lannister Foreshadowed Daenerys’ Death

These Two Game Of Thrones Quotes Build Up Jon Snow Stabbing Dany

There are two quotes in Game of Thrones season 1 that now, in retrospect, seem like obvious foreshadowing. In episode 2, Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark share a chat along the kingsroad where they discuss Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen. Ned claims that they’re just children, but Robert declares that he wishes Daenerys killed by “a sharp knife and a bold man to wield it.” At the time, he was hoping to execute the plan with assassins, and neither could have predicted that this “bold man” would be Jon Snow.

In episode 3, Eddard Stark arrives in King’s Landing to begin his tenure as Robert’s hand, only to meet Jaime Lannister in the Iron Throne room. They share an exchange regarding the death of King Aerys II Targaryen, where Jaime asks if it would have been more honorable to stab the Mad King in the belly rather than the back. Jon later stabbed Daenerys, the Mad Queen, in the belly, betraying her in a manner that wasn’t too dissimilar to what Jaime did.

Was There A Plan To Kill Daenerys As Early As Game Of Thrones Season 1?

The Daenerys Death Plan Was Conceptualized Around Season 3

Without The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, it’s still unclear whether George R.R. Martin plans to pursue a similar ending for Daenerys. According to the behind-the-scenes interviews of season 8, episode 6, “The Iron Throne,” the plan to have Jon kill Daenerys was something the showrunners had developed since around season 3. There’s nothing concrete, however, to say that this plan for Game of Thrones will happen in the books.