‘The Winds Of Winter’ Plot Spoilers: Will Daenerys Ever Get To Westeros?

Since the inception of “Game of Thrones,” fans and readers alike have been waiting for the day when Daenerys Targaryen sets her sights on Westeros and her destiny -- the iron throne. However, her journey has been a seriously long one, starting with her betrothal to Khal Drogo that led to her becoming a Khaleesi -- although she lost her brother Viserys Targaryen in exchange. Mainly due to the fact that Viserys was not a true dragon, something Daenerys discovered herself when learning she could not be burned by fire. Though she discovered, she had the blood of a dragon running through her veins, she still suffered great tragedy. Her beloved “sun and stars” Khal Drogo died, along with her unborn son Rhaego, she was then left in the middle of the Red Waste with a dwindling khalasar, and no supplies or hope of survival. In a desperate situation, Daenerys entered the flames with her three supposedly fossilized dragon eggs, gifted to her by Illyrio at her wedding. She emerged from the flames, unburnt and with three dragons, making her the “Mother of Dragons.” With the power of her still young dragons, she acquired the now freed army of Unsullied and decided to take on the slavery of the East and abolish it. Daenerys has taken on Astapor and won, they went to Yunkai and won, finally she conquers the last great slave city of Meereen.

Warning! Possible spoilers ahead for “Game of Thrones” and George R.R. Martin’s “The Winds of Winter.” Do not read any further if you do not want to discover fan theories regarding Daenerys Targaryen and the next installment of “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Daenerys spends a good portion of “A Dance with Dragons” ruling in Meereen, she desires to be a good and just queen. However with the increasing pressure form the Sons of the Harpy, she has a somewhat difficult time with her rule. Dany’s final moments in “A Dance with Dragons” were suspenseful and thrilling, after mounting the back of Drogon and riding him out of the fighting pits in Meereen, Dany and her “child” rest on a secluded bluff thousands of leagues away from civilization. After attempting to ride her dragon again, Dany comes to the firm conclusion that dragons truly cannot be tamed, even by their mother. The young Queen carries herself back in the direction of Meereen, however she is discovered by Khal Jhaqo and his great khalasar amidst the Dothraki Sea. Khal Jhaqo declared himself Khal after Drogo’s illness was revealed, his powerful khalasar consists of 20,000 blood riders including Mago. Despite Mago’s death in the HBO TV series, he is set to reemerge in the plot of “The Winds of Winter.” Before Khal Jhaqo and Mago left Daenerys and her few loyal followers to die in the Red Waste, Mago stole Eroeh, who was an innocent girl that Dany had saved from the brutality of Dohtraki war customs. Despite Khal Drogo’s demand that Eroeh not be harmed for the sake of his wife, Mago rapes her and then gives her to Jhaqo to rape as well. Eroeh is then raped by six of Khal Jhaqo’s men before she has her throat slit. When Daenerys heard of this horrific act in “Game of Thrones” she made a promise.

“It was a cruel fate, yet not so cruel as Mago's will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh.” -- Daenerys Targaryen in chapter 68 of “Game of Thrones.”

Upon Dany’s return in “The Winds of Winter” expect to see her gaining control of a new khalasar. Drogon is a fierce beast and despite the power of the horse lords, they stand no chance against the fire burning beast in the Dothraki Sea. Upon seeing Dany in a highly vulnerable position, Jhaqo and Mago will most likely attempt to rape and kill her, and although a dragon cannot be tamed by his mother, Drogon is still fiercely protective of her. Drogon will burn Jhaqo and Mago to death, not only eliminating the threat against his mother, but improving her situation greatly. The Dothraki do not bow down to blood lines instead they follow strength, and who’s stronger than someone with a dragon? Jhaqo’s khalasar, or what’s left of them following Drogon’s attack, will flock back to the Khaleesi they once knew.

So what can fans expect from Daenerys now that she has reformed her lost khalasar? Most would assume that she would finally turn her sights on Westeros and take back the Iron Throne with fire and blood. Most fans believe that by the time Daenerys makes it through the long journey in “the Winds of Winter” that her apparent birth right and the Iron Throne will be less desirable. Westeros and especially King’s Landing hold no sentimental value to her, it is only a reminder of the family she has lost and the life she never had.

While readers have been waiting for years for Dany to march into the Red Keep and proclaim herself the Queen of Westeros, that is most likely not going to happen. Westeros is not a home for Dany, and after an entire lifetime of being on the run as a slave, she has finally become a Queen in her own right, who makes her own decisions and when Dany is finally faced with the true decision of whether or not to take Westeros -- she will not cross the Narrow Sea.

Daenerys will not take back Westeros for the Targaryen name not because she doesn’t have the power, but because she doesn’t have the desire. Instead, after birthing dragons, conquering the slave cities, ruling in Meereen and reforming her long lost khalasar, Daenerys will most likely return back to her beloved house with the red door, which she recounts as the only home she has ever known. The main reason why fans believe that Dany will not take the Iron Throne is because “A Song of Ice and Fire” author, George R.R. Martin revealed that the conclusion of the series in the seventh book “A Dream of Soring” will be “bittersweet.” While readers may want Daenerys to take back the Iron Throne, they will be pleased that she has finally found peace in her life.