Many men have gone in and out of the life of Daenerys Targaryen over the course of Game of Thrones. But ever since her beloved sun and stars Khal Drogo was killed in Season 1, the men in Dany's life have only seemed to play roles important to her conquest of Westeros, not romance. Dany doesn't have time for love — after all, she has to retake the seven kingdoms. So when, during Season 6, she sent away two men who were in love with her, it was because she needed to eliminate a liability. Yet now that she has a new man in her life, Tyrion Lannister, will she send him away, as well? Although no declarations of love have been made by Tyrion yet, if he does fall for her, he could he end up just like the others. And if falling in love with the Mother of Dragons leads to exile, what would that mean for our beloved Tyrion?
Dany's history with men is fraught, to say the least, and if Tyrion follows these guys' leads, his future isn't bright. First, there was Jorah Mormont, who came into Dany's life pretty early on. It was pretty evident from the get-go that Jorah had feelings for Dany, and she benefitted from his knowledge of Westeros, yet had to send him away after learning of a betrayal. He managed to re-gain her trust, but Season 6 saw Dany send Jorah away again — this time not out of disappointment, but out of worry. Jorah had contracted Greyscale, and keeping him around was dangerous and unwise. Besides, having Jorah's puppy-love eyes around all the time as he suffered and died was was a sad distraction Dany couldn't afford. So while she exiled Jorah supposedly to find a cure for his ailment, it's probably more likely that she sent him away out of pity and sadness.
Then there was Daario Naharis, leader of the Second Sons, whose sexual relationship with Dany proved beneficial to her in other ways. Not since Drogo died had she been able to experience sexual pleasure at the hands of a man, and Daario fulfilled her in the bedroom while also providing fighting men for her conquest. But Dany eventually gave Daario some bad news: he would not be coming with her to Westeros. He protested, declaring his love and arguing that a king traveling with a mistress wouldn't be given a second thought, so why should a queen? But Dany didn't buy it. More than that, she didn't even feel bad about it. By being sent away so matter-of-factly, Daario and Jorah were shown to share more similarities than they may have realized.
And who gave her the advice to send these men away? Her new Hand of the Queen, Tyrion. As Tyrion said, "You turned away a man who truly loves you because he would have been a liability in the seven kingdoms. That's the kind of self-sacrifice that makes for a good ruler, if it's any consolation." Yet Dany was clearly more affected by her decisions than she initially let on, if not for the "right" reasons. "Do you know what frightens me?" she asked Tyrion rhetorically. "I said farewell to a man who loves me, a man I thought I cared for, and I felt nothing." Dany may have thought that she loved Daario as he loved her, but as it turned out, she didn't. She sent him away just like Jorah, another man who loved her and promised to fight for her, but instead was told to leave out of a mix of pity and logic.
So what does that mean for Tyrion? While he seems to be in it for the long haul, intent on seeing Dany through her conquest, there's almost bound to be conflict involving his possible feelings for her. While he hasn't come right out and said it, the probability the Tyrion could or will fall in love with Dany is high. I mean, she's basically a manic pixie dream girl, but with dragons instead of emo records. As Tyrion even told her, referring to Daario, "He wasn't the first to love you, and he won't be the last." The next man might have been staring straight at Dany as he said it. And a relationship between them is possible; Dany knows very little of Westeros and of Tyrion's reputation there, so while he may have spent his life being looked down upon by family and others, Danny has nothing but respect for Tyrion. Her admiration of him could, potentially, lead to him falling for her, and already, there are hints of this happening. Those puppy dog eyes when Dany gave Tyrion the Hand brooch might as well have been a full-out "I love you," at least in my view.
Yet while Tyrion's counsel, advice, and intelligence are exactly the things Dany needs in order to take back Westeros, what happens if Tyrion's love for Dany becomes clearer? Would she send him away just like the others? If she does, would it be out of pity, or because he would then be another liability, just like Daario? It's clear that Daenerys doesn't want to have to deal with an issue like romance during her attempt to conquer Westeros, and if any of her enemies learn of her feelings for another person, they could always try and use them against her. Alternatively, her enemies could try and use the love someone has for her against her. It seems a lose-lose situation.
In giving him the position of the Hand of the Queen, Dany surely sees Tyrion as an equal, but she has said that she'll have to marry for alliance purposes. When it comes to actual romance, Dany hasn't expressed any loving feelings for her men in her life since Drogo died. She has always been a loner on her quest. People have come and gone, but Tyrion's knowledge and cunning intelligence would be a great loss should she choose to send him away, too. And where would he go? With Cersei now in power, Tyrion is in more danger than ever. If anything, it's he who needs Dany's protection. So in order for Tyrion to stay put, stay in power, and remain the Hand, the advice Tyrion should give himself is: keep your feelings to yourself.
Images: HBO
