Can Daenerys Really Take Westeros?

Last week on Game of Thrones , Daenerys Stormborn, last living member of the Targaryen dynasty, finally made mention of taking King's Landing. With 8,000 Unsullied and 2,000 Second Sons on her side, and King's Landing in shambles with one boy-king murdered, and another even tinier boy-king barely coronated, surely the time was ripe to strike with an army of trained eunuchs, faithful sellswords and fired up former slaves. Oh yeah, and good ole Daario Naharis commandeered 93 ships from the Meereenese navy without telling his Khaleesi — it's fine this time, but watch yourself, Naharis.

And dragons; don't forget that Dany has dragons. The Westeros pickin's seem ripe for a takeover by a ruler worthy of leading it's people, and Dany, on a whole other continent, seems most ready to pounce. We sure as hell know John isn't going to do it. Love the guy, but currently, he can barely balance his hormones and pride long enough to fight a bunch of drunks holed up in a cabin without getting stabbed in the leg. Arya is doing her Odd Couple thing, Sansa is probably about to get shanked by her aunt, and Bran is, like, leading a noble crusade toward the most mysterious weirwood in all the land. (OK, maybe Bran is up to something. But, really, what are those kids ever even talking about?)

But, Dany... Dany has an army. Dany has a legitimate claim. Dany has a gentle heart, and a fiery will, and a mother effin' birthright. All signs point to Dany taking her claim soon, right?

**Spoilers ahead culled from A Song of Fire and Ice book series, and the theories that rattle around my own head**

Yeah, that's a big fat NO. Were you expecting the opposite? Sorry. Sometimes I get a little emphatic when it comes to the Mother of Dragons, because I just know her time on the Iron Throne will come. But from what we have to go on now — nuh uh, not happening yet, so you better get attached to the Bran storyline or learn to be patient. As she said herself last episode, Dany can't be a ruler without first learning to rule. She's already got a bunch of folks on her team and, frankly, they're not doing so great.

Last episode, when Danaerys began to get excited about potentially having an army large enough to take the weakened army at King's Landing, old stick-in-the-mud Jorah Mormont gave her that look that keeps him securely saddled in the friendzone (I tease because I crush). Even though Dany could take King's Landing, she couldn't expect and army of 10,000 to be enough to hold the Seven Kingdoms. Especially considering the new information Jorah throws down: the old masters in Yunkai (that's the one where she body-surfed) had re-established slavery and taken control of the city, swearing revenge against her. In Astapor (where she sacked the city and took the Unsullied), the ruling council she left behind was overthrown by a butcher who has begun calling himself "His Imperial Majesty." Jeez.

Dany commits to staying in Meereen, the city she conquered in Episode 4, to make sure the slaves she's liberated stay safe. She asks herself: if she can't rule Slaver's Bay, then how could she possibly rule the Seven Kingdoms? There's plenty to come for Dany this season, as she tries to reestablish what she built in the cities she originally freed from Meereen. But from the narrative that we know from A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, the last two books released, taking place at the same time, and the texts upon which the current and at least next two seasons will most likely be based: there are wars, weddings, lovers, gladiator fights, and dragon-back rides in Dany's near future; but not even a glimpse of Westeros and our other favorite characters who inhabit it.

Fingers crossed for The Winds of Winter.

Images: HBO; giphy.com (2); Tumblr/gifhunterress