Daenerys Targaryen has titles galore — Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains, etc. — that she uses to showcase that she is prepared to sit on the Iron Throne. But even at the end of Game Of Thrones Season 7, the "last" Targaryen wasn't completely qualified to rule Westeros. Although she has significantly added to her résumé since Season 6, Daenerys still isn't ready for the Iron Throne. That doesn't mean that she wouldn't be the best ruler that Westeros has seen in a long time. Or that Daenerys doesn't deserve to be queen (although, good luck with that now that she has claim competition in Jon). But there is always room for improvement when it comes to ruling the world and even with all of her fancy titles, Daenerys has some shortcomings that could prove fatal if she doesn't fix them before taking the Iron Throne.
To say Daenerys isn't ready to be queen yet is admittedly quite nitpicky. After all, considering the last string of leaders to sit on the Iron Throne, Daenerys is by far the best. She's absurdly more experienced than previous kings Joffrey and Tommen — with the bonus factor of not being a sadist like Joffrey. And she'd care about the kingdom and its people more than Robert or Cersei ever did. But with only one season left in Game Of Thrones and the possibility that Daenerys finally gets to be queen as she has so desired, here are some reasons why she might not be as fit for the role as she thinks she is.
1. She Doesn't Know Westeros
One of the complaints from the lords of Westeros (like Sam's deceased father Randyll Tarly) about Daenerys is that they don't want a ruler who wasn't raised in Westeros. While that's prejudiced, Daenerys really isn't as familiar with the Westerosi political landscape as Cersei. That's not necessarily a bad thing for helping the downtrodden of Westeros, but she'll have to become a bit savvier in dealing with the noble houses if she doesn't want them constantly undermining her — or worse, rebelling against her like they did with her father.
2. She Has To Change Her Tactics
Unfortunately, her methods for acquiring the Unsullied and Dothraki armies don't really work when it comes to the armies of Westeros. For example, unlike the Unsullied, the Westerosi serve houses and aren't enslaved, so they're much less willing to go along with the Breaker of Chains. In order to obtain their allegiance, she'll need to get more political because strong-arming them with dragons isn't going to lead to devoted followers.
3. She Depends Too Much On Her Dragons
While her dragons are extremely necessary for some situations — aka, killing White Walkers — she showed them off a bit too much in Season 7. Since she had never seen the White Walkers, you can't blame her for not realizing the Night King would have an ice spear that would kill Viserion on impact, but she has been putting her incredibly rare creatures in too perilous of situations. And by bringing her two surviving dragons to the Dragon Pit in the Season 7 finale, she unintentionally gave Cersei some intel.
4. She Underestimates Her Competition
Speaking of unintentionally giving Cersei intel, Daenerys got played by the Lannister queen multiple times in Season 7. Dany also didn't seem to consider that Viserion could come back to life as an ice dragon. Her own goodness and ego are proving detrimental and she's going to need to get into the mindset of her enemies to win — and keep — the throne.
5. She Must Rein In Her Wrath
Although she's got a fiery temper (har-har), Daenerys is often judged particularly hard when it comes to her rage since it inevitably leads to comparisons between her and her father, the Mad King. But the Mad King killed a lot of people, so if she's trying to distance herself from him and demonstrate that she's a trustworthy leader, she really can't be burning men who don't instantly swear fealty — like the Tarlys — anymore.
6. She Is Too Self-Righteous
Game Of Thrones fans certainly understand why she feels so entitled to the throne, but not everyone in Westeros feels that way after their families were killed by her father. Rather than be insulted, like she was with Jon Snow not bending the knee, she should be a bit more understanding of the fact that she's going to need to prove herself to earn loyalty.
7. She Acts Like A Hero
Don't get me wrong — it's completely admirable (and badass) that she is willing to hop on Drogon to get a job done, like she did with defeating the Lannister army and the White Walkers. But when she's trying to be the queen with no successor (ahem, for now), she shouldn't be putting her own life on the line so frequently. While being willing to risk her life is what makes her such a respected leader, she's going to need to learn to delegate dragon-riding duties to her nephew Jon.
8. She Doesn't Listen To Tyrion Enough
Regarding that pesky successor issue, Daenerys shouldn't have blown off Tyrion when he noted how losing her would put an end to any hope of Westeros having a good leader. (Especially since these two don't know about Jon's paternity.)
9. She Listens To Tyrion Too Much
On the other hand (of the queen), the typically wise Tyrion was radically wrong in Season 7. He miscalculated the importance of Casterly Rock, his wight plan was flawed from the start, and he naively believed Cersei that she'd join them in their quest to defeat the Night King. Daenerys has been known to surround herself with smart advisors, so hopefully, she'll continue to seek other trusted opinions in Season 8.
10. She Can Be A Bit Oblivious
While I didn't expect Daenerys to have figured out Jon's parentage when she has been repeatedly told that she's the only living Targaryen, don't you think she should have followed up on how Drogon greeted Jon in "Eastwatch"? In all her time with the dragons, they've never once greeted another person like that. (She wasn't present when Rhaegal and Viserion allowed Tyrion to unchain them.) Sure, Daenerys was intrigued by Drogon letting Jon pet him, but it didn't cross her mind to ask Jon more about his family's past. It's no secret that Jon doesn't know who his mom is, so with a little effort, she could have wondered if his family history made him a Targaryen before having sex with him.
11. She Takes Too Long To Be Convinced
When Jon explains the White Walkers to someone who has never seen them before, it absolutely sounds like crazy talk — there's no denying that. But you know what else sounds like crazy talk? Hatching dragon eggs and being fireproof. So why did Daenerys have to see the army of the dead to believe it existed? If anyone should be able to believe in the fantastic, it should be Dany.
12. She Is Distracted By Love
Regardless of the fact that he's her nephew (a fact that she is currently unaware of), Daenerys shouldn't have slept with Jon Snow during the Season 7 finale since her feelings for him may cloud her judgment in the upcoming war. Jon is already obviously distracting her and when she finds out who he really is, she's going to be even more rattled. Should've kept your eye on the prize, Dany!
So while Daenerys is still my number one choice to take the Iron Throne, she'll have a lot of growing up to do in Season 8 to prove successful.
