House Of The Dragon 2.02 // Game Of Thrones 3.03

house of the dragon 2.02 // game of thrones 3.03

Madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin

I wrote about this before, and I made an edit about this as well, but I wanted to write a separate post just for this topic because I think people really don’t understand what “madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin” means. I see many people taking at face value that half of the Targaryens are mad and that Targaryens are ticking time bombs, and I also see other people criticizing GRRM for including the madness theme for the Targaryens, criticizing him for supposedly adding genetic determinism and stigmatizing mental illness. But I think both are missing the point.

The madness vs greatness theme is not about half of the Targaryens being mad or great (this isn’t even accurate with what we’re shown in the books, as very few Targaryens were mad). The madness and greatness theme wasn’t introduced just to add some cool mythos to House Targaryen. The madness vs greatness theme is a commentary on what it takes to be great: madness. And it’s a theme pertaining to Dany specifically.

The theme was introduced explicitly for the first time in a Dany’s chapter, as something that is said TO Dany, right after she liberated three slave cities:

“I am no maester to quote history at you, Your Grace. Swords have been my life, not books. But every child knows that the Targaryens have always danced too close to madness. Your father was not the first. King Jaehaerys once told me that madness and greatness are two sides of the same coin. Every time a new Targaryen is born, he said, the gods toss the coin in the air and the world holds its breath to see how it will land.” - Daenerys VI ASOS

In fact, this is the ONLY time in all the books in which the Targaryens are stated to be mad or great (sure, there are times where the books talk about the Mad King, or say that this or that Targaryen was mad, but this is the only moment in the books where the coin toss and the theme of madness vs greatness are explicitly mentioned). It’s not something that is brought up several times or given much emphasis, it’s something that appears only this time, and is only said to Dany.

And why is this concept introduced only to Dany, and at this moment? Because it’s meant to be a thematic reflection on what she just did. Because what she did was MAD. To think that you have the power to defy an institution as ingrained as slavery, to think you have the power to make such a huge change in the world, and to actually attempt it, it’s something that most people would consider madness. Because it’s seen as an impossible thing, it’s seen as crazy, it’s seen as suicide. But that’s exactly what greatness is: to do things that most people would consider madness.

And this theme doesn’t even start in ASOS, it starts back in AGOT. The only reason Dany is even in a position to attempt to end slavery, is because she did a mad thing in the first place: walk into a pyre to hatch her dragons. And the narrative points this out several times:

“No. He cannot have my son.” She would not weep, she decided. She would not shiver with fear. The Usurper has woken the dragon now, she told herself … and her eyes went to the dragon’s eggs resting in their nest of dark velvet. The shifting lamplight limned their stony scales, and shimmering motes of jade and scarlet and gold swam in the air around them, like courtiers around a king.

Was it madness that seized her then, born of fear? Or some strange wisdom buried in her blood? Dany could not have said. She heard her own voice saying, “Ser Jorah, light the brazier.”

[…]

When the coals were afire, Dany sent Ser Jorah from her. She had to be alone to do what she must do. This is madness, she told herself as she lifted the black-and-scarlet egg from the velvet. It will only crack and burn, and it’s so beautiful, Ser Jorah will call me a fool if I ruin it, and yet, and yet …

Cradling the egg with both hands, she carried it to the fire and pushed it down amongst the burning coals. The black scales seemed to glow as they drank the heat. Flames licked against the stone with small red tongues. Dany placed the other two eggs beside the black one in the fire. As she stepped back from the brazier, the breath trembled in her throat. - Daenerys VI AGOT

~

She could feel the eyes of the khalasar on her as she entered her tent. The Dothraki were muttering and giving her strange sideways looks from the corners of their dark almond eyes. They thought her mad, Dany realized. Perhaps she was. She would know soon enough. If I look back I am lost. - Daenerys X AGOT

~

As she climbed down off the pyre, she noticed Mirri Maz Duur watching her. “You are mad,” the godswife said hoarsely.

“Is it so far from madness to wisdom?” Dany asked. - Daenerys V AGOT

When Dany says she is determined to conquer Westeros, even though it seems impossible for someone who has nothing, she is called mad:

“I mean to sail to Westeros, and drink the wine of vengeance from the skull of the Usurper.” She scratched Rhaegal under one eye, and his jade-green wings unfolded for a moment, stirring the still air in the palanquin.

A single perfect tear ran down the cheek of Xaro Xhoan Daxos. “Will nothing turn you from this madness?”

“Nothing,” she said, wishing she was as certain as she sounded. - Daenerys III ACOK

Later, when Dany ends slavery, people call her mad for it, for daring to challenge an institution that is seen as the right order or things:

“I have a gift for you as well.” She slammed the chest shut. “Three days. On the morning of the third day, send out your slaves. All of them. Every man, woman, and child shall be given a weapon, and as much food, clothing, coin, and goods as he or she can carry. These they shall be allowed to choose freely from among their masters’ possessions, as payment for their years of servitude. When all the slaves have departed, you will open your gates and allow my Unsullied to enter and search your city, to make certain none remain in bondage. If you do this, Yunkai will not be burned or plundered, and none of your people shall be molested. The Wise Masters will have the peace they desire, and will have proved themselves wise indeed. What say you?”

“I say, you are mad.” - Daenerys IV ASOS

~

Xaro caught it in the air and took a bite. “Whence came this madness? Should I count myself fortunate that you did not free my own slaves when you were my guest in Qarth?” - Daenerys III ADWD

And we also see people looking at Dany as if she is mad when she approaches the sick Astapori, because this is something people consider to be very dangerous:

By the time Aggo returned with Grey Worm and fifty of the Unsullied loping behind his horse, Dany had shamed all of them into helping her. Symon Stripeback and his men were pulling the living from the dead and stacking up the corpses, while Jhogo and Rakharo and their Dothraki helped those who could still walk toward the shore to bathe and wash their clothes. Aggo stared at them as if they had all gone mad, but Grey Worm knelt beside the queen and said, “This one would be of help.” - Daenerys VI ADWD

That’s what the madness vs greatness theme is about. It’s not about how half of the Targaryens are great and half are crazy. It’s about how to be great you have to be mad (not in the clinical sense, like the ASOIAF fandom thinks, but in the sense that you have to do things most people would consider mad). That’s the whole point of the theme and it’s why it’s been applied only to Dany’s character so far: she is an extraordinary person, someone who would DARE to do something that most people would consider impossible and mad. And even GRRM points this out in his interview:

The whole point of the scene in A Game of Thrones where Daenerys hatches the dragons is that she makes the magic up as she goes along; she is someone who really might do anything. (source)

Finally, I just want to mention that Aegon the Conqueror, who is considered to be the greatest Targaryen for conquering Westeros, was also called mad for this:

“A bold plan,” Grand Maester Orwyle said cautiously, when he heard it. Mushroom prefers “madness,” but adds, “they called Aegon the Dragon mad when he spoke of conquering all Westeros.” - Fire and Blood

It's hard, with fathers.

one of my favorite sensations is when you can feel the ocean nearby without seeing it

Dany's names for her dragons, and her reasoning behind them, are pretty interesting. What I find most interesting though is that she ends up claiming and riding Drogon, the dragon named for her first husband who bought and raped her. We aren't given any reasoning behind his naming but I believe it must come from Dany's dragon dream. In this dream, her physical and emotional pain is burned away and she is then able to reconnect with life and those around her.

"'Khaleesi,' Aggo murmured, 'there sits Balerion, come again.'

'It may be as you say, blood of my blood,' Dany replied gravely, 'but he shall have a new name for this new life. I would name them all for those the gods have taken. The green one shall be Rhaegal, for my valiant brother ... The cream-and-gold I call Viserion ... His dragon will do what he could not.'

'And the black beast?' asked Ser Jorah Mormont.

'The black,' she said, 'is Drogon.'"

Viserys is another of Dany's abusers but her explanation for naming a dragon after him makes some sense. All she ever wanted was for Viserys to take care of her as a brother should, now she has a chance to fulfill that need in another way. She'll care for Viserion as his mother and eventually Viserion will care for her.

It also might offer some foreshadowing for Viserion's fate. If I had to guess which dragon would die, I would predict it'd be Viserion dying to protect Dany. This would fulfill Dany's wish that he 'do what [her brother] could not,' which is to say that Viserion will protect and care for Dany. I'm not totally convinced any of the dragons are going to die but, again, if I had to guess then I would say Viserion will shield Dany from some danger and die as a result. Viserys died because he threatened Dany's unborn child, Viserion might die to protect Dany (and possibly another unborn child).

This might also be foreshadowing for whoever ends up riding Viserion. Viserion's rider will do what Viserys could not - they'll protect and love Dany. I've always thought Jon should bond with Viserion (if he gets a dragon) because 1) Viserion is cream and gold which matches the colors Jon is usually associated more than Rhaegal's green and bronze and 2) Jon will do what Viserys couldn't. That's pretty much a given, Jon will love and protect Dany. Something Viserys never could. Viserys also planned on marrying Dany, something he couldn't do, and it also seems likely Jon will marry Dany.

Based on the above passage alone, one might assume Dany would eventually ride either Viserion or Rhaegal. Viserion will do what Viserys could not, he'll love and protect Dany. Best way to do that is as her mount. The bond they never had as brother and sister will manifest as rider/mother and dragon. Rhaegal is named for Dany's "valiant brother" whose memory gives her strength several times throughout the series. She even has visions of herself in Rhaegal's armor, fighting men in ice armor on the Trident - foreshadowing future battles against the Others in Westeros.

Yet she ends up riding Drogon first - the largest and fiercest of the three. "Balerion, come again." There's foreshadowing in that as well. Balerion was the Conquerors dragon and Daenerys will be a conqueror in her own right. She'll be known as "Aegon the Conqueror with teats." With this, it does make sense that she would eventually ride Balerion's reincarnation. Drogo also was a well-renowned warrior, he never cut his braid, and had a khalasar of 40,000 mounted warriors. Naming Drogon for Drogo might be a way for Dany to keep some of Drogo's strength with her. His strength had been her protection when he was alive.

She named her three dragons for "those the gods have taken" but Dany could just have well named Drogon after another member of her family. Her father, mother, or even Aegon the Conqueror. She could have named him after Ser Willem Darry, the only real caretaker she ever knew. There's no explicit explanation given in the text for Drogon's naming so we're left trying to piece it together. Or, I'm left because this is has been bothering me for years now. Let's look at the dragon dream that I believe is the catalyst for Dany naming Drogon after Drogo.

"She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night … Yet when she slept that night, she dreamt the dragon dream again ... There was only her and the dragon. Its scales were black as night, wet and slick with blood. Her blood, Dany sensed. Its eyes were pools of molten magma, and when it opened its mouth, the flame came roaring out in a hot jet ... She opened her arms to the fire ... let it cleanse her and temper her and scour her clean. She could feel her flesh sear and blacken and slough away, could feel her blood boil and turn to steam, and yet there was no pain. She felt strong and new and fierce. And the next day, strangely, she did not seem to hurt quite so much...

She touched one, the largest of the three ... Black-and-scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream...

From that hour onward, each day was easier than the one before it. Her legs grew stronger; her blisters burst and her hands grew callused; her soft thighs toughened, supple as leather."

The dragon dream is the turning point for her. Riding her Silver becomes easier and she "began to notice the beauties of the land around her." The dream manifests in reality when Dany's physical pain alleviates and she begins to grow stronger each day. Her experiences with Drogo begin to change as well - she begins to experience pleasure during their sexual interactions, just as she begins to find pleasure and joy in life with the Dothraki. Drogo does nothing to help her, these changes come from Dany (and her dragon dream) alone. She even begins to take control in their sexual encounters (or as much control as a bridal slave can, I guess). Their relationship changes and they become more affectionate to each other. All of this stems back to her dragon dream - cleansing her, tempering her, and scouring her clean.

Dany seems to realize it is the black-and-scarlet dragon she dreams of ("Black-and-scarlet, she thought, like the dragon in my dream..."). This specific dragon is reaching out to her, despite not yet being alive, at her lowest - when she has resolved herself to suicide. This dragon transcends death and life to connect with Daenerys and burn her pain and weakness away. Dany may have claimed Drogon in the fighting pit but it feels like Drogon claimed her first. She claimed him as a mount but he claimed her first, as his mother.

Since she recognizes her black-and-scarlet as the dragon from her dream, the dream that took away her pain from Drogo's rape and led her to gain some control in their sexual encounters, Dany associates this specific dragon with Drogo. With the pain he inflicted on her, the resilience she needed to survive, and the flames in her dream that didn't burn but left her stronger than before. She also places the black-and-scarlet egg by Drogo's heart on his funeral pyre - a place of intimacy and love but this also reminds me of Dany eating the stallion's heart to give Drogo's unborn son strength.

I've always wondered about the dragons breastfeeding from Dany when the pyre was ashes. Maybe, before they started breastfeeding, they ate Drogo while he burned. They do eat cooked meat, after all. This will probably never be confirmed but I love the idea of Drogon eating Drogo's heart to gain his strength.

Drogon specifically is the dragon Dany recognizes from her dragon dream. He burned away Dany's pain (inflicted by Drogo) and made her strong enough to change her relationship with Drogo. He woke beside Drogo's heart and possibly ate his heart too. Dany fears and loves Drogon, as she once feared and loved Drogo.

From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.