Daenerys Targaryen becoming Queen in the Winds of Winter would break A Song of Ice and Fire’s 28-year rule

If Daenerys Targaryen officially becomes queen in The winds of winterthen it would finally break a rule that has been in place since the first A Song of Ice and Fire book. Daenerys was queen for Game of Thrones‘ ending – after years of pursuing her claim – although her reign was cut short, with Jon Snow killing her before she could sit on the Iron Throne even once. George RR Martin’s books, however, could change that.

Infamously, The winds of winter It’s taking a long time and there’s no release date yet. But when it finally arrives, Dany is expected to finally reach the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and try to take what is her birthright (with a lot of fire and blood involved). With Martin’s books much longer than the TV show, there could be time to really follow Daenerys as the crowned ruler of Westeros, breaking a trend in the process and making history Game of Thrones couldn’t.

The POV characters in the A Song of Ice and Fire books are not kings or queens

So far in Martin’s books, three characters have been officially crowned King of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men: Robert, Joffrey and Tommen Baratheon. Interestingly, none of the three kings was ever a point of view characterand it seems very unlikely that this will change with Tommen in The winds of winter.

Extending it further, this also applies to others in Westeros. The other claimants during the War of the Five Kings were Stannis Baratheon, Renly Baratheon, Robb Stark, and Balon Greyjoy, none of whom were POV characters. Euron Greyjoy is now styled King of the Iron Islands, but he is also not a POV character. The closest there is is Cersei Lannister, who finally became a POV character in A feast for crows. Although she has the power of Queen Regent, she wasn’t the one who was crowned, so it’s a little different.

This rule makes sense as it allows Martin to better explore the dynamics and machinations of the kingdom’s politics and where power truly resides. It avoids revealing too much in terms of insight into the kings’ actions, instead seeing them through other characters who still have agency but are not the true ruler, which is perhaps a more interesting choice. To be fair, It’s also not like Robert (a drunk), Joffrey (a psychopath) or Tommen (a child) were all that fascinating be inside the heads of.

How could Daenerys break this rule in the winds of winter

Cersei herself could break this trend if Tommen dies, and she claims the Iron Throne as in Game of Thronesbut I think Martin will go in a different direction. It is more likely that Aegon Targaryen, aka Young Griff (who claims to be the believed-to-be-dead but secretly still alive son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell) will take the Iron Throne and be crowned king. Aegon himself is not a POV character, so he would continue the trend…until Daenerys defeats him.

It is quite plausible that, unlike Game of Thrones, Daenerys will go to Westeros in The winds of winter and fight for power firstthen proceed to deal with the White Walker threat. That would mean Aegon vs. Daenerys, giving Westeros a new Targaryen civil war. And if Dany becomes queen – and it’s hard to imagine her losing, as that seems pointless – then Westeros would have a king or queen who would also appear as a POV character. Dany has been one since the first book and is a applicant to the Iron Throne, but that would make it official.

Although Martin has followed this rule until now, he has actually created many characters who could break it. If Jon Snow and/or Sansa Stark become King/Queen of the North, as in Game of Thronesthen it would be another Westerosi monarch being a POV character. The same is true of Bran Stark if at the end of Martin’s seventh and final planned novel A spring dreamhe becomes king. Dany, however, has a good chance of being the first.

The books could tell the story of Queen Daenerys that Game Of Thrones didn’t

With Daenerys not arriving in Westeros until Game of Thrones season 7, and then being convinced to fight the White Walkers first, her time as official queen of Westeros was never really explored. It was all about her quest for power, which also ended up being her undoing as it corrupted her. This could – and should – be a little different in The winds of winter and then A spring dreamwho can dedicate more time to her sitting on the Iron Throne and ruling the Seven Kingdoms.

Dany being a POV character is a huge benefit in that regard compared to Game of Thrones. Even if she becomes more villainous and burns down King’s Landing like she did in Season 8, we actually get to see some of that from her perspective. The ability to be in her head, fully understanding her motives and why she explodes, can provide the kind of character work that Game of Thrones was missing, turning Dany being Queen — “crazy” or not — into something deeper and even more nuanced than the show.