Game of Thrones “The Mad King” play: What role will Daenerys Targaryen play?
Seven years after the controversial eighth season of Game of Thrones, the new play “The Mad King” could answer an important question about Daenerys Targaryen.
At the premiere of the new Game of Thrones play in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, further details surrounding Daenerys’s birth were revealed. Her father, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, believes that the prophesied prince—who is destined to unite the realm against the threat of the White Walkers, as Aegon the Conqueror foretold—must be his third child. Aerys already has two sons, Rhaegar and Viserys, when a red star appears in the sky. Assuming it to be an omen, Aerys demands that his wife, Rhaella, be brought to him. The resulting child is Daenerys.
Vengeful daughter brings the wrath of the dragons back to Game of Thrones
Aerys, however, is a cruel and violent husband. Rhaella screams in rage after the Kingsguard brings her to him, saying that she does not want to bear the prophesied prince, but rather the “scourge of the world” and “a vengeful daughter whose wrath will bring back the dragons and set the realm ablaze.”
In both George R.R. Martin’s books and the Game of Thrones television series, Daenerys resurrects the dragons by hatching their three eggs on Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre. This is likely due to Daenerys’s wrath, as one of the sacrifices she makes to bring her dragons to life is Mirri Maz Duur, the midwife whom she had tricked into a magical pact that cost her husband and unborn son their lives. Thus, part of Rhaella’s desperate wish is fulfilled.
It remains unclear, however, whether Daenerys will play an apocalyptic role in Martin’s books, as she did in the eighth season of “Game of Thrones.” In the final season, Daenerys burns King’s Landing with her dragon Drogon before ascending the throne (and being murdered shortly thereafter by Jon Snow). Whether Daenerys’s storyline in the books will mirror the series and end with the Mother of Dragons turning evil and burning King’s Landing is still a matter of debate among “A Song of Ice and Fire” fans.
The Mad King thus seems to support those who argue that Daenerys will indeed burn down King’s Landing in Martin’s novels, should they ever be completed.
Prophecies often get Martin’s characters into trouble, so it’s possible this is another red herring. After all, the phrase “setting the realm ablaze” leaves a lot of room for interpretation—it could be metaphorical, referring, for example, to Daenerys burning down the old power structure in Westeros. Or it could mean she rides into battle with her dragons. And Rhaella is overwhelmed by her emotions and might simply be shouting out her own desires, which have nothing to do with her future daughter. That doesn’t necessarily mean we can expect the Mad Queen Dany in the books. (Personally, I’ve always theorized that King’s Landing will burn thanks to Cersei and the wildfire stockpile.)
Furthermore, Martin has already clarified that only his novels belong to the official canon. Although the play was created with his involvement, it is still only a kind of semi-canon – but we can assume that, much like the television series, it will give us important clues about the events in “The Winds of Winter” and beyond.
So we can’t say for sure whether Daenerys will become the Mother of Dragons in the books and burn King’s Landing and all its inhabitants to the ground. However, Rhaella’s words certainly lend credence to the theory that her storyline in the books will resemble the fate of the Mother of Dragons in the TV series.
“Game of Thrones: The Mad King” is now playing at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre until September 5, 2026. For more information, see our guide to all upcoming Game of Thrones films and TV series set in the world of Westeros.
