Episode 46: A GAME OF THRONES, DAENERYS V: "A Crown of Gold" with Special Guest LML SHOW NOTES!

Hello and welcome to the Not A Cast … podcast: the one true chapter-by-chapter podcast going through A Song of Ice and Fire one chapter a week. I’m one of your hosts Jeff better known as BryndenBFish. 

And I’m your other host Emmett, better known as PoorQuentyn. 

Welcome to our forty-sixth episode of the Not A Cast entitled: “A Crown of Gold: An Analysis of AGOT, Daenerys V,” in which Daenerys proves her mettle to the Dothraki and Viserys suffers from a very different kind of metal.

This episode is brought to you by our Small Council: Hand of the King WolfmanZack, Grand Maester Timothy W, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Mark N. Lord Travis, Master of Ships and Warden of the Waves, Ser Keith J, Master of Whisperers, Lord Philip the Merciful, Master of Laws, Jancy O, Lady Commander of the Night’s Watch and Archmaester June, Healer of the Lesser Poxes, Ragged Michael, Warden of the North. And our newest member of the Small Council: Nelson the Hammer, Prince of Dragonstone. Thank you councillors very much! And remember: the “small” council is more informal. You can have other titles like “Nelson the Hammer, Prince of Dragonstone” if you so choose to join up with our patreon!

LML intro

Spoiler warning: All published books - 5 novels, 3 Dunk and Egg novellas, histories, interviews, TWOW sample chapters, as well as Game of Thrones the TV show. Anything and everything!

Question

Ser Darren S, a Sworn Sword asks:

Hello fellas,

Along with the rest of the fandom, I listen to a wide range of sources about ASoIaF lores and theories. While I tend to be quite skeptical of some, others pop out. Today, I found one talking about Daenerys’s funeral pyre for Drogo actually being a ritual that was inceptioned into her via Quaithe while dreaming. I do tend to give it some skepticism, but it does force me to either accept that Dany had unknowingly been manipulated to the correct ritual, or she just chanced upon it (house words: Fire and Blood, makes sense amirite). Also, she does start having visions of Quaithe after the birth of dragons, and if Quaithe was manipulating her from the start and the dragons brought magic back into the world, it would make sense for stronger astral connections as well. 

Thoughts?

Thanks and you guys do great work yada yada yada, usual praise that’s always well deserved

Synopsis

We interrupt our regularly-scheduled Ned Stark is in deep shit broadcast to bring you “Daenerys is in this book too. And so is Viserys. (But not for long.)”

Anyways, where were we? Ah, yes.

A heart that Khal Drogo’s bloodriders just pulled from the body of a horse steams in front of Daenerys. IDothraki valentine’s day? Afraid not. You see, Daenerys needs to eat the bloody heart in front of Khal Drogo and the Dosh Khaleen. And she can’t flinch, look afraid or do the normal things one might do when told that they have to eat a raw horse heart.

So, Daenerys takes the heart and plunges her teeth into the organ, tearing through the tough flesh and feeling warm blood fill her mouth. Delicious. But actually no. The taste is awful. But the dosh khaleen believed that it would make her unborn child strong and male, not weak, deformed or female. So, Dany had trained like an olympic eater, eating bowls of half-clotted blood and chewing strips of dried horseflesh until her jaw ached. And she had finally starved herself for a full day and night to help better the odds that she could keep the horseflesh down.

Oh, but hey, it’s been a full 30 seconds since I last told you about eating a horse heart, so let’s get back into the meat of this chapter, shall we? Get it? Meat of this chapter? Don’t worry. I’ve already blocked myself. 

The heart was all muscle and Dany was gnawing at it with her teeth and chewing a mouthful for a long time. She couldn’t cut the meat, because steel was not permitted inside of Vaes Dothrak. (Gee, wonder why this is getting brought up now. Is it foreshadowing, Emmett and LML. IS IT!?) So, she was ripping through the flesh with her teeth, her face smeared with blood.

All the while Khal Drogo stood over her with his uncut dark braid and bronze skin. And his chest was bare. Whenever she wanted to quit, she just looked at that may-un and felt her strength returning. By the end, she saw a pride building in Drogo’s eyes. And finally, she takes her last bite of horse heart, and it’s over. I know. You wanted me to keep going. But alas.

Khalakka dothrae mr’anha! Dany shouts. A prince rides inside me!

She had been practicing that phrase in Dothraki for days. In response, the oldest crone of the dosh khaleen repeats the phrase back to Daenerys, and the rest of the dosh khaleen takes up the cry, adding in A boy, a boy, a strong boy. Bells ring, war horns sound and old women chant. It’s … a lot to take in for Daenerys. But at least the ceremony is over. 

Actually, no. Not quite. There’s this whole prophecy bit to get to. Slave throw fragrant grass onto the fire in the pit, and the oldest crone closes her eyes as smokes rises through the tent. Silence falls as Drogo puts his hand on Dany’s arm. Everyone anxiously awaits the prophecy. And then finally, the crone opens her eyes.

` I have seen his face and heard the thunder of his hooves. As swift as the wind he rides, and behind him his khalasar covers the earth, men without number, with arakhs shining in their hands like blades of razor grass. Fierce as a storm this prince will be. His enemies will tremble before him, and their wives will weep tears of blood and rend their flesh in grief. The bells in his hair will sing his coming, and the milk men in the stone tents will fear his name.

And then the old woman trembles and looks at Dany as if she was afraid. Huh, weird that …

The prince is riding, and he shall be the stallion who mounts the world.

Everyone takes up the cry, and the crone asks Daenerys what name she’ll give to her unborn child.

He shall be called Rhaego.

Again, everyone chants the name. Drogo picks her up and carries her down the godsway towards the lake known as the Womb of the World with his bloodriders and everyone else in tow. As they travel, Dany notices the dosh khaleen behind her and thinks about who these women were. You see, these old women were the widows of khals who were sent to Vaes Dothrak to rule over it after their husbands died. Fortunately for them, they were the real powers in Vaes Dothrak. Unfortunately for them, they really didn’t have a choice in matter. Once their hubs was dead, they became part of the dosh khaleen. And it gives Dany a chill to think about that.

Behind the dosh khaleen, other khals, khalaka, servants and slaves all follow Drogo. They pass the stolen statues of heroes and gods.

What is the meaning, name Rhaego? Khal Drogo asks in the Common Tongue.

Dany had been teaching Drogo how to speak words in the Common Tongue, but Drogo’s not all that sharp in speaking the Westerosi way. Regardless, Dany tells Drogo about her brother Rhaegar and how fierce of a warrior he was and how he was the last of the dragons. Drogo looks at her all Dothraki-like and smiles, telling her that it’s a good man, Dan Ares wife, moon of my life.

They arrive at the the lake known as the Womb of the World where apparently the first dude had emerged from the depths, riding on the back of the first horse. Damn. I’d totally forgotten about that. What the fuck does that mean? I’ll ask LML about that a little later on.

Anyways, Dany and Drogo get nekked together, and then they Southern Baptist baptize themselves in the sacred water. They get out of the lake, and in decidedly non-southern baptist fashion, get it on in front of everyone. After Drogo nuts, Doreah comes forward and drapes a cloak around Daenerys. Drogo gets dressed, and then it’s back down the godsway for party time in the silk pavilion.

Fires, flames and roasting meat await the party as they enter the crowded hall with five thousand people all crammed together eating and drinking and shouting toasts to Dany and the stallion that mounts the world. Drums and horns are also playing while half-naked women spin and dance on top of low tables. It’s … a lot.

But at least there’d be no arakhs or swords here where blades and bloodshed was forbidden. IS THIS IMPORTANT!? Drogo dismounts his horse and takes his place on the high bench with a few khals and Drogo’s bloodriders below him. Dany also dismounts and looks for Viserys. Ah, Viserys. Where have you gotten off to? She doesn’t see him, but she does see Jorah Mormont in the middle of the hall, near the firepit -- a place of some honor on account of his skill as a swordsman.

Dany sends Jhiqui to fetch him, and he comes over all polite. Dany offers him a place by her side. Jorah accepts. Dany asks after viserys, and yeah, here we go. Viserys went off that morning to the Western Market to drink some wine and talk some sellsword caravan guards into joining his great army to invade Westeros. Dany wonders if that’s smart given that sellswords are fickle and fond of betrayal. Maybe you should have gone with him, Jorah. Nah, he’ll be fine, because NO ONE MAY CARRY A BLADE HERE OR SHED A MAN’S BLOOD. I DON’T KNOW WHY THIS KEEPS GETTING EMPHASIZED, BUT IT FEELS LIKE IT’S GOING TO MEAN SOMETHING BY THE END.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean that Viserys is safe. Thieves get strangled by huge eunuchs with wisps of silk. Hopefully, Viserys will be smarter. Uh, but will he? Spoilers: he will not. Jorah informs Daenerys that Viserys attempted to take Dany’s dragon eggs, but he threatened to cut Viserys’ hand off if he tried. Dany is shocked. Why would he do that? Well, because they’re incredibly valuable and rare -- just like diamonds. And he could buy sellswords with those dragon eggs -- enough for his army.

Then … he should have them. He does not need to steal them. He had only to ask. He is my brother … and my true king, Dany says.

Yeah, sure. He’s your brother, Jorahs says probably carefully. But Dany goes on about how Viserys had kept her safe when both their father and mother had died. And beyond that, he had given her an identity: a Targaryen identity. He is all that Daenerys has left. Nah, not anymore, khaleesi. You belong to the Dothraki now and have a Dothraki baby in your belly. The stallion that will mount the world.

Yeah, what’s that all about? Dany asks. People were shouting it, but she has no idea what it means. Well, it’s part of a prophecy. It’s the khal of khals who will unite the Dothraki into a single khalasar and conquer the world. 

Oh … I named him Rhaego.

A name to make the Usurper’s blood run cold.

And just then who should appear but Viserys here, of course, to wish Daenerys all the happiness and kindness in the world and embrace her and her child. Right? No, of course not. This is Viserys. Have you read ASOIAF before? (I haven’t. I’m illiterate). Swaggering and stumbling along due to the wine, he arrives in his sweat-stained silks, broken boots and A LONGSWORD ON HIS BELT. OH NO. HAS THIS BEEN SPOKEN OF BEFORE? IS THAT BAD? I DON’T KNOW.

Everyone starts cursing and swearing at Viserys in Dothraki as the music dies and dread encircles Daenerys. She orders Jorah to get the fuck over to Viserys and stop him. He can have the dragon eggs. Just, Jesus. What the fuck, Viserys? 

Well, Viserys starts shouting for Daenerys, saying he’s come for the feast. And how dare everyone eat before him, a king. He searches for Dany’s face next to a fire, all drunk and shit. Jorah reaches him and tries to talk to him, but Viserys shoves him away shouting about how no one can touch the dragon. Meanwhile, Drogo has taken notice of Viserys and is mocking him to the other khals.

Viserys finally takes notice of Drogo. Khal Drogo. I’m here for the feast. Oh, but are you, Viserys? Okay, well, go sit your happy ass down with at the corner of the room with the old men, young boys and broken men: a place of dishonor. Well, that won’t do, Viserys declares. I’m a king. Yeah, you’re a king alright. A sorefoot king. And that’s your place. Let’s get the silver boy a cart to ride around in. 

Everyone laughs at Viserys, and I just want to take a very brief moment to say in this one instant, I pity Viserys. He’s getting laughed at by everyone. Jorah tries to shout at him, and the two men wrassle for a bit. Jorah knocks Viserys over, and then Viserys bounds to his feet, sword in hand. IS THAT BAD!?

Everyone shrieks curses at Viserys, and Daenerys knows what that means. Dany makes a cry in terror, and finally Viserys sees her. Dany begs him to put the blade aside, to take up some food and drink and have a seat. And you can have the dragon eggs. Jorah joins in, telling him that he’s going to get them all killed. But no.

They can’t kill us. They can’t shed blood here in the sacred city … but I can. 

He puts the point of his sword against Dany’s breasts and then traces a line down to her stomach. 

I want what I came for. I want the crown he promised me. He bought you, but he never paid for you.

Viserys is going to take Daenerys back, but don’t worry, Drogo. He’ll leave him with his son, after he cuts the boys out from Dany’s belly. Viserys, the man who had been her brother, weeps and laughs at the same time saying this and Lord above. This is some intense stuff. 

Jhiqui doesn’t want to translate for Drogo, but Dany tells her not to worry. She’ll do it for her. When she’s done speaking, Drogo replies, and Viserys asks what Drogo said. 

He says you shall have a splendid golden crown that men shall tremble to behold.

And finally, finally, Viserys smiles and lowers his blade. That was all he wanted. What was promised. Drogo reaches out for Dany, and Dany slips away from Viserys as Drogo’s bloodriders jump Viserys, shattering his wrist and pulling the sword from his hand. Viserys shouts and screams about being a very brave dragon and some such. And Drogo removes his belt of golden medallions from around his waist. 

He dumps the belt into a pot which is then put over the firepit. The gold turns red, losing its shape. Fire dances in Drogo’s eyes. A slave hands a pair of mittens to Drogo. Jorah begs Dany to turn away, but she will not. Viserys finally looks to Daenerys, pleading like a very brave dragon. But Dany says nothing.

When the gold is half-melted, Drogo reached into the flames, yanking the cauldron up.

Crown! Here. A crown for Cart King!

Drogo upends the pot on Viserys’ head, and … I’m just going to read to the end of the chapter.

The sound Viserys Targaryen made when that hideous iron helmet covered his face was like nothing human. His feet hammered a frantic beat against the dirt floor, slowed, stopped. Thick globs of molten gold dripped down onto his chest, setting the scarlet silk to smoldering...yet no drop of blood spilled. 

He was no dragon, Dany thought, curiously calm. Fire cannot kill a dragon.

And my god. That is AGOT, Daenerys V: our first major death in all of ASOIAF and quite literally, a hell of a way for Viserys Targaryen to go out.

Depth

Last time we covered a Daenerys chapter, we focused on the interplay between her conflicting cultural identities (exiled Targaryen and assimilating khaleesi) as Drogo’s khalasar arrived in Vaes Dothrak. This chapter is about that conflict coming to a head. Dany takes her most significant step yet toward establishing an identity among the Dothraki and we get our most intimate look at Dothraki culture so far. Then Viserys, who represents Dany’s connection to Westeros, Valyria, and House Targaryen, shatters Dothraki taboos in order to violently assert his cultural superiority...and promptly dies for his trouble. It’s an extremely cathartic chapter in multiple respects, and it perfectly matches the dramatic tone of the King’s Landing chapters that dominate this part of the book. Above all, Dany V gives us the first major death scene in ASOIAF (with apologies to Jory Cassel), and it’s one that strongly resonates across the series as a whole, symbolically as well as politically, which is why it’s a perfect one to cover with LML.

LML opening thoughts

• H e a r t e a t e r
  • We open mid-ritual, which has the effect of immediately plunging us into the vivid sights, smells, sounds, and tastes of what’s happening
    • The heart was steaming in the cool evening air when Khal Drogo set it before her, raw and bloody. His arms were red to the elbow. Behind him, his bloodriders knelt on the sand beside the corpse of the wild stallion, stone knives in their hands.
  • The horse has just been butchered, as with Tyrion IV’s opening
  • But that was for survival, this is ritualistic, and framing it that way without first explaining what’s happening and why is designed to get *our* stomachs churning
  • Passing this test is an important step not only in Dany’s assimilation into the Dothraki, but her arc in terms of taking control of her own life
  • She had to train for this, and it’s not easy, yet she pulls strength from both her husband (thus, her Dothraki identity) and her internal self-conception as a dragon (thus, her Targaryen identity)
  • The name Rhaego--which she comes up with, apparently without Drogo knowing beforehand--indicates how actively she’s tying these identities together
• The thunder of his hooves!!!
  • Indeed, this chapter is also our deepest dive yet into how the Dothraki function
  • We start among the dosh khaleen, the keepers of tradition and legitimacy, as well as a prophetic collective like the greenseers in the North or the Undying of Qarth
  • Worth noting, though, that this doesn’t turn the Dothraki into a Surprise Matriarchy, because:
    • If she choked on the blood or retched up the flesh, the omens were less favorable; the child might be stillborn, or come forth weak, deformed, or female.
  • Still a militarized patriarchal society, which will be fundamentally transformed by uniting under a khaleesi who refuses to join the dosh khaleen
  • We get a glimpse of what it will look like as one giant khalasar with the temporary cooperation among the khals
  • We also get some humanizing moments with Drogo--the “fierce pride” in his eyes as Dany completes the ritual, his loving acceptance of the name Rhaego
  • Dany has a new people, a new family, a new identity...
• The shadow of a snake
  • ...and when you put all that together, doesn’t Viserys start to seem kinda small?
  • He sure feels that way, as Jorah passes on to Dany RE the dragon eggs
  • (Sidebar: loved actually seeing this scene in the show! As with Renly’s tent, there’s an advantage to not having to follow the POV structure of the books)
  • Viserys is clinging to the remnants of his Targ identity as represented by the eggs, but the eggs are fundamentally worthless to him...unlike Dany later on
  • Moreover, by refusing him, Jorah is also swearing allegiance to Dany over Viserys, compounding the insult and humiliation
  • Dany, for her part, says he is welcome to them had he only asked, but the fact that he didn’t is part of why she’s straying away from him and towards Drogo
  • FWIW: I think he’s right that Drogo was planning on cheating him, judging from how the khal talks about Westeros and the Narrow Sea in Dany’s next chapter
• And so the man breaks
  • As Jeff said, GRRM goes out of his way again and again in this chapter to remind us that naked steel is a huge taboo in Vaes Dothrak
  • Thus, when Viserys strolls in waving his sword around, it’s not only a sign of his aggression, but his cultural blindness, in direct contrast to Dany
    • She knew what a drawn sword meant here, even if her brother did not.
  • By threatening Dany and her child, Viserys is also forsaking his Targaryen identity, because he’s not keeping his sister safe
  • As such, GRRM immediately changes who Viserys is in Dany’s mind, no longer the king she owed her eggs to (get it??) but instead: “this man who had once been her brother”
  • Which is why I get frustrated by Dany being called a kinslayer here, because not only does she really not have any control over this (Drogo has to kill the guy who broke taboo and threatened his khaleesi, because “the Dothraki follow strength”) but also Viserys has shattered the bonds of blood and affection that bind them
  • So we get the first major death scene in ASOIAF, and it’s one that resonates in all kinds of ways:
    • It’s a king dying in the act of being crowned
    • That crowning brings no glory but only horror and death
    • It’s a classic ironic reversal of a character’s desires (see also Theon being tortured by his rescuer Ramsay, Doran’s “fire and blood” rebounding on his own family, etc)
    • Viserys is reduced to a pathetic state, weeping and laughing at the same time, smiling when he thinks he’s going to get what he wants, and finally begging for his life to no avail
  • The final grace note of the chapter is Dany claiming the mantle of Targaryen identity from her brother: “He was no dragon...fire cannot hurt a dragon.” 

Foreshadowing/Groundwork

Khal Ogo and his son Fogo have a place of high honor at the feast after the ceremony. And then two chapters later, Drogo kills the both of them in battle outside of the Lhazarene town. Love the note from Dany VII about Dothraki culture:

Ogo and his son had shared the high bench with her lord husband at the naming feast where Viserys had been crowned, but that was in Vaes Dothrak, beneath the Mother of Mountains, where every rider was a brother and all quarrels were put aside. It was different out in the grass.  

In Dany’s later desperation on the Dothraki Sea, she tries calling back to the heart-eatin’ to justify her decision to allow Mirri Maaz Durr to perform blood magic on Khal Drogo:

"I am khaleesi, and I say it is not forbidden. In Vaes Dothrak, Khal Drogo slew a stallion and I ate his heart, to give our son strength and courage. This is the same. The same."

Foreshadowing for Dany returning to join the dosh khaleen?

Each of the old women had been a khaleesi once. When their lord husbands died and a new khal took his place at the front of his riders, with a new khaleesi mounted beside him, they were sent here, to reign over the vast Dothraki nation. Even the mightiest of khals bowed to the wisdom and authority of the dosh khaleen. Still, it gave Dany the shivers to think that one day she might be sent to join them, whether she willed it or no.

We this occurring in GoT, S06 where Dany is dragged back to Vaes Dothrak by the Dothraki she encounters post-Meereen. But it remains an open question whether this will occur in the books or not IMO. No, not whether she’ll go back to Vaes Dothrak. That’s happening. But the nature of her return to Vaes Dothrak is still up for discussion.

Theory/Discussion

So, clearly the prophecy of the dosh khaleen should be taken at face value, right? Rhaego is the Stallion who Mounts the World, right?? Right???

Well, no. He was stillborn, first of all. But even beyond that, there are strong signs that point to Daenerys herself as the fulfillment of this prophecy.

The old woman trembled and looked at Dany almost as if she were afraid. Is that GRRM’s way of sneakily confirming that Dany herself is actually being witnessed in the prophetic vision? That dovetails so well with what Aemon said about the analogous Valyrian prophecy of the prince that was promised: 

"No one ever looked for a girl," he said. "It was a prince that was promised, not a princess. Rhaegar, I thought . . . the smoke was from the fire that devoured Summerhall on the day of his birth, the salt from the tears shed for those who died. He shared my belief when he was young, but later he became persuaded that it was his own son who fulfilled the prophecy, for a comet had been seen above King's Landing on the night Aegon was conceived, and Rhaegar was certain the bleeding star had to be a comet. What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame.

At the end of ADWD, Daenerys returns to the Dothraki Sea with Drogon, and has embraced “fire and blood” as she encounters her old enemy Jhaqo. So it would seem that she, not Rhaego, is the one with the potential to unite the Dothraki at her back, following the broad strokes of Season 6. We appear to see that happening in the House of the Undying, as the dosh khaleen repent of their choice of her son and instead embrace her (albeit under threat of combustion):

Rhaego himself calls back not only to Rhaegar with his name, but Aegon VI, his fellow potential messiah killed in infancy/childbirth. As such, he is a link in the same chain of failed prophetic figures. We see this connection given form later on in Dany’s story, both in AGOT…

She could feel the heat inside her, a terrible burning in her womb. Her son was tall and proud, with Drogo's copper skin and her own silver-gold hair, violet eyes shaped like almonds. And he smiled for her and began to lift his hand toward hers, but when he opened his mouth the fire poured out. She saw his heart burning through his chest, and in an instant he was gone, consumed like a moth by a candle, turned to ash. She wept for her child, the promise of a sweet mouth on her breast, but her tears turned to steam as they touched her skin. 

...and again in the House of the Undying:

A tall lord with copper skin and silver-gold hair stood beneath the banner of a fiery stallion, a burning city behind him.

In a way, this dovetails with what happens with Viserys in this chapter. He thought of himself as the chosen one, the exile prince destined to return and retake his kingdom from the Usurper Robert Baratheon, but it wasn’t Robert who replaced him in the end. It was his own sister. 

This fits into a broader subject in ASOIAF: the plight of the also-ran, the second best, the Not The Hero, and what they are driven to do. That’s Stannis’ story, that’s Theon’s story, that’s Quentyn’s story, and perhaps above all, that’s Tyrion’s story. Jon is arguably the one to break free of the cautionary tale and become a model in his own right. Dany, though, is the center around which so much orbits, and in that regard, her story really is only just getting started...

Conclusion

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If I stay here, I will die. I may be dying now . Would the horse god of the Dothraki part the grass and claim her for his starry khalasar , so she might ride the nightlands with Khal Drogo? In Westeros the dead of House Targaryen were given to the flames, but who would light her pyre here? My flesh will feed the wolves and carrion crows , she thought sadly, and worms will burrow through my womb.

The wind, she told herself, the wind shakes the stalks and makes them sway . Only no wind was blowing. The sun was overhead, the world still and hot. Midges swarmed in the air, and a dragonfly floated over the stream, darting here and there. And the grass was moving when it had no cause to move.