'Game Of Thrones' Star Jacob Anderson Believes Calling Daenerys The Mad Queen Is Far Too Simple

Game of Thrones is coming to an end, and a lot has gone down this season, including Daenerys destroying King's Landing. That Season 8 scene had many people up in arms, and the Mother of Dragons was dubbed the "Mad Queen" for her actions. But even her closest guard member, Grey Worm, doesn't think that term is correct to use here. Jacob Anderson doesn't think Daenerys is a Mad Queen for a few reasons, but mostly because he felt her reaction was a human response.

In a new interview with Huffington Post, Anderson spoke about the show and its finale, and also about Daenerys' complete about-face in the last episode from not wanting to rule a city of ashes to turning King's Landing into one. "She has this in her, but also, something that I find interesting is that I don't think this makes her 'mad,'" he said. "She's just human. People lash out in really unexpected ways to things that hurt them."

And he also doesn't feed into the whole "crazy woman" narrative. "I just don't think that's true because I don’t think Emilia would have ever played that," he said. "Emilia loves Dany. Like, she loves her. And I think it was a really huge, but human, mistake that attached to something that was already within her. Not because of genetics, but because of everything that she's been through in life. And politics corrupts people ― power corrupts people ― in very profound ways."

And regardless of what you think about Daenerys now, Anderson said that it all boils down to the Khaleesi herself, Emilia Clarke. "Personally, I felt like Emilia was f*cking amazing. She was outstanding in that episode. I bought it, you know?" he said. "Especially in that first hour. She's going through an incredible amount of pain, and that's built on top of years of working for this thing." Plus, despite her story maybe hinting otherwise, Anderson does point out that everything she's done and said has lead to this turn in her actions. "Her code has always been like, 'I’m going to get what I want, and if I have to hurt people to get there, I will,'" he said. "I think it's not ― it's hard. I think the show has been telling us, and Emilia has been telling us."

He also touched on what made Grey Worm follow Dany's lead and disregard the surrender bells. "I don't think that was just a response to Dany. But obviously, he has no loyalty to anybody else," he said. "All he has left is Dany, and he does really care about her. But I think that never would have happened if Missandei were there. I think it’s just got to a point now where he’s been through an insane amount of trauma... and then on top of that, he essentially has to fight for people that don’t want him." A deep loss is what caused Grey Worm to attack surrendered troops, and in war, who could blame him?

For both Grey Worm and Daenerys, "The Bells" seemed to mark a major change, but it's not madness that's driving their actions. It's something far more human: anger, grief, and a desire to control the chaos that's pushed them both around their entire lives.