This “if you didn’t see this coming, you weren’t paying attention” line is getting real old though. Seriously.

Ned, Robb, Jon, Sansa and Arya have all performed executions.

Right? I actually forgot for a moment I wanted her to die.

Even if this was the case, it doesn’t change the fact that it wasn’t set up well and this is what made it feel utterly out of character.

Nobody’s ignoring the foreshadowing, but foreshadowing isn’t character development. If you foreshadow a “twist”, you still need to lay the groundwork for it.

It was certainly visually stunning. But for some people, story and character development matter. On these terms, it failed miserably. 

Maybe keep ignoring the comment if you don’t read them anyway. Nobody has an issue with Dany going Mad Queen. It was the execution of it all which made it feel unearned, out of character and completely nonsensical.

Or.. It was because it actually is more effective when Jon watches his own men turn bad in the madness than some random Dothraki he has no connection to...

For all this “You weren’t paying attention” crowd.

What the heck do the peasants and civilians have to do with Cersei not joining the fight in the north and attacking her surviving army? 

So in other words, D&D wanted to rush it even more?

Those dudes crucified a whole bunch of children to send her a message. That’s quite the detail to leave out.

The people chose to live in her world, but she barbecued them anyway.

As for realities to the production sschedule. HBO offered the showrunners more money and wanted more seasons, but D&D refused, so no, the rushing really is all on them. They just wanted it over with.

She was always going to go mad queen, but the execution wasn’t earned. Despite all the earlier hints to her vengeful nature, he vengeance was always directed at those who deserved it. It was absolutely never hinted she would direct it at a city full of innocent people.

She hasn’t been sadistic so much as vengeful. Joffrey and Ramsay were sadistic, because they has no reason for their violence. Every single time Dany showed her violent streak, she had some justification:

What do you mean? The scene where Ramsay rapes Sansa and made Theon watch was great foreshadowing of how the writers are raping this show and making us watch.

They made it somehow utterly predictable and completely out of character at the same time. It’s an impressive show of incompetence.

The “You weren’t paying attention” people are all people patting themselves on the back for getting their fan theory right. Because yes, there have been hints of Dany’s potential to go Mad Queen, and I don’t think anybody’s denying that. What those people don’t seem to get is that people are angry at the execution of…

I don’t buy this argument of Dany burning the Tarlys as a sign of Mad Queen, mostly because dozens of characters executed other characters on the show.