Game of Thrones (Daenerys and Drogo's Wedding Night)

 

Let’s Talk GOT (RAPE)

 

 

      First thing first, if I were to force myself upon you, but we are in a relationship would that consensual? Nahhhh. Regardless of your title in relationship with someone, RAPE IS RAPE. Now this brings me to Season 1 Episode 2, Drogo and Daenerys’s wedding night. Even though the roles were reversed, and Daenerys took lead does not mean that rape was not being urged. We will get into that on another note.

 

       In the time frame of Game of Thrones there was no such thing as rape. While in the process of marriage sex is highly important and almost mandatory no matter the age during the marriage stage. If you check my source on reddit, it shows you the section of the book where Drogo try to help Daenerys embrace herself before their sex by telling her “no” to covering her body because she is uncomfortable with having sex. Even in the process of him try to undress her, she could feel the forcefulness and fierce strength in his hands. While reading the book Daenerys made the before effect of sex appears delightful by placing his hand in between her thighs telling him that she was fascinated. There was no consent until the point of her actually figuring out that she had to have sex so might as well enjoy it in a way that would make her feel slightly comfortable or in power.

 

      Daenerys’s age also has a lot to do with it. It may just be me but at the age of 13 years old I knew nothing but sex ed. from middle school. We were not taught consent from what I can remember. During the time in Game of Throne, they obviously felt like women had no say so, so they definitely knew nothing about consent either. With Daenerys being the age of 13 years of age it is crazy to believe that she actually was in control when being sold to a barbarian king in an arranged marriage just to please him without any say so. If you think any where in the book or in the show that it was okay for a 13 year old to be seduced because Drogo eventually got Daenerys to say yes, after stripping her down to nothing and “helping” her embrace her body, is sick.

 

      Before adding in the information on the experience of rape in the show I would like to take the time in saying that the addition to the scenes were needed. In order to see how useful yet worthless women were in that time we had to see that being raped was “okay” in that time. Though it should not happen, and it is beyond disgusting, it emphasizes the role of women in that time. Like many things in this world, we wish it didn’t exist, but it has to happen so that we can learn and experience what should never happen again. I am not encouraging rape in any way; I am just glad that we can look at the scenes and realize that this was not right in any way at all. We will see that after all the pushing in Daenerys’s marriage, power and respect erupted from being in such a closed in position of being a forced wife, but it will later on be spoken on again by Daenerys herself.

 

      Now let us go to Season 1 Episode 2 where the rape is clearer to see simply because you can actually see it. I will put the link up so that you can see what I saw. Rightttttttttt …… there >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=22&v=lz1LvbvF0GU&feature=emb_title . If you are anything like a normal human watching television, we all expect the first season to set the tone for the show. Game of Thrones certainly showed us what we would be seeing throughout every season expected or not expected. Throughout this entire scene Daenerys was uncomfortable, tense, and terrified. Even though she took over to show that she will not let this uncomfortable stage of her life seduce her she gained power to be “easy” with getting raped by a man she couldn’t even speak with nor did she know about him well. Daenerys had her handmaid teach her how to be easier with Drogo by taking over. The tv producer simply stated that they did not want to shy away from this scene in particularly. The book makes her gradually say yes, while the tv show came off harsh and far more tragic. As said on Cosmopolitan, “While it’s still hard at this point to totally forget that their relationship started with rape, this marks the beginning of their eventual love for each other.” This moment in the scene changed everything. Even though she knew she was getting raped and would have to constantly condone in it, she turned it into power instead of lust or love in a way. Doing that it helped her with her strange relationship with the Khal.

 

       Many will say Daenerys had to deal with it and that she was fine afterwards, but she was not. She took it upon herself and addressed it in an episode mentioning her particular trauma calling it by name: RAPE! In the article that I read by Refinery, Daenerys says, “I spent my life in foreign lands," she says in the scene. "So many men have tried to kill me, I don't remember all their names. I have been sold like a brood mare, I've been chained and betrayed, raped and defiled, do you know what kept me standing though all those years in exile? Faith...in myself.” Yes, they found love in each other AFTER she realized this would be her life. He was now her husband who she knew she would have stand by. She eventually learned some of his language for communication and power purposes because she was placed in the marriage for alliance, but she was still being raped nightly by Drogo extensively before they kindled a friendship with one another.

 

      Like I have stated previously, because they were married and kindled a relationship with each other does not mean that rape is okay. Because you are married to each other does not give immediate consent. Consent is freely given and clear, and neither of those were present the entire marriage of Khal Drogo and Daenerys. Its always been about power and it always will be. Daenerys is what we call a baddie.

 

     

 

Work Cited Page

Hanrahan, Laura. “The Most Uncomfortable Scenes in 'Game of Thrones' History.” Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan, 4 Aug. 2020, www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/g27022316/game-of-thrones-sex-scenes/.

Lindsay, Kathryn. “Daenerys' Speech In Last Night's ‘Game Of Thrones’ Finally Addressed Her Controversial Marriage.” Game Of Thrones Daenerys Khal Drogo Rape, 31 July 2017, 12:15 pm, www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/07/165887/game-of-thrones-daenerys-khal-drogo-rape.

“Rape.” Game of Thrones Wiki, gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Rape.

u/Maximus8910. “r/Asoiaf - (Spoilers All) The First Rape in the Books (an Issue I Have with a Complaint Being Made about the Show).” Reddit, 2015, www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/36hu9r/spoilers_all_the_first_rape_in_the_books_an_issue/.