Do you think a lot of characters who claim to want power/become a leader get slapped with being a villain too much? I feel like so many characters are labeled "villains" because they want to rule. And..I guess it doesn't always seem like a bad thing to me?

Great point and Dany is a fantastic example. I think GRRM goes out of his way to temper Dany’s hunger for power by setting her up as someone who cares about her people and ruling justly. That said, there’s no getting around the fact that she’s ruthless and it’s not as if she’s looking to “liberate” Westeros. She wants her family’s throne back. I love that we get to see her on her journey to discover what kind of ruler she’ll be. What is she willing to sacrifice to reach her goal? Who is she willing to become?

Personally, I think our view of a leader is largely colored by who tells the tale. One person’s hero is another’s oppressor. One person’s villain is another’s savior. But if all good men or women abdicated their responsibility because they felt it was ennobling to refuse to rule or because they feared being corrupted by power, we’d kind of be screwed.