Do you like Drogo?

[Scott]

This guy's a popular character despite gargantuan character flaws. What is your take on him? Did you enjoy his romance with Dany, or did his pillaging barbarian ways turn you off?

[Reckless Serenade]

No, he killed Viserys . I can never forgive him .

[Holly]

He wasn't bad, for a barbarian.

The equine management of the Dothraki people was abysmal and depressing; I wish they rode motorcycles instead of horses.

[Adam]

Anybody's better than Daario.

[Jonathan]

I think Drogo is quite an exciting character, but I'm glad that he only enjoys a relatively small role in Martin's story. Due to his non-POV status and language barriers, I think it'd be very hard to award him a level of depth and complexity typically associated with the ASOIAF characters.

[Laura]

I don't, personally. He appears likable because we see him through the eyes of his Stockholm-syndromatic wife, who is obviously not objective in her own romantization of the relationship.

[Christine]

I was terrified of him in the beginning but he grew on me. So yes.

[Scott]

Does anyone think he truly loved Dany and valued her? I personally think he did, but she was also his property, so...

[Gmaharriet]

I liked him, particularly his protecting his wife from her crazy brother. He was so gentle with her and I just hated it when he died.

[Sonia]

I like him because is a good man, and the way that he protect Dany and the way that he call her

But there is a thing that i don´t like, is a secundary character and he is not so important... but also is a good character at least in my opinion

[Lee]

No. No. No.

Okay. Honestly, I don't hate the man. And there's a difference between liking a character and 'liking' a character. Especially in the world of Game of Thrones. Just because you like a character doesn't mean you agree with everything they do. I don't like Drogo for many reasons, but mainly I find him boring. He is, in my opinion, one of Martin's flattest characters. He could have been interesting, but it's like he was there only to move Dany's story where it needed to go.

[Elisa Santos]

Drogo was not built for us, readers, to have much of an opinion on him. We see and judge him by the accounts of Danny. By those accounts i saw love and companionship growing between them, and the obvious protection of his wife against her crazy brother. So yes, in this capacity i liked him.

But as Ninenna said above, he was only created (and killed)to get Danny´s story forward.

[Katherina]

I was truly sad when he had to die - it's understandable though that dead is better than what became of him :( .
Despite Dany being sold to him more or less, he seemed to truly love and value her. To take her seriously and to care about her wellbeing.
That was seen when he did not rape her (as I feared he would) in their wedding night but did everything to make it pleasant for HER. And yes, he finished off Viserys, whom I really hated from the beginning...

[Elisa Santos]

Drogo gained some serious points when he crowned Viserys - sad evil bugger!

[Matthew]

Laura wrote: "I don't, personally. He appears likable because we see him through the eyes of his Stockholm–syndromic wife, who is obviously not objective in her own romanticization of the relationship."

I feel many fans overlook this, and because Danaerys is an unreliable narrator when it comes to Drogo, they romanticize the relationship similarly to how Dany does.

[Elisa Santos]

Matthew wrote: "I feel many fans overlook this, and because Danaerys is an unreliable narrator when it comes to Drogo, they romanticize the relationship similarly to how Dany does..."

Yes, but of course.
But the only accounts that we have are from her, so, we can only draw conclusions from what she says, and she is partial to him. So, it´s to everyone´s guess on how their relationship really was.

So, in that capacity i chose to see things as she saw since we have no other POV´s on him or even a Drogo POV.

[Jonathan]

I agree with you on that, Maria. A Jorah POV could have been incredibly valuable in constructing a profile of Drogo, although his own interest in Daenerys would have undoubtedly rendered it highly subjective

[Lee]

Never thought of it that way. But the Dany chapters are incrediably one sided. All other story lines meet. And we get to see the same characters, and events, from different points of view. Maybe that's why I find Dany to be too much of a Mary Sue. That's the way she sees herself. A different way of looking at it. Doesn't mean I suddenly like her though...

[Brooklyn]

I liked him a lot. I am still pissed that the TV show had him rape her on the wedding night instead of being gentle and considerate as he did in the book.

[Gmaharriet]

Brooklyn wrote: "I liked him a lot. I am still pissed that the TV show had him rape her on the wedding night instead of being gentle and considerate as he did in the book."

I haven't watched the TV version, so I didn't know they portrayed it as a rape. That makes me deeply angry, because in the book their wedding night was deeply moving and he was so considerate. I suppose all that foreplay would have been more difficult to show on family television, but then rape isn't exactly family fare either. I really liked Drogo in the book.

[Brooklyn]

The show has a lot of rape in it that wasn't in the book. Even worse, the way it's filmed, it's like they want the rape scenes to titillate male viewers. :(

[Elisa Santos]

I only saw until ep 5 of the 1st season and yes, Dany and Drogo´s wedding night was rape all around. I have really no clue as to how it can sell and make higher ratings than stiking to what was written, but then again i am a poor schmoe and they are the bg shot producers, full of money hahahah

Jonathan - a Jorah POV would be biased as well, as he loves Dany. A realistic one would be from the man himself or from one of Dany´s chambermaids.

[Darius]

He was a great man, strong and brave, so I really respect him.

[Laura]

However gentle he may have been on her wedding night, she didn't really have much of a choice, so consent is not really an issue. And many fans who romanticize their relationship forget this:

Yet every night, some time before the dawn, Drogo would come to her tent and wake her in the dark, to ride her as relentlessly as he rode his stallion. He always took her from behind, Dothraki fashion, for which Dany was grateful; that way her lord husband could not see the tears that wet her face, and she could use her pillow to muffle her cries of pain. When he was done, he would close his eyes and begin to snore softly and Dany would lie beside him, her body bruised and sore, hurting too much for sleep.

Day followed day, and night followed night, until Dany knew she could not endure a moment longer. She would kill herself rather than go on, she decided one night…

In A Game of Thrones, Daenerys love for Drogo has Stockholm syndrome written all over it, starting with her big breakthrough right after that night that she wished to be dead.

She still ached after a long day’s riding, yet somehow the pain had a sweetness to it now, and each morning she came willingly to her saddle, eager to know what wonders waited for her in the lands ahead. She began to find pleasure even in her nights, and if she still cried out when Drogo took her, it was not always in pain.

We have no clue how Drogo actually felt for her (being unreliable as narrator), but if we, as readers, can only find in Drogo's favor that he brutally murdered her brother, well... That's not a lot to say, is it?

[Darius]

Viserys just got what he deserved.

[Jeanine]

Gmaharriet wrote: "I liked him, particularly his protecting his wife from her crazy brother. He was so gentle with her and I just hated it when he died."

Me too. I did not care for her brother, yet his death by gold was appropo

[Laura]

Sure, but we're "judging" Drogo here, not Viserys. If the only good thing he had on him was to brutally murder his brother in law, he doesn't have much.

He seemed to care for Daenerys merely as the vessel for his precious Stallion who would mount the world. Also after that, when he is shown to back her up, it's really about his son, not her.

[Elisa Santos]

Yes, Drogo wanted to cross the sea merely because his son could rule Westeros. Dany might have convinced herself that she "made" him do it for her, but, in reality, i think not. He saw all the possibilities in being married to her and having that child, to inherit it all.

[Scott]

Yeah, but wasn't his justification vengeance for the attempted murder of his wife? He seemed genuinely PO'd that Westeros tried to kill Dany. On the other hand, maybe he was just mad they attacked his property...

[Matthew]

Scott wrote: "Yeah, but wasn't his justification vengeance for the attempted murder of his wife? He seemed genuinely PO'd that Westeros tried to kill Dany. On the other hand, maybe he was just mad they attacked ..."

Yeah, his property and unborn son, not his "wife"…

[Laura]

The truth is that we don't know for sure. The only POV we have for that story is Dany's. The impression I got from Drogo was more in the direction of Matthew's and Maria's; considering that Daenerys was his victim and romanticized her relationship to survive. In consequence, I read this story through that bias.

Note that he reacted at the exact moment when Viserys threaten to attack her belly with the sword.

"I want the crown he promised me. He bought you, but he never paid for you. Tell him I want what I bargained for, or I'm taking you back. You and the eggs both. He can keep his bloody foal. I'll cut the bastard out and leave it for him." The sword point pushed through her silks and pricked at her navel.

I think the image was pretty clear, yet Drogo demanded a translation. My impression (biased as it may be) was that Drogo reacted more to the threat upon his son's life and, importantly, the huge disrespect that Viserys was showing, baring a blade in the Dosh Khaleen, and especially insulting him personally (remember, Ilyrio had told Viserys that Drogo doesn't just buy a bride, but accepts Dany as a token of respect).

For me, crowning Viserys in gold wasn't so much about "don't lay a finger on my precious girl" and more like "you don't disrespect Khal Drogo".

[Scott]

After reading these posts, I think I agree.

[Gmaharriet]

I could perhaps be swayed. Too bad he didn't live long enough to show how he might have treated Dany after "The Stallion" was born. If he'd still treated her well, I'd still think pretty well of him.

[Katherina]

Didn't consider that, Laura. Thanks for your post.

[Jeanine]

Jonathan wrote: "I think Drogo is quite an exciting character, but I'm glad that he only enjoys a relatively small role in Martin's story. Due to his non-POV status and language barriers, I think it'd be very hard ..."

Well said.

[T4bsF (Call me Flo)]

I enjoyed the mix of Drogo and Daenerys - but Daenerys, after the death of Drogo, was just plain boring.

[Lyndl]

It was an arranged marriage , they have been happening for hundreds of years in reality as well as fantasy. Drogo treated Dani remarkably well in the context of his culture, although I do think he saw her as a precious jewel to be valued rather than valuing her as a person in her own right.

I was very happy that Viserys got his crown of gold.

[Annemarie]

I wish we had received a POV of Drogo from someone other than Dany. Or, better still, a POV from Drogo himself. I know that would have moved the book in a different direction. Drogo is a plot device, he's there to help Dany grow as a character and come into her own (in a I-live-in-the-21st-century-and-just-can't-wrap-my-head-around-their-twisted-freaking-marriage-of-a-savage-to-an-abused-thirteen-year-old sort of way). But I will say I did like him. I have a lot of heartburn with these books. I love them, but they make me cringe on many (MANY) pages.

[Annemarie]

PS - Loved that he crowned V, but honestly, I was amazed he let that little f*cker live that long!

[Janet]

I didn't at first, but as it went along, I really do feel that the Drogo and Dany DID fall in love and he really did care for her. So I ended up liking him.

[Alex]

Matthew wrote: "Laura wrote: "I don't, personally. He appears likable because we see him through the eyes of his Stockholm–syndromic wife, who is obviously not objective in her own romanticization of the relations..."

Yes, THANK YOU! This should be stressed much more than it is, so people start thinking about it.
Drogo is a butchering, raping, pillaging, uneducated savage whos men butcher, rape and pillage simply because they can. He might have his good sides, and he certainly is a badass (you have to be to rule such a brutal warrior society) but like him? Not a chance.

EDIT: Oh, and I personally had quite some sympathy for Varys. Sure, he was a dick, but guys, consider what he went trough. All his life, from since he was little, he was told that he would be the great king of Westeros, the last dragon, the throne would be his by right. Yet there he was, a little boy in a foreign country, always worried about assassins, mocked by rich adults, with a few (like Illyrio Mopatis) trying to take advantage of he he is. He also had to take care of a small sister along the way...and with all the weight of the world on his shoulders. Small wonder he turned out the way he did.

[Michele]

I did not like Drogo's actions, but he was a product of his culture, just in real life. Drogo was part of a culture of violence, so he acted violently. I believe he did love Dany. I did like him, but I did not like his treatment of women in general or the fact that his culture endorses violence toward women. It does make sense that at least one group in the book would be written as a subculture of violence; after all, "savages" make a civilized story interesting.

[Mochaspresso]

Is the way his character is portrayed in the TV series different from his character in the book? (I started the book but put it aside for other things and still haven't gotten back to it.) In the series, I liked him and was sad for him and for Dany when he died. In the series, he seemed to have genuinely grown to love and respect Dany as a wife.

[Hannah]

I hate him. I don't see his relationship with Daenerys to be anything other than abusive.

[Hannah]

T4bsF (Call me Flo) wrote: "I enjoyed the mix of Drogo and Daenerys - but Daenerys, after the death of Drogo, was just plain boring."

Daenerys didn't even start to live a life of her own until after he died! It was only after she died that she became the awesome woman she is now.

[Yvette]

What's to like, he's just there to move the plot along... he's too flat a character to like or hate.
As a savage, he's as likable as can be, but he's still a murdering, pillaging chief of a murdering, pillaging, butchering, raping clan. Can we judge Drogo on Daenerys' POV? I believe she suffers from Stockholm syndrome, so not really. Judge him by his acts... well, in the Dothraki culture, what he does is just fine, but by other standards, even the standards in the Game of Thrones' other countries, he's a savage.
By the way, when Viserys threatened Daenerys, did Drogo protect Daenerys or his unborn child?

[Manoushka]

Lyndl wrote: "It was an arranged marriage , they have been happening for hundreds of years in reality as well as fantasy. Drogo treated Dani remarkably well in the context of his culture, although I do think he..."

I agree.

[Adam]

Yvette wrote: "By the way, when Viserys threatened Daenerys, did Drogo protect Daenerys or his unborn child?
..."

I tend to think he was protecting his unborn child and his own status. Viserys' disrespect had to be dealt with quickly or Drogo's men would view him as weak and challenge him themselves.

[Kaitlyn]

He's an interesting and exciting character, but considering the whole pillage and rape and murder stuff I can't call him 'likeable.' The fact that he killed off another murderous rapist doesn't really negate the fact that overall, Drogo is reprehensible.

Is he a product of his environment and culture? Sure. But you could say that about every single character of the series (its kind of a running theme), and I don't see people lining up to defend Joffrey.