“In retrospect, it feels a little bit of like a Daenerys Targaryen situation of like, no, no this was coming. I’m sorry you named your kid Nate,” Hunt added, referencing all those unfortunate parents who named their daughters after the once-beloved Khaleesi.
It’s a questionable comparison, as one of the big complaints about Daenerys’ season 8 villain arc is that the show didn’t properly set it up. Daenerys was established to have a dark side, sure, but not this dark. Within the span of just a few episodes, she went from someone famous for her compassion toward innocent civilians, to someone who indiscriminately lights civilians on fire. What’s worse is that Daenerys doesn’t fully fall to the dark side until the penultimate episode, leaving only the finale for the show to wrap up her character’s storyline. (Spoiler alert: It was disappointing.)
Nate, meanwhile, got to enjoy a slow-burn arc that gradually deepened his flaws and genuinely earned his eventual betrayal. Nate’s Mad Queen moment happens in the season 2 finale, giving him an entire final season to deal with the aftermath. Whereas Daenerys was forced out of her role as a three-dimensional character, Nate’s been given the space to be as complex as ever. We don’t know if Nate will get a redemptive ending, but the fact that there’s still time for one helps make this final season so interesting. Nate may have had his Mad Queen moment, but we know he’s not going to get the same hackneyed, underwritten Mad Queen ending.