Reality Bites

"I promised you freedom and justice. You can't have one without the other." — Daenerys, "Game of Thrones."

When she said she intended to rule, Daenerys likely had a clear picture in her mind of what that meant. If Sunday's episode is any indication, that picture hasn't played out as she hoped or expected. That's because you can idealize and believe something, but that doesn't make it happen.

Daenerys spent a bulk of the middle part of "Game of Thrones" as a fledging leader and liberator. She is practicing to be queen. She felt like she had a conception of what it was like to rule. She felt that when she got her chance, she could operate by her rules and be all right. But that is foolish thinking in the Seven Kingdoms and, as it turns out, in the East, where Daenerys built her new empire.

Ned Stark, in the first season, thought he could lead and follow his strict code of honor, too. He thought doing the right thing would be respected, no matter how unpopular. He lost his head for it, and his family is now spread to the ends of the Kingdom.

Daenerys isn't in that kind of shape. She has an army and still has loyal believers. But last night showed that her commitment to control was an illusion. It reminds me of "Jurassic Park," when John Hammond is bemoaning the failures of his park and how he, alone, can make it right. Dr. Ellie Sattler calls him out, saying control is the illusion, he never had control. He just thought he did.

Does Daenerys have control, or is it merely an illusion? She was hailed as a liberator when she arrived and was beloved by all the people. But the cracks in that unfailing love and admiration began to show prior to Sunday's episode. She, somewhat stubbornly, refused to see it — or believed that her innate sense of justice would transcend personal feelings. It was in that same mindset that she applied swift, equal justice to a freed slave who took matters into his own hand.

But it wasn't the reaction she'd hoped for. She fled to the safety of her chamber under guard, with the crowd hurling rocks and insults instead of heaping on praise. Idealizing a thing and doing a thing are different.

This season may well be a test of that. Jon Snow, another of our favorite heroes, was elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch by the slimmest of margins. He doesn't have a mandate to rule, but rule he must — and not just by doing what he feels is right himself. He has a code and an army to protect, and more than that he has the Seven Kingdoms to keep safe. He's likely envisioned having this chance, but dreams and reality are often starkly different, especially in Westeros.

Turning his back on a chance to be a real Stark, to reign over Winterfell was the noble choice, but was it the right choice? Only time will tell.