Was This Rape?

The adaptation change to make the wedding night of Daenery’s and Khal Drogo makes it confusing for the audience to have a clear representation of the situation. I believe the creators should have made a different adaptation to fit the actual role the book intended for the audience. With the lack of detail in the tv series, it gives the audience, the ones who have not read the  books, an absence of a very important piece of evidence to then have their own further opinions of the matter.

            The adaptation makes it problematic to have the transformation of a sexual assault to consensual sex. The fact that she was sold to Drogo never really made the sex consensual, but like Drogo was not that bad to look at in the film so I understand why the audience would be confused about the situation that Daeny is in. I guess without the visual aid plus the vivid detail it makes it easier to grasp the rape I guess in a way more seriously, as the readers should because of the intense description.

Throughout the series, we get completely invested into Daeny and Drogo, somewhat putting them on a pedestal as the power couple. Once we see how Drogo has grown affectionate towards Daeny and slowly falling for her in the smallest of gestures. While he is falling, so is Daeny and then shows that Drogo is being more considerate of her opinion and her values. He tends to compromise with her needs and wants since she is the Caleesi now. With this being said, this also shows how Daeny has gained her confidence in the way of which she didn’t have any in the beginning. Prior to her a Drogo’s arrangement, Daeny was having nasty relations with her twin brother.

Daeny was literally so innocent and got the worst hand out of her past. The relationship that she had with her twin brother was nothing near-normal or healthy for today’s time and in all honesty, shouldn’t be right in any damn time. Yes, we know there was incest involved in this era, but she also faced mental abuse from her evil brother. In the scene where she and Drogo first set eyes on each other was definitely an interesting turnout. Afterward, Daeny then expressed how she didn’t want to marry him and that she wanted to go home. Then to make matters a bit more messed up her brother then elaborates that he wanted to go home as well but to go home they’ll need Drogo’s army. Once Viserys explains that he’d let Drogo, his army, and even the damn horse rape her ass to get that army along his side to reach their home. That statements its self would mess any body's mindset. Like damn, that comment was so unnecessary and disgusting to even think of, let alone project to her and have an audience around.

Daeny’s brother always felt he had the underhand in the “relationship” and he proves that with every action he had in the film. Framing this with his words and actions, to groping her and undressing her and verbal bashing her in any shape or form. He’s the true form of being a complete butt cheek. It really works my nerves the way he acts, just because you have stick between your legs he believes he has the upper hand. Which is brought to light when he finally gets what’s coming to him. As he wanted the crown so bad, it’s exactly how he died. I love how Daeny watched how he died because in her defense, why wouldn’t she? All the pain he caused her and she just had to endure it, as a woman. But since he showed his ass to the right one, being her new husband, he surely got put into his place, six feet under. Probably not even, maybe let him rot in the daylight.

After the time Drogo and Daeny got married, it was time for them to have sex. Daeny was being taught on how to please him and how to take charge throughout the time of intercourse. I considered this time practice for Daeny because she being attentive and trying to get the hang of it before the actual time came. Now, this to many people in the book was the rape scene but in the tv series, it looked more like she was trying to redirect Drogo into going along with what she was being taught. He was trying to take her from the back, but, she practiced the ways of being on top so the “no’s” that are being echoed are the one of her trying to redirect him into the position. She was trying to achieve. If anyone has played any sports you know the saying “practice how you play” so yes, she wasn’t practicing from the back so she did what she had to do, take charge of the situation. This scene was the beginning of Daeny taking charge of the situation grasping a snippet of the power she can attain.

The evolution of falling in love with one’s rapist is really a messed up scenario for me to grasp. This film has definitely pushed us into being that it is a normal thing that happens and should be considered somewhat normal. Like I’d assume someone would hate their rapist in any time frame considering long term or short term. When one is raped, there is something that is taken away from them that they can never get back, period. So now thinking about this makes me want to know how the creators wanted us to forget what had happened to Daeny throughout the film. Honestly, until I looked back to get more information to write this, it did occur to me that with all of the events that happened in between that initial rape scene to now made me forget how horrible she was treated. Which made me feel like an ass. I guess the way the film sugarcoated the scene and highlighted the good in the rapist made it less memorable to past neglect caused to Daeny. The decision to make the scene portrayed of rape impacts the relationship by trying to normalize rape victims falling in love with their rapists. Which as an audience member kind of makes me feel bad for the evolution of the relationship. Only because Drogo is really all she knows and what she thought was going to be a forever because it was going to be that until death, so she believes. So to know that one is in a marriage knowing that the only way of leaving is death, I totally understand how she would do everything to make her life with him as pleasurable as possible. That’s why when she found out that not only her son had died, Drogo was also passing away. Daeny tried everything that she could do in her power and was so hurt when he was on his death bed. But once he had finally passed she transformed into another version of herself with new knowledge and confidence. He was all she knew and he gave her the confidence she gained in his presence and that then pushes me to believe why she “fell” so hard and quick for him. Pertaining to her first rape, George R. R. Martin then makes it problematic by literally making the next page of her next sexual encounter more in the pleasure sense instead of another probable rape.

Overall, the adaption presented to the audience in the film undermines the sexual encounter as consensual. I believe the creators should have kept the intended script of the book because I do believe in keeping the originality of the authors' intended vision. Once driven away from the intended vision it makes it hard for the audience to expect the true vision of what they read to come to life. That is why people always hear that liked the book better than the movies time after time. There are few movies that make the films of the book to the tee, and that is what makes the audience want more films of their favorite book to come to life and enjoy them without missing any details that they were intentionally of great value and evidence to pull through with previous feelings of the book. In conclusion, the choice to make the adaptation as rape instead of consensual interferes with the intended dialogue of the author's primary vision.