HBO
We’re left with a lot of unanswered questions on the Game of Thrones finale and one of those might possibly concern Daenerys’ fate. Did she live or die? This post will have major spoilers for the finale.
For all intents and purposes, as far as we know, Daenerys did not survive the finale. Jon Snow, knowing that she planned to try to conquer the world, knew he could not let her live. He grieved intensely over his decision, but ultimately pretended to agree with her, kissed her, and then killed her by stabbing her in the heart. It was heartbreaking.
Even more heartbreaking was Drogon’s reaction when he saw his mother dead, after both his brothers died. Now alone in the world, Drogon grieved by breathing fire onto the Iron Throne, destroying it. Then he picked up Dany in his clawed talons and flew away.
Sam said that Drogon might have gone to Valyria, but it’s really not known. And that’s why Dany’s ultimate fate is still debated by fans. She looked very dead when Jon stabbed her. But we all saw Jon revived from an even worse stabbing.
Drogon took her some place magical, more than likely. One theory is that he took her to Valyria and he perhaps laid eggs there sometime earlier. Remember, when Tyrion and Jorah were sailing through Valyria (and right before Jorah got infected), they saw Drogon flying around the ruins. See the video below:
Around the same time, Daenerys had said in a different scene that she hadn’t seen Drogon in a while and wasn’t sure where he was. She had confided to Daario in Season 5 that she didn’t know where Drogon was. At one point she saw him on the Great Pyramid, but when she reached for him he flew away again.
A myth says that life blood is needed for dragon eggs to hatch. So maybe Dany will “live on” by her death somehow fueling the birth of her grandbaby dragons in Valyria, where her ancestors once proudly lived before the Doom destroyed all but the Targaryen offshoot.
Another theory is that he will take her someplace else where the Lord of Light will revive her. If so, that could be some place in the vicinity of Essos, perhaps.
Still others believe that Daenerys will be taken some place North and will be revived by the same magic that kept the Night King alive, turning her into the Night Queen. This theory depends on the idea that the dagger Jon stabbed Dany with had dragonglass in it. If that were the case, Dany might be turned into a Night Queen just like a First Man was stabbed through the heart with dragonglass by the Children of the Forest and turned into a Night King.
But I think that one is less likely, since dragons don’t typically travel north on their own, as far as we know.
In summary, Daenerys is definitely dead without some type of magical intervention. My guess is that either her life blood will fuel the birth of dragon babies in Valyria, or she will be revived by a Red Priestess and that’s where Drogon is heading. But without the intervention of magic, she is very dead.