The third season of HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones has done a wonderful job of slowly raising the stakes over the second half of the season. While these last few episodes have been criticized by some as being a little slow, the ratings over this time period have been some of the best that series has ever seen. While in a lot of ways this season has been building up to the ninth episode and beyond, there still has been a great deal of plot movement in the meantime.

Admittedly, one of the storylines that has been guilty — at least in the last several episodes — of moving slowly is Dany’s in Essos. A marked improvement over last season’s pace, the story this year has two big moments: the victory in Astapor and the coming fight in Yunkai. As we move closer to the latter, a polarizing character in the ASOIAF fandom has finally been introduced: Daario Naharis. This week, Bob and Ivey will take a deeper look at the sell-sword who has crossed Daenerys Targaryen path.

As usual, a quick reminder about the spoiler scope of Beyond the Wall. This column is written from the perspective of folks who have read all of the novels by George R. R. Martin in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. So if you weren’t left wondering why Daario Naharis’ hair wasn’t blue, then you should probably not keep reading this column.

Bob: This week we were introduced to one of the bigger players in Dany’s story moving forward: Daario. The character certainly didn’t light up the screen like he jumps off the page, that’s for sure. It seems like most of the changes that we see on screen happen with Dany and her adventures (particularly last season), and I’m interested to see how many more are going to affect her and Daario.

It was odd watching Naharis take a backseat to this Mero character, a byproduct of consolidating the sellsword groups in Yunkai. The Storm Crows (Daario’s outfit) are now just a part of the Second Sons. Already, Daario seems weaker and less interesting than his novel counterpart, though with his little uprising at the end of the episode, that may change quickly.I’m curious to see how things go. Will he and Dany have some on screen chemistry? A couple smiles and stolen glances in this week’s episode hardly answered that question, but I think it’s going to be incredibly important to the story going forward. I know a lot of (female) fans that are still pining over the loss of Drogo. Those are some big boots to fill. Do you think Daario can do it?

Ivey: One of the things that surprised me most about Daario — other than his decidedly not-blue hair — was the tweak to his personality you mentioned. He almost seemed more reserved than I remember. Admittedly, I’ve most recently read the relevant chapters from A Dance with Dragons where he has already bedded his Queen, but I remember him being a great deal more lewd; almost like the Second Son captain he killed.

I do have a theory on the change. Each season, the show has provided at least one solid love story. First it was Dany and Drogo. Lately it has been the pairings of Robb & Talisa and Ygritte & Jon and — if you’ll allow the stretch — Arya and Gendry. But those two have been separated, Robb and Talisa aren’t long for this world (at least Robb isn’t, for those fans of the Lannister Honeypot theory) and it is only a matter of time before Jon leaves Ygritte behind as he returns to the Wall. Hell, even those enjoying the odd camaraderie between Jaime and Brienne will have nothing to hold on to next season.

Perhaps they are planning on playing up the relationship between Daario and Dany beyond the simple lust that defined it in the books. A more palatable version of the character would help in that regard. Also, we’ve already seen Dany tame a rowdy lover; as you pointed out before, fans of her and Drogo are not apt to enjoy seeing a similar story play out with a lesser man.

Bob:  Yeah, I guess that may be true, but I feel like Dany has “a type” and it definitely informs her future relationship with the limp noodle that is Hizdahr zo Loraq. I feel like the writers are talented enough that they could have made Daario the loud and arrogant sellsword that he is in the novel without having everyone jump right back to thinking about Drogo. It may be a little too early to judge, though. With Mero out of the way, maybe Daario’s personality will shine a little more.

I also feel like their relationship did rise above lust in the books. I think there was a far more genuine love between Dany and Daario than, say, Tyrion and Shae. (That relationship has gone much deeper on screen than in the novels and is going to make the events of late season four that much more shocking and fun.) I believe you are right, though, that their relationship is probably going to be a pretty big part of next season. I’m still curious to see how the writers pace out the rest of Dany’s story as we move through seasons 4 and 5. Is there going to be some stalling between her time in Yunkai and her time in Meereen? Are they going to dive into her Dance with Dragons story very, very early? I’m curious.

Ivey: I am too … I actually think the story is going to be accelerated instead of stalled. In fact, I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Jorah Mormont’s earlier treasons are found out sooner and Dany dispatches him this season (I’d bring up my theory that Yunkai and Meereen will be compressed into the same place/story, but I know you’ll just shoot me down again).

But I’m interested in your perception of Daario and Dany’s relationship on the page; I never saw Dany’s affection for him as anything much beyond a schoolgirl’s crush: lustful to be sure, and perhaps a small hint at emotion, but nothing tangible. I chalked it up to her immaturity; though that’s not a criticism: she didn’t truly have a childhood at all, though one could argue she’s definitely had it better than Sansa Stark.

Bob: I never read it as just lust. There was plenty of that to be sure, but there was way too much mooning through all of A Dance with Dragons for her to just have a crush. We’ll see how it plays out on screen, but the smart money says it’s going to be the season four love story to watch.

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