Emilia Clarke portrayed Daenerys Targaryen across 8 seasons of Game of Thrones, but her character looks somewhat different in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire books. In both the show and the books, Daenerys is one of the two main characters of the series (alongside Jon Snow), although the HBO adaptation has had the opportunity to take her story further than Martin has so far, with controversial results. Her arc was a major factor behind the backlash to Game of Thrones season 8, with Daenerys' descent into becoming the so-called "Mad Queen" angering a number of fans.

It remains to be seen exactly what Martin has planned for Dany's story in his two forthcoming novels, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, but some events - such as Daenerys burning King's Landing - are likely to happen in some fashion. Game of Thrones stuck to a lot of Daenerys' book story, even if it condensed certain aspects, changed elements of her character, and omitted or killed off key players in her journey, like Strong Belwas or the prematurely dead Barristan Selmy. One important aspect of the adaptation the show tried to get right was Daenerys' striking look, though it didn't fully manage it.

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Daenerys' beauty is frequently commented upon in the A Song of Ice and Fire books, and the same is true for Clarke's portrayal in Game of Thrones, but there are some differences beyond the described attractiveness. The most obvious is simply a matter of age: in the books, Daenerys is around 13-years-old at the beginning, whereas she's supposed to be 17 when the show starts. That alone gives a distinction to book Daenerys, who is meant to look younger than Clarke does, though the show's decision to age-up its characters was a smart one. The other striking example is with Daenerys' eyes. In Game of Thrones, these are Clarke's natural green color. In the books, however, in keeping with her classic Valyrian look, Daenerys is described as having "violet eyes", as depicted in the fan art above from VK Cole.

 

Game of Thrones Daenerys Books Fire

Game of Thrones did attempt to give Daenerys, her brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd), and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who has mis-matched eyes, purple contact lenses to wear, but these were not only uncomfortable, but took away from the emotion of the performances, so were ultimately left out. Daenerys' hair is also slightly different in the show. For most of the run Clarke, who is brunette, wore a platinum blond wig, before dying it for the final season. In the books, however, Dany's hair is described as "long, silver-pale", and is also described as shining like "molten silver". That suggests a more ethereal quality, which would admittedly be difficult to fully capture in real life.

The difference in hair becomes more stark when the end of Game of Thrones season 1 is compared to the end of the first book, A Game of Thrones. Both have Daenerys stepping into Khal Drogo's funeral pyre and emerging with three baby dragons. In the book Daenerys, while unhurt, has all of her hair burned off by the fire ("her beautiful hair crisped away", which doesn't happen in the show (which likely would've been logistically difficult, since the books see Daenerys' hair gradually growing back). Her hair is burned off again in A Dance with Dragons, when escaping the fighting pit in Meereen, but again the show avoids this. Other descriptions, such as being slender or, in the words of Viserys, "too skinny", and the rest of Clarke's appearance as Daenerys don't conflict much with the books, but the eyes and hair are key differences.

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