With the second episode of season 8 about to hit screens, Game of Thrones inches ever closer to its finale - and the series' final villain may actually turn out to be none other than Daenerys Targaryen. From the start, Game of Thrones has never been a show with straightforward good guys and bad guys; the inhabitants of Westeros are gloriously complicated, with motivations that are nuanced and changeable.

Those that seemed the worst in the first season may be the ones that fans are rooting for by now: Jaime Lannister, once simply an arrogant, incestuous rich boy who pushed a kid out of a tower, has become a fan-favorite, giving up his family name to ride North and join the fight to save Westeros. Others have become darker: Sansa Stark started out as a naive girl who dreamed of nothing more than silk dresses and a prince to marry, and has now become a hardened and dangerous political player.

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However, one character may yet be the biggest one to fall from hero to villain: Queen Daenerys, Mother of Dragons. Sansa and Sam both have concerns about her, and shocking news will likely cause Jon to reconsider his relationship with her. Jon has a rightful claim to the throne that Daenerys has been ruthlessly seeking for years - and she's not the kind of woman to let anything stand in her way.

Season 8's Premiere Frames Jon as a Hero, and Daenerys In A Darker Light

Jon and Sam in Game of Thrones season 8

One of the few characters who has been purely heroic from the start, and who remains so now, is Jon Snow (a.k.a. Aegon Targaryen). This is in stark contrast to Daenerys, who started the first season as an innocent, and who grew to become a savior Queen, but now has become a whole lot darker. Jon's journey has seen him consistently make difficult, but just, decisions when thrust into positions of unasked for leadership - while Daenerys seeks out power, and struggles to balance her need to be respected with her desire to do good.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the season 8 premiere, where Samwell Tarly acts as the character who truly shows the audience the difference between them. As one fan pointed out on Twitter, Sam (as a character whose house has no real horse in this race, but who is deeply involved in the narrative) is a surrogate for the audience in the series, and the way that he sees both Jon and Dany in this first episode of the final season is incredibly telling.

At the end of 'Winterfell', Sam met Daenerys for the first time, and then was reunited with Jon - and in these scenes, he becomes the person to set Jon up as the hero, and Daenerys as the villain. Meeting her first, he learns that she burned his father and brother alive for refusing to bend the knee to her immediately. Suddenly, the people she sacrifices for power are not just minor characters, but are deeply tied to a character who is universally liked and respected by the viewers.

When reunited with Jon in the crypts, Sam tells Jon what Daenerys did, and reveals not only that he is the true heir to the Iron Throne, but that he would be a much better King. Passionately, he talks about Jon's devotion, his willingness to sacrifice himself, and the ways that Jon has shown that he will put duty to the higher good of Westeros over his own position. Sam asks directly if Daenerys, put in the same situation, would put her people over her position - and there's a good chance that she wouldn't. Her obsession with the Iron Throne has always taken precedence, and it may do the same now that the Throne is within her grasp.

Page 2: Why Daenerys Makes Sense As a Villain

Jon Snow and Daenerys North in Game of Thrones season 8

Will Daenerys And Jon Split When The Truth Comes Out?

Sam's big reveal in the crypts at Winterfell didn't just shine a light on the different kinds of ruler that Jon and Daenerys would make, of course - the simple fact that Jon/Aegon has a claim to the throne has the potential to cause a huge shift in alliances, and even to end theirs. Since Jon bent the knee and they had their intimate moment on the boat in the season 7 finale, season 8 has been all about showing these two as a couple in love. "Winterfell" repeatedly showed them as a couple, with Jon even mounting a dragon and the two riding off into the icy wilderness together. Varys, Tyrion, and Davos spoke about the possibility of them ruling Westeros together, and even Sansa (who is far from Daenerys' biggest fan) throws Jon's love of her in his face.

However, given Daenerys' obsession with the Throne, and her willingness to do whatever it takes to get there, the reveal that her lover is also her potential rival may be enough for her to switch to seeing him as an enemy. This may not happen immediately, but especially when they are currently in the North, where support for Jon is strongest, seeing how the smallfolk love him may be too much for her.

Related: Bronn's Game of Thrones Season 8 Mission (& Why It's Perfect For His Character)

In the early seasons, Daenerys was repeatedly assured that the common people of Westeros were waiting for her return, and would cheer her in the streets. However, now that she has arrived, they are far from applauding her, yet they appointed Jon to be King in the North. And should Jon and Daenerys split, it's clear who would be the hero and who the villain. Between the man who has never wanted power, yet sacrificed everything (even his life) to protect his people, and the woman who is a conqueror, happy to barbecue everyone in her way, there is simply no question.

Daenerys As A Villain Is Controversial, But Does It Make Sense?

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys in Game of Thrones season 8

As it stands now, Jon and Daenerys are the heroes, standing against both the Night King and Cersei (presumably in that order). At this late stage, taking Daenerys from hero to villain would be an incredibly controversial decision - but it may be the best way for the series to end. Most fans assume that the Night King will be defeated, and the final throwdown will be between human characters (although there's no guarantee of that happening!), but it may be just a little too obvious to have that be between Cersei and Jon/Dany. Cersei has been rising as a villain from the start - having her battle the ever-heroic Jon and his lovely rightful Targaryen Queen feels a tad too Disney for a show that prides itself on twists and turns. Both Jon and Daenerys surviving would also be a little too much of a happy ending (especially given that the ending has been officially described as 'bittersweet').

Having Daenerys turn into the villain, however, would be something that fits perfectly. This would also create a beautiful villain origin story. From her beginnings as an exile, dreaming of a return home, through her meteoric rise to Queen, and savior of her people, it would take this arc all the way back down to show how her grand ideas of freedom weren't enough to make her a hero. How an obsession with power, and a determination that she is 'right' in believing that the Throne is hers, is enough to take her from Mother to Dictator.

This also fits with the Game of Thrones lore about Targaryens - that they have a tendency to madness, one that Daenerys has definitely shifted more and more towards as her story continues. There would be a wonderful symmetry to have the death of the Mad King set the events of Game of Thrones in motion, only to be wrapped up by the ascension and death of a Mad Queen - and while this is far from the only way that the series could end, 'Winterfell' certainly sets it up as a serious possibility.

NEXT: Game of Thrones: 10 Outside The Box Possibilities To Win The Iron Throne