Martin had created a rich array of complex, wise, and powerful (as well as cruel, evil, and stupid) female characters, as part of his project of deconstructing the testosterone-heavy world of traditional epics. In the process, he created a character who would’ve made a terrific queen. But I think Martin had become worried about faith in a powerful leader who would say something like “only I can save you”, regardless of that rulers’ sex. With fascism on the rise all over the globe, I think he felt a moral obligation, as the creator of the most popular television show in history, to not inspire people to think “if only we had a strong powerful ruler to cut through all this redtape, things would be great again!“. So he tacked on a preposterous unhappy ending that was totally out of character for her, so that Jon would kill her, and turn the six kingdoms into a proto-democracy. Martin seems to be saying “This is what Democracy looks like. No room for heroism, but plenty of hard work that will make the world a little bit better a step at a time, if everyone is willing to compromise a bit.” I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Martin endorsed Joe Biden from the beginning. More on this here. https://teedrockwell.medium.com/why-daenerys-had-to-die-1b506bfbacfc