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At Least Daenerys' Costumes Gave Her Character Development on Game of Thrones

The costume designers didn't rush anything

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Amanda Bell

Game of Thrones is now over, and if there's one storyline from the final season that's had fans spitting fire, it's how rapidly Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) descended into madness during the sack on King's Landing and in the aftermath, as she declared her intent to conquer and "liberate" the rest of the known world.

The show had previously foreshadowed the possibility that she would become a dangerous mirror of her Mad King father, but there was still not enough narrative exploration of her decline this season to justify seeing her dragon set fire to the entire city and murder thousands of innocent people. Daenerys had been cruel and dracarys-happy in the past, yes, but only to people who had wronged her or others in some way. And her well-documented history of protecting those who could not protect themselves meant the show should have spent a lot more time getting to this point, if it were going to, before Drogon ever opened his mouth above the city.

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As dizzying and frustrating as that (lack of) arc is, though, at least one aspect of Game of Thrones did offer a sense of completion about Daenerys' changing state of mind right up to the show's end: her clothes.

Costume designer Michele Clapton has added four Primetime Emmys to her shelf for how well she's been able to give sartorial life to the seven kingdoms in Game of Thrones, and her wardrobing choices for key characters have created an entire subplot to their evolution. That's certainly true of Daenerys, because from her wispy wedding gown in the earliest days of the show to the Targaryen-themed clothes she wore throughout Season 8, the threads have always elevated the material of Dany's story, even where the scripts failed her.

Click through the gallery below to explore Daenerys' style evolution throughout Game of Thrones, from start to finish.

PHOTOS: Daenerys Targaryen's Style Evolution Throughout Game of Thrones

​Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4​

Drogon and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 4

HBO/Helen Sloan