Bunk Moreland said:
Good post. I said as much (without Lenin and Robespierre) probably 20 pages back at this point. It just didn't make sense and there were zero stakes for her to make that decision when she did (which DB confirmed in the after-the-show).
Hard to just 'accept' that and be ok cuz #GoT and ZOMG Cleaganebowl! when the entire show led to something and they butchered the turn so badly.
Compare Dany's decision to her dad, The Mad King. He decided to burn down King's Landing after Tywin Lannister turned on him and began to sack the city. It wasn't just a, "Let's watch people burn." It was more of a, "If I can't have the city, no one can." Dany had just won. Her decision is definitely, a "Let's watch people burn." She is not a tragic character. She is a blood thirsty homicidal maniac. That is a major change which wasn't well scripted.
Also, for everyone bringing up times where she did something ruthless, or had some quote about burning a city to the ground, there are just as many times where she saved someone from being raped, or said she wasn't going to burn everything. There are 70 episodes, and she said a lot of stuff. You can pick quotes out to support any position.