Parents Who Named Their Baby Khaleesi React to Latest Game of Thrones Episode

The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones brought about some pretty surprising moments, including a rather controversial heel turn for Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). It’s safe to say that the moment garnered all kinds of emotions, especially among those who show their love for Dany in a very specific way.

Buzzfeed News recently interviewed several moms who named their daughter Khaleesi, one of the many titles that Daenerys technically holds and the second-most-popular Game of Thrones baby name last year. When asked about their thoughts on Dany’s storyline in “The Bells” – where she embraces her “Mad Queen” side and burns much of King’s Landing to ash – several of the parents weren’t particularly phased.

“She’s going for what she wants,” Channy, mother of 11-month-old Khaleesi, said of Dany’s storyline in the “intense” episode.

Nikki Sotto, mom to Khaleesi Lila, had a similar outlook, revealing that her opinion on the name is unchanged, and that she and her husband chose the name because of the meaning “queen”.

“What girl hasn’t overreacted when they see their whole world crumbling around them?” Sotto said. “I feel for her. I’m just bummed Jon and her have to be related. I wanted them to live happily ever after.”

Another Khaleesi mom in the interview, Shay, has yet to watch the episode because she’s waiting for her husband to return from deployment, but she shared why she was motivated to choose that name for her baby.

“The name is unique and I also wanted her to be like Khaleesi,” Shay explained, “strong woman and rock her world and everyone obeying her.”

While it’s unclear exactly what Thrones‘ final episode has in store for Dany – and for those who named their babies after her – the show’s creative team have defended her controversial attack on King’s Landing.

“I don’t think she decided ahead of time that she was going to do what she did.” co-showrunner DB Weiss explained after the episode aired. “Then she sees the Red Keep, which is to her the home that her family built when they first came over to this country 300 years ago. It’s in this moment on the walls of King’s Landing where she’s looking at that symbol of everything that was taken from her, when she makes the decision to make this personal.”

“If circumstances had been different, I don’t think this side of Dany ever would have come out.” co-showrunner David Benioff added. “If Cersei hadn’t betrayed her, if Cersei hadn’t executed Missandei, if Jon hadn’t told her the truth… if any of these things happened in a different way, then I don’t think we’d be seeing this side of Daenerys Targaryen.”

Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.