As we have attempted to rewrite history, or at least hypothesize it to death, we have covered many of the areas that happened pre-Game of Thrones. Now we will look into another event that happened during the series. We will see what may have happened if Khal Drogo had not died from a combination of sepsis, blood magic, and pillow smothering (the last one seems kind of unheroic but that is what happened). So let us look back into Dumbledore’s Pensieve (you know what that is right? If not, time to go and catch up on your Harry Potter) and see what actually happened for those uninformed few.
Khal Drogo was a powerful khal, or warlord, of the Dothraki people. The Dothraki are a tribal nation of horse riders in the steppes beyond the Free Cities. He was an accomplished warrior and had never been defeated in battle. This claim was attested to by the length of his braid. A Dothraki’s braid is cut when he loses a battle, assuming he didn’t lose his head or life in the process. A Khal will select three men from his khalasar to be his bloodriders. Bloodriders are attached to the Khal until his death. If a Khal is killed, his bloodriders will avenge his death, take his widow to the Vaes Dothrak to join the Dosh Khaleen and then they are expected to die to join their Khal to ride in the night lands. (Remind me not to ever sign up for any openings for Bloodriders). This brief history lesson thanks to the folks at Game of Thrones Wikia
In Game of Thrones, Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen were the last known Targaryens(at that time) and the children of the Mad King Aerys. They were snuck out as children from the capital and went into exile when Robert Baratheon (the Usurper) took over the Seven Kingdoms. While in hiding, they ended up staying with Illyrio Mopatis, a merchant-prince and a Magister of the Free City of Pentos. Pentos is located across the Narrow Sea to the east of Westeros. A rich and powerful man, Illyrio became an ally and benefactor to Viserys and Daenerys. In Viserys obsession to regain the throne he believes should have been his, he along with Illyria, brokered to marry Daenerys to Khal Drogo to get his support and warriors for the invasion of Westeros. Daenerys does not want to do this. Her only desire was to go home. Viserys reminded her that they cannot go home until they have an army to return to King’s Landing and take back the Iron Throne. The best way to get an army was for her to marry Khal Drogo. In return he would lead his Khalisar across the poison sea to go with Viserys to overthrow the “usurper.” During the wedding celebration Illyrio gives her three petrified Dragon eggs. They are beautiful to look at but are assumed to be useless.
At first, life with Khal Drogo was as she feared. Dothraki consider women to have a lower social status than men. For example, the bloodriders of a khal will not allow themselves to be commanded by his khaleesi (the name given to the wife of a khal). As time goes on, she learns his ways and teaches him about hers and Khal Drogo proves to be a kind, sensitive, and loving husband. Her refers to her as “Yer Jalan Atthirari Anni” translated from Dothraki as “The moon of my life.” Soon, she becomes pregnant with a child that Drogo believes is the prophesized khal of all khals, called the “stallion who mounts the world.” This khal is prophecised to unite the Dothraki into a single khalasar and ride to the ends of the earth, making everyone on the world his herd. (He wasn’t far off, it just wasn’t their CHILD who would appear to fulfill this prophesy). After there is a failed attempt on Daenerys’s life, (an assassin ordered by Robert Baratheon as he feared the Targaryens would return with the Dothraki behind them) an enraged Drogo vows to invade Westeros, to tear down their stone buildings, and …um do other bad things.(Children may be reading this) Unfortunately, Drogo is wounded in a subsequent battle with a member of his khalasar who disagrees with his plans and his Khaleesi. He begins to develop a severe case of sepsis.
It gets bad enough that he falls from his horse, a sign of great weakness to the Dothraki. No one would follow a Khal who could not ride. Daenerys, in her despair, unwittingly sacrifices their unborn son to save him with blood magic from a recently captured Maegi (a witch for lack of a better term). While this does saves his life, he is left in a catatonic state. Unwilling to see the “Shekh Ma Shieraki Anni “ translated from Dothraki as “my sun and stars” the great Khal, reduced to such a state where no Dothraki would even acknowledge his existence, Daenerys smothers him with a pillow. At his funeral pyre, she ties the Maegi who had promised her to save Drogo to the pyre and she walks with her dragon eggs into the flames planning to die with her Khal. Instead she emerges unscathed with three baby dragons. He is the namesake of her favorite dragon, Drogon. This is what happened. (You may now pull your head from the Pensieve).
How might things have changed had Khal Drogo NOT been wounded in the fight? Would he have fulfilled his promise to Daenerys to cross the “poison sea” and take Westeros? How would this have transpired? What if Khal Drogo had lived? (Point of order, your honor…this is assuming that Viserys had met the end that he did in the show).
This one is difficult to decipher. Of course, what fun would it be if every scenario was easy to lay out. The issue here is that Drogo’s death, while tragic, was the impetus for many of the important things 
that happened in Game of Thrones. Without his passing, Daenerys would not have taken the initiative to lead and take control of her destiny. His presence would have made her to defer to him in most decisions. Although he has been proven to listen to her, his khalasar might not be so inclined to, especially when it comes to crossing the narrow sea to Westeros. His death also was the cause of her putting her Dragons eggs (along with herself) into the pyre which caused them to hatch. No hatching eggs, no Dragons. As accomplished and skilled as the Dothraki are in battle, I would put my money on three (now two) full grown Dragons to tilt the balance of power in a battle. Another of the major differences would be their child would not be sacrificed to save Drogo so chances are, he would be born. Once their child is born, her desire to enter a prolonged campaign to retake the Seven Kingdoms might be put on the back burner. Motherhood could replace the need to rule and just as important, would she be willing to put her child in danger from possible Westerosi assassination. Perhaps, her son IS “the stallion who mounts the world.” Eventually with the knowledge gained from his Mother and the fighting skills learned from his father he WOULD lead a combined khalasar across the poison sea and take the Seven Kingdoms. This would certainly change how things transpired in Game of Thrones. In retrospect, to push the story in the direction it needed to go, as much as I was a fan of Khal Drogo (an even more so of Jason Momoa) he kind of needed to die. RIP Khal Drogo.
Perhaps you, our brilliant readers, can see a path where Khal Drogo could live and still get Daenerys where she wanted to go, as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Your chance is now with us at GVNation.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
