Seven years after Game of Thrones concluded its divisive final season, a theatrical adaptation titled "The Mad King" has premiered in England and explores the origins of one of the series' most pivotal characters. The play focuses on the circumstances of Daenerys Targaryen's birth and examines whether her destructive destiny was predetermined or the result of prophecy interpreted through her father's delusion.

According to the production, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen believed an ancient prophecy required a third-born child to become a saviour figure. When a red star appears in the sky, he interprets it as a sign and forces his wife Rhaella to conceive Daenerys. However, Rhaella curses the child during this traumatic encounter, wishing not for a prince but for a wrathful daughter who would bring dragons and destruction. The play thus frames Daenerys's later actions—particularly her hatching of dragons from funeral pyres—as the manifestation of her mother's rage rather than a heroic awakening, adding a dark dimension to her character arc.