iheartdandelions:

I’ve been re-watching GOT lately and in 3x01, I came across something Margaery Tyrell says to Cersei and Joffrey that seems highly significant to the current state of Westeros - and a sticking point hurled at Daenerys’ character again and again by the antis because…low hanging fruit (pun intended).

What’s the anti-Daenerys sticking point you ask?

“Daenerys burned all the food in 7x04 and so now the whole country will starve because winter is here! She’s an idiot along with being mad! She is incapable of planning for the long term because all she wants is the throne…blah blah blah.”

Sound familiar? Good.

Now, what evidence do antis have of Daenerys burning all the food? Did Dany say she burnt all the food? Did Jaime say she burnt all the food? Did Cersei? Tyrion? Varys? Randyll Tarly? No. No one mentions food again after 7x04, as pointed out in THIS epic post by @instantbouquetface-me.

However, Jaime does say something telling, once he returns to King’s Landing and meets with Cersei. He tells her Dany’s dragon “burnt a thousand wagons.”

First off, when Cersei asks Jaime, “How many men did we lose,” Jaime replies, “We haven’t done a full counting” - he can’t estimate how many men were lost in the battle and yet, he knows exactly how many wagons Drogon burnt? I find this “evidence” questionable at best. Likely Jaime’s overestimating to convince Cersei that they can’t win against Dany and that they should surrender.



But let’s say Jaime is correct and Drogon did, in fact, burn exactly 1000 wagons. The way Jaime frames it when he says it, that’s meant to be seen as a big number, an intimidating number. 1000 wagons certainly sounds like a lot.

However, going back to that 3x01 scene I mentioned, Margaery Tyrell says that since the Lannisters and Tyrells have joined forces after the Blackwater, the Reach is now helping with food shortages in King’s Landing (just King’s Landing mind you, she doesn’t mention Highgarden sending food-aid to any other parts of the country even though we know fields in the fighting zones have been put to the torch throughout the war).

According to Tyrion in 7x07, one million people reside in King’s Landing. So, how much food is being sent to the city in aid from Highgarden back in Season 3?



100 wagons daily.



So in a week and a half, Highgarden in Season 3 would have sent the equivalent amount of food Daenerys supposedly burnt in 7x04.



Granted, Margaery doesn’t explain for how long Highgarden is providing aid to King’s Landing and it’s never explained how much the people need on a daily basis. Would 100 wagons last the city a week? A month? A day?

This also doesn’t take into account, as I have pointed out numerous times in other asks and metas, the fact that many of the wagons Dany likely could have burned, may have contained supplies for the soldiers - extra armor, weapons, camping supplies (tents, blankets, cots, etc.), medical supplies, other goods looted from Highgarden.

And lastly, a thing I haven’t seen anyone mention is the fact that any fruits and vegetables harvested from Highgarden before winter…likely wouldn’t last very long at all - yes preserves can be made, but those don’t last long either, especially in the middle ages when they didn’t have all the resources we have available to us now to keep foods for longer and extend their shelf-life. The only foods that would last an extended period of time would be cheese, grains, nuts, and meat (as long as people continue to hunt through winter). And it’s unlikely all the wagons from Highgarden were filled with nuts, grains, cheese, and livestock. And in fact, if you go back and watch the battle from 7x04, you can see many grain carts skipped over and not burnt.



So, did Daenerys “burn all the food” and doom the entire country to starvation during the winter because of her madness and shortsightedness?

No. Not even close.

