Danaerys is definitely my favorite character. I haven't read the books, so I'm going strictly by what I've seen in the series. She's a character that was clearly brought up to be subservient to her brother, the rightful king of iron throne. She gets used as chattel to barter for an army with a terrifying force, but she manages to turn that to her advantage. She falls in love with the man who she was given to, and it's a reciprocated feeling.

These people that she's now become a part of accept her, teach her their language make her their queen, and she starts to believe she is. Even enough to stand up to her brother. When Drogo is taken from her, she doesn't just fall down and give up and let some man take care of her. She takes her clan and tries to do her best for them.

To go from being told her brother would let her be raped by a thousand men and their horses to being the mother of dragons and deciding that the crown is hers is a huge leap. She goes from being someone who needs protecting to being the one who does the protecting. It makes me respect her as a character that she didn't just take the easy route and give up.