When Daenerys invaded Westeros, she had a powerful army of Dothraki and Unsullied, a powerful fleet from the Iron Islands, and an air force that consist of three dragons. She easily seized a formidable castle in the form of Dragonstone. The Mother Of Dragons had powerful allies in the form of the Dornish and Olenna Tyrell, The people in the North were another potential ally. Daenerys’ primary enemy, Cersei Lannister, was wildly unpopular. And yet the Breaker of Chains, the true Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, is losing. How could this be?
The war for Westeros so far
On the advice of her hand Tyrion, Daenerys set about on a two prong strategy. Using part of her fleet, she set about transporting the Dornish Army south to invest King’s Landing to starve it out. At the same time, the Unsullied were sent to take the mighty fortress of Casterly Rock, the ancient home of the Lannisters, on the west coast of Westeros. Daenerys sent a message to Jon Snow, the King in the North, to demand he attend her and bend the knee as her vassal. The results have been spectacularly bad.
The fleet bringing the Dornish to King’s Landing was ambushed by an Iron Island fleet led by Euron Greyjoy and was all but destroyed. The survivors of the Dorne royal family, mother and daughter, have been captured and been consigned to torment at the hands of Cersei.
Yara Greyjoy, Daenerys’ admiral, has also been caught.
The Unsullied took Castlerly Rock but found that it was defended by a token Lannister force. The fleet that took the Unsullied there was destroyed by Euron’s fleet and the army is now isolated in a fixed position.
Meanwhile, the bulk of the Lannister Army has taken the fortified town of Highgarden along with a rebel force led by Randyll Tarly.
Olenna Tyrell is dead, and the treasure that resided at Highgarden is now in the possession of the Lannisters.
Finally, Jon Snow did show up at Dragonbone, but Daenerys managed to alienate what could have been a powerful ally by demanding his submission. Snow is still a “guest” of the Mother of Dragons but is effectively cut off from the North, which is threatened by an invasion of White Walkers.
Why it happened
To put the matter directly, Daenerys’ principle advisor, Tyrion Lannister, is outclassed as a military strategist. He has plenty of book learning but is up against two seasoned commanders in the form of Jamie Lannister and Euron Greyjoy (who, by the way, hate one another.) She has held back her main asset, her dragons, and has managed to lose a considerable amount of her army and navy. Cersei is working on weapons that could counter the dragons. In short, Daenerys is in great jeopardy of losing the war, leaving a genuinely evil woman as the undisputed queen of Westeros. Clearly, she has some changes to make if she is to prevail in the Game of Thrones.
