Out of Daenerys Targaryen's downward spiral into madness and subsequent demise caused the greatest uproar from viewers. A speaker of 19 languages originating from the island of Naath, Missandei first appeared in season 3, episode 1, "Valar Dohaeris" as an interpreter for the slave master Kraznys mo Nakloz in Astapor. She served as Daenerys' adviser after the self-proclaimed Breaker of Chains purchased her freedom along with 8,000 trained Unsullied warriors in season 3, episode 3, "Walk of Punishment."
Missandei became a close confidant of Daenerys over each of Game of Thrones' remaining seasons before her controversial capture and execution at the hands of Ser Gregor Clegane aka The Mountain on the order of Cersei Lannister in season 8, episode 4, "The Last of the Starks."Missandei's death was a brutal moment for one of the show's truly decent characters. Narratively, it was used as part of the launchpad for Daenerys' destruction of King's Landing in the following episode, "The Bells." That itself is among Game of Thrones' most controversial moments, but the execution that helped lead to it, while comparatively overlooked, was just as much of a mistake.
Missandei's demise marked a colossal shortcoming on the part of Game of Thrones writers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, who also failed to properly develop the character beforehand. While the decisive stage of Daenerys' arc fell flat in its execution due to woeful pacing and rather nonsensical justification for the character's sudden transformation, Missandei’s season 8 death proved that she never served as anything more than an accessory in Daenerys' storyline. As a character whose presence endured through six seasons of , Missandei deserved at least her own narrative, if not a worthwhile ending.
From her introduction in season 3, Missandei demonstrated great potential to become a central figure in Game of Thrones. Instead, she spent most of her appearances standing beside Daenerys translating for her or offering a brief word of advice. Furthermore, Daenerys rarely extended her the same consideration in return. In season 4, the beginnings of a romantic relationship formulated between Missandei and Grey Worm, Daenerys' chosen commander of the Unsullied. However, the pair's scenes together were half-baked at best and occurred few and far between, lacking the necessary dedication to render them meaningful. Thus, Missandei's relegation to the sidelines for most of the show meant her death in season 8 failed to carry the weight it should have.
After neglecting Missandei's individual development for the five preceding seasons, failed the character one last time with the sequence leading to her season 8 death. Missandei ended up in Cersei's clutches when Euron Greyjoy's fleet ambushed Daenerys' forces as they sailed back to the island of Dragonstone in preparation for the assault on King's Landing. Missandei's abduction feels forced given that the remainder of Daenerys' confidants managed to avoid capture. Her subsequent execution painfully emphasizes that the event solely served the purpose of propelling Daenerys into her downward spiral of madness. This further underlines the disappointing reality that even in her death, Missandei was never afforded the opportunity to undertake her own arc and grow outside the confined role of Daenerys' trusted aide.
Ultimately, ’ carelessness surrounding Missandei constitutes a failure of grand proportions, even more so than its shortchange of Daenerys. To make matters worse, the show's neglect of Missandei highlights Game of Thrones' lacking diversity and poor representation of the few BIPOC individuals existing in its world. Also evidenced by its lamentable treatment of LGBTQ characters, theshow never allowed its sparse marginalized people, such as Missandei, to truly be seen.