Sen. Elizabeth Warren recaps Game of Thrones, for some reason

(Image credit: Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

published 22 April 2019

Like millions of people not running for president — and there are still a few Americans not in the race yet — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants "to find out who lives, who dies, and who ends up on the spiky iron chair" in Game of Thrones, she writes at New York's The Cut. "But for me, the hit HBO show is about more than a death count (I'll leave that to Arya). It's about the women."

Warren goes on to give a brief recap of Game of Thrones, focusing on two female protagonists, Daenerys (Dany) Targaryen — "my favorite from the first moment she walked through fire" — and "the villain we love to hate, Queen Cersei of Casterly Rock." Her recap unsurprisingly touches on some themes that fit both Westeros and 2020 U.S. presidential politics:

As much as Dany wants to take on her family's enemies and take back the Iron Throne, she knows that she must first fight the army of the dead that threatens all mankind. This is a revolutionary idea, in Westeros or anywhere else. A queen who declares that she doesn't serve the interests of the rich and powerful? A ruler who doesn't want to control the political system but to break the system as it is known? It's no wonder that the people she meets in Westeros are skeptical. [Elizabeth Warren, New York]

Mostly, however, Warren gives a brief, straightforward recap of how the cultish HBO show has progressed from Season 1 to Season 8, with a little extra focus on the pernicious role of the Iron Bank in crushing popular will and governance and the evils of slavery. "We've got five episodes to find out if the people can truly break their chains, destroy the wheel, and rise up together to win," Warren writes. Presumably, the battle for the U.S. presidency will involve much less bloodshed and incest. Read Warren's entire recap at The Cut.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.