Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the world “needs fewer Cersei Lannisters” in a brief essay for “The Cut” on Sunday. The 2020 presidential contender also revealed she was a fan of the show and said the final season would come down to a contest between the women of Westeros.
“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 wrote, while also revealing that her personal favorite character is Daenerys Targaryen.
“Daenerys ‘Stormborn’ Targaryen has been my favorite from the first moment she walked through fire,” the Massachusetts liberal said. “Dany didn’t grow up in the lavish palace walls of the Red Keep. She was born during the chaos of her father’s overthrow … When we meet Dany in Season 1, she’s a teenager sold off by her abusive elder brother to beefcake warlord Khal Drogo in order to further his political ambitions. Dany might be a princess by birth, but she wasn’t dealt an easy hand.”
Warren said she approves of Targaryen’s up from her bootstraps story and long-running crusade against slavery in the “free cities” — which Warren points out were often propped up by slave markets. Echoing many of her own campaign’s populist, anti-Wall Street themes, Warren called out Cersei Lannister’s life of privilege and need for the Iron Bank to prop up her reign instead of relying on popular support.
“Rather than earn her army, Cersei’s pays for it. She buys 20,000 Golden Company mercenaries — though they arrive without their legendary elephants — with funds from the Iron Bank,” Warren writes. “Cersei’s betting on the strength of the bank to get her through the biggest fight of her life. It never crosses her mind that the bank could fail, or betray her.”
On Sunday evening, HBO aired Episode 2 of the “Game of Thrones” final season, which took place entirely within Winterfell, as Daenerys, Tyrion, Jon Snow and fretful audiences around the world waited for the first clash with White Walkers since they breached the wall at the end of last season.