Elizabeth Warren writes an essay on why she's rooting for Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones

The Cut

"I watch Game of Thrones because, just like everyone else, I want to find out who lives, who dies, and who ends up on the spiky iron chair in King’s Landing," the Democratic presidential candidate explains in an essay for New York magazine'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. Daenerys 'Stormborn' Targaryen has been my favorite from the first moment she walked through fire. Despite being the daughter of the Mad King and the last rightful Targaryen heir to the Iron Throne (until this week), 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, in the last great civil war between the rich and powerful family houses. Dany grew up in exile, wandering the so-called Free Cities of the East — many of which weren’t free at all but propped up by slave markets to serve their masters. When we meet Dany in season one, 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. Dany believes fiercely in her right to rule, but she despises what ruling means in the world she’s grown up in. She doesn’t want to be a slave owner or a dictator — and she definitely doesn’t want to become her murderous father."