POLITICAL manouvering, betrayal and the breakup of kingdoms. Following the EU referendum and the vote for Brexit, Great Britain and Westeros aren't looking too dissimilar - rampant nudity and incest aside.
With tonight seeing the British screening of the season finale of Game of Thrones, we looked at the similarities between the movers and shakers of George R.R. Martin's fantasy and our sadly dragon-less reality.
Nicola Sturgeon - Daenerys Targaryen
Ah Nicola. Queen of Scotland, Lady Regent of Caledonia, Breaker of the Union and Mother of Independence (possibly). Where Dany answered the prayers of slaves toiling under the whip of oppressive masters, Nicola finds herself petitioned by Scots looking to throw off British rule. Widely acknowledged as being the most competent leader in Britain, she also arguably enjoys the most universal appeal, much like her blonde-haired counterpart. And while she may not have dragons, she is more than capable of breathing fire herself at the despatch box.
READ MORE: Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Trainspotting stars back Remain EU vote
Boris Johnson - Ser Alliser Thorne
Alliser Thorne and his cabal fatally betrayed his brother-in-arms Jon Snow because he allowed the free movement of Wildlings through the Wall... Though Boris Johnson only killed his Tory colleague David Cameron's career, it's possible that, like Thorne, he ultimately won't profit from his actions. With the premiership now seen by many as a poison chalice for whoever takes the position and enacts Article 50 , Boris may yet find himself swinging from the political gallows.
Nigel Farage - Euron Greyjoy
A dangerous rogue factor difficult to predict yet with little institutional power. Loves living on an island and wants his fleet to rule the waves.
David Cameron - Tywin Lannister
A skilled operator who ruled for years and enjoyed a life of privilege before being killed off by his own creation. Where Tywin finally met his end thanks to his own son, Cameron's political career was killed off by a referendum he birthed in an attempt to unite his party.
Jeremy Corbyn - Rob Stark
A man of high principle who (arguably) had leadership unexpectedly thrust upon him. Though few would say Corbyn has the charisma of The Young Wolf, the way those in his inner circle are turning on him bring back bad memories of The Red Wedding.
READ MORE: Game of Thrones, Harry Potter and Trainspotting stars back Remain EU vote
Patrick Harvie - Tyrion Lannister
Always on the periphery of real power, effecting change through his usefulness to those with more influence. Labelled unjustly by the ignorant; one branded a demon mokey, the other condemned as the 'voice of the irresponsible left-led anti-family anti-christian gay whales against the bomb coalition'. However a sharp wit makes both Patrick and Tyrion fan/electorate favourites.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article