• Culture & Context

    The Queen’s Not Mad, She’s Machiavellian

    The hit HBO series Game of Thrones has captured the imagination and seized the attention of viewers around the world, and as the show progresses through its final season — only one episode remains! — loyal fans continue to voice a multitude of opinions on, and condemnations of, the eight-season narrative arc as it hurtles towards conclusion. Season 8, Episode 5, “The Bells,” (aired 12 May 2019) seems to have left many fans frustrated, if not confused and even angry, about the choices made by the aspiring ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, Daenerys Targaryen, as she nearly single-handedly sacked King’s…