As with all fantasy fiction, we cannot help but see parallels between the stories that are told and the real world.
Game of Thrones is a big case in point, with its political themes of power and deception arguably reflecting real-life examples.
However, one big interpretation of the series is that it acts as a metaphor for climate change, more specifically the White Walkers… you know, because they’re merciless ice beings that are coming to destroy everything.
Martin himself has endorsed this idea, telling the New York Times: “It’s kind of ironic because I started writing Game of Thrones all the way back in 1991, long before anybody was talking about climate change.
“But there is — in a very broad sense — there’s a certain parallel there. And the people in Westeros are fighting their individual battles over power and status and wealth. And those are so distracting them that they’re ignoring the threat of ‘winter is coming,’ which has the potential to destroy all of them and to destroy their world.
“And there is a great parallel there to, I think, what I see this planet doing here, where we’re fighting our own battles. We’re fighting over issues, important issues, mind you — foreign policy, domestic policy, civil rights, social responsibility, social justice. All of these things are important.
“But while we’re tearing ourselves apart over this and expending so much energy, there exists this threat of climate change, which, to my mind, is conclusively proved by most of the data and 99.9 percent of the scientific community. And it really has the potential to destroy our world.
“And we’re ignoring that while we worry about the next election and issues that people are concerned about, like jobs. Jobs are a very important issue, of course. All of these things are important issues. But none of them are important if, like, we’re dead and our cities are under the ocean.
“So really, climate change should be the number one priority for any politician who is capable of looking past the next election. But unfortunately, there are only a handful of those.
“We spend 10 times as much energy and thought and debate in the media discussing whether or not NFL players should stand for the national anthem than this threat that’s going to destroy our world.”
Cheery. Well, we shouldn’t be surprised – it is Game of Thrones, after all.
Game of Thrones’ final season will premiere in 2019. The show airs on HBO in the US and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK. Season 7 is now available to buy on DVD, Blu-ray or digital download.
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