My husband and I finished watching House of Dragons this week. We happened to watch on the same night that Kamala Harris accepted her party’s official nomination to run for president. We were also watching the Game of Thrones spin-off when Donald Trump accepted his party’s nomination. We have decided that fiction is much less stressful than whatever is happening in the real world.
That was until we watched the last two episodes of our date night show. There was no resolution. There wasn’t even an epic battle. There were just two opposing sides, each with their flaws and faults, shoring up support for their sides. Both sides were willing to sacrifice the lives of innocents so they could secure their positions. So no, no parallels to American politics at all.
I wrote about a tale of two kingdoms here. In it you learn about an election of sorts between Rehoboam and Jereboam, two biblical kings who split their nation. While that biblical narrative is fascinating and may be worth studying more in depth in the next few months, I’d like to focus less on the political significance of the House of Dragons, and more on the spiritual significance I noticed in the show.
First and foremost, I saw the dragons as a metaphor for one’s calling. The dragons are both sacred and scary. A dragon (or your calling), can take you very far very fast, or it can light you on fire right where you stand. Sometimes your calling finds you, as was the case with Lord Corlys’ illegitimate son, Alyn. You can be minding your business and be plucked out of obscurity to do something great for the kingdom.
Then, of course, there are those of us, like Daemon and Aemon who are unhappy with the assignment set before us, and who strive in our hearts for something greater. The challenge then becomes which do we want more, our God-given destinies, or our own earthly desires. The goal, of course, is that our goals and God’s goals for us , be the same…but I’m guessing most of us are not there yet. Or maybe that’s just me.
There are others of us still, like the common born folks of Targaryen parentage, who had always been told stories of our greatness, and are just looking for opportunities to shine. There are folks like Hugh Hammer walking among us, who know full well what they are capable of and only hoping for someone else to notice it and thrust them into greatness.
Or you could be admittedly born into royalty, and only wish to fade into the background, as Queen Helaena had hoped to do. The crown, which had caused her more pain and grief than she thought bearable…and still she was challenged to exchange her position of supposed privilege for one of even more immediate risk and danger. We do not know yet whether Helaena will answer her call. Do you know whether you will answer yours?
Okay, so maybe I’m reaching. Maybe there is not much spiritual significance in a show about a fictional brother and sister fighting over who should be greatest in their father’s kingdom.
But even if I am, it’s better than how the season ended! There was no moral to the story. There was no delightful denouement where everybody lived happily ever after, and we not even a sneak peek of what happens next…and if you dare challenge me to the read the books to find out what happens next, then you don’t know me very well.
https://giphy.com/embed/bWM2eWYfN3r20
What I do know is that wherever you are in the kingdom, there is work that you are uniquely gifted to do…and it’s high time you get started.
Winter is coming.
The Gospel According to Gabrielle 