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| Julia Gillard reveals Game of Thrones addiction | Julia Gillard reveals Game of Thrones addiction |
| (4 months later) | |
| It’s a bloody tale of warring clans fighting for control of the throne – so it should perhaps come as little surprise to Game of Thrones fans that Julia Gillard is an avid viewer. | It’s a bloody tale of warring clans fighting for control of the throne – so it should perhaps come as little surprise to Game of Thrones fans that Julia Gillard is an avid viewer. |
| Revealing herself as a fan of the HBO series in an interview with Guardian Australia, the prime minister said she had been drawn into George RR Martin’s mythical medieval-like world, in which feuding fiefdoms do battle in pursuit of power. | Revealing herself as a fan of the HBO series in an interview with Guardian Australia, the prime minister said she had been drawn into George RR Martin’s mythical medieval-like world, in which feuding fiefdoms do battle in pursuit of power. |
| And her favourite character? Daenerys Targaryen - the woman who emerged triumphant from a trial by fire to be acclaimed as the uncontested leader of her people. | And her favourite character? Daenerys Targaryen - the woman who emerged triumphant from a trial by fire to be acclaimed as the uncontested leader of her people. |
| Gillard is backing Targaryen, who carries the title “khaleesi”, to take control of the iron throne. Targaryen is the first female war leader of a tribe called the Dothraki, in the complicated maze of competition between would-be rulers. She’s resolute and at times bloodthirsty – the khaleesi, that is. | Gillard is backing Targaryen, who carries the title “khaleesi”, to take control of the iron throne. Targaryen is the first female war leader of a tribe called the Dothraki, in the complicated maze of competition between would-be rulers. She’s resolute and at times bloodthirsty – the khaleesi, that is. |
| The prime minister said she became hooked on the show over her summer break during a rare few days off. | The prime minister said she became hooked on the show over her summer break during a rare few days off. |
| “I was given the DVDs over the summer period when I did get a little bit of time to watch so I watched them one after the other,” she said. “I don’t get many lazy afternoons but I managed to have a few and now I am a bit of an addict. I anxiously await the new episode each Monday night. I like it because I think the intrigue between the contending families is enough to sustain the storyline. | “I was given the DVDs over the summer period when I did get a little bit of time to watch so I watched them one after the other,” she said. “I don’t get many lazy afternoons but I managed to have a few and now I am a bit of an addict. I anxiously await the new episode each Monday night. I like it because I think the intrigue between the contending families is enough to sustain the storyline. |
| “I am not usually a consumer of things with fantasy elements in it but I very much enjoy it.” | “I am not usually a consumer of things with fantasy elements in it but I very much enjoy it.” |
| And which of the family fiefdoms did she hope would prevail? “I’m barracking for the khaleesi, the mother of dragons,” Gillard said, without hesitation. | And which of the family fiefdoms did she hope would prevail? “I’m barracking for the khaleesi, the mother of dragons,” Gillard said, without hesitation. |
| Could she perhaps be referred to as “khaleesi” in her own office? “Well, I don’t have any pet dragons – maybe they would come in handy from time to time– nobody has given me any dragon eggs and since she had to walk into fire in order to hatch them I am not sure I particularly want that bit of it.” | Could she perhaps be referred to as “khaleesi” in her own office? “Well, I don’t have any pet dragons – maybe they would come in handy from time to time– nobody has given me any dragon eggs and since she had to walk into fire in order to hatch them I am not sure I particularly want that bit of it.” |
| Like many viewers, Gillard was surprised when another central character, Ned Stark – head of the house of Stark and played by actor Sean Bean – came to a sudden gruesome end in the first series. | Like many viewers, Gillard was surprised when another central character, Ned Stark – head of the house of Stark and played by actor Sean Bean – came to a sudden gruesome end in the first series. |
| “I was a little bit shocked when Ned Stark got killed off so early on,” she said. “He sort of had hero written all over his forehead, so I assumed he would be a central heroic character for all of it or most of it, so I didn’t expect the grisly end so early.” | “I was a little bit shocked when Ned Stark got killed off so early on,” she said. “He sort of had hero written all over his forehead, so I assumed he would be a central heroic character for all of it or most of it, so I didn’t expect the grisly end so early.” |
| There was insufficient time to pursue with the prime minister the possible Australian political analogies of a plotline in which a leader apparently set for a long reign is cut down prematurely. | There was insufficient time to pursue with the prime minister the possible Australian political analogies of a plotline in which a leader apparently set for a long reign is cut down prematurely. |
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