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While the highborn lords and ladies of Westeros have fought, schemed, and killed for power on Game of Thrones, one character has remained steadfast to serving not himself or his family, but rather the realm itself, Lord Varys. The Master of Whispers has managed to stay alive while many around him have fallen, all while covertly working to install a new leader on the Iron Throne, a monarch who will make life better for the common people.

And now his reward for all his work has placed him right on the hot seat, a seat being warmed by dragonflame.

Last week’s episode saw Daenerys interrogate and threaten Varys who or what it is he truly works for, since he has served one king to the next, until he decided it was time for a new ruler. It was the first time anyone has truly questioned his motives, which until now have always seemed to be consistent with his message about working for the common people.

At the Game of Thrones season seven premiere, actor Conleth Hill talked to us about his character, and what he thinks has driven him throughout the series. Hopefully for Varys the Mother of Dragons takes great stock in what is said on the red carpet, because while she might be wary of her adviser, Hill thinks Varys means what he says when talks of serving the realm.

Varys tried to save Ned Stark’s life, he worked to undercut the dangerous Baelish, he rescued Tyrion Lannister, a man he helped protect two great cities from ruin, and he put together an alliance to help Daenerys Targaryen take the Iron Throne. Plus he might be a mermaid.

After all that it’s hard to imagine he ever thought he’d be on a seat this hot. So for his sake he better be the man he has always sworn to be, because there’s nothing hotter than dragon flame.

What do you think, is Varys the man of the people he claims to be, or is the Mother of Dragons on to him? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Images: HBO

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The superhero genre is slowly expanding its insular universe with Wonder Woman and the highly anticipated Black Panther. Though just a drop in the bucket compared to white male superheroes, such images can significantly impact audiences who have never seen themselves portrayed as (s)heroes. Recently at Comic-Con in San Diego, one Asian American girl, Ashley Keller, teared up when she met Gal Gadot (aka Wonder Woman) in a video that went viral, demonstrating the real-life impact of on-screen role models:

Asian/Americans remain marginalized in superhero and science fiction/fantasy films and television shows. Hollywood prefers to whitewash Asian characters — Doctor Strange , Ghost in the Shell, Death Note — or culturally appropriate Asian culture with white savior storylines like in Iron Fist. Yet, the recent backlash from the Asian American community (and allies) has dented the success of such films.

#AACC2017 and #SDCC2017

This month, experts gathered to discuss Asian American representation in Hollywood at two events: “Asian American ComiCon Presents: A Summit on Art, Action and the Future” (#AACC2017) in Los Angeles (7/15), and “Super Asian America” at Comic-Con (#SDCC2017) in San Diego (7/23), where I participated as a panelist. The conversations went beyond a mere critique of whitewashing: many noted the rise of Asian American actors and audiences speaking out against injustice. Lewis Tan — who rose to fame as the Asian American actor that should have been cast as ‘Iron Fist’–has been a vocal opponent of cultural appropriation. At #AACC2017, he discussed the need to reclaim martial arts:

At #SDCC2017, Lewis Tan revealed how close he got to booking roles that were eventually whitewashed — and stressed the need to create our own content. Will S. Choi shared how he challenges whitewashing through original shows like “Scarlett Johansson Presents…” that feature Asian American actors/comedians. Behind the scenes, Angela Kang (co-executive producer of The Walking Dead) discussed how far we still have to go but that there is an increasing receptiveness to Asian Americans as leads in Hollywood. Deric A. Hughes (co-executive producer, The Flash) believed that it’ll “take a nation” to change the industry, encouraging Asian Americans to get involved in all aspects of entertainment. Based on personal experience, author C.B. Lee urged young Asian Americans — who face parental opposition to entering creative and cultural industries — to keep having conversations and not give up on their dreams.

I added that Asian Americans should leverage their power as the fastest growing racial group with the highest percentage of movie-goers and digital media usage to make their voices heard in Hollywood.

Representation matters

Rallying behind diverse projects that reflect our communities is one way to advocate for greater representation. As a life-long Star Trek fan, I bawled when I saw the Star Trek Discovery trailer with Michelle Yeoh starring as the first Asian female Starfleet Captain and Sonequa Martin-Green as the first African American woman to lead a Star Trek series.

Representation matters because members of marginalized groups need role models. The Star Trek Discovery cast may help young women of color imagine themselves as future leaders. In addition, audiences often need to see representations of marginalized groups in positive roles before they can imagine them occupying such roles in real life. Consequently, I end with inspirational images of two super women of color boldly going where no WoC have gone before:

Family members are now questioning why police were called to the youth center at all.