HBO’s Game of Thrones was a widely popular TV show that aired on the network from April 2011 through May 2019. It consists of many powerful houses who are in competition to rule the seven kingdoms. When the legitimacy of the current king’s claim to the throne is called into question other rulers begin to claim that they are the rightful ruler and plan to seize the throne.
Daenerys (Dany) is a Targaryen who believes she is the rightful queen of the seven kingdoms. She is disgusted by slavery and her goal is to set all of the slaves free and kill all of their masters. In her eyes, she is bringing justice to the world. However, the slaves are viewed as property by their masters and after years of slavery they have begun to see themselves as such. They do not have any belongings to their name or any purpose in life other than serving their masters. Thus, when they are set free, they have nowhere to go. Dany always gives those she conquers the choice of if they want to follow her or not, but they have nowhere to go if they decide not to follow her.
Dany realizes that having a large army and conquering a group of people is a lot easier than ruling over them. Ruling requires a consistent effort and compromises. She was able to look at the masters, see the evil in the way they treated their slaves, and conquer to set the slaves free. But then the slaves were left with nothing and had no purpose in life. Their entire economic system was lost and while masters did not have direct control and authority over their slaves, they still had power in other means such as economically and socially.
Martin Luther King Jr. was witnessing similar experiences. The slaves had been set free by the U.S. government in 1865 with the addition of the 13th amendment, but racism and inequalities were still largely present in the 1900s. Former slaves were not yet equal to their previous masters. There were still large injustices that Dr. King fought with nonviolent methods such as the Montgomery bus boycott. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. King explains his rationale for his actions and explains the injustices that were present.
In both situations the subaltern is set free but does not have an equal voice to the former ruling group. Slave masters were very profitable in both America and the cities in Game of Thrones for years. When their slaves are lost, they are still left with wealth and power while the slaves are left with nothing and must start a completely new life with no resources. The subaltern then must work increasingly harder than the Subject in order to achieve the same level of success.