Mother of Dragons? Jacinda Ardern prophetically trolled by her own colleagues.

Every now and then Twitter reminds you of something long since forgotten but in the landscape of current affairs, now desperately relevant. So it is with this 2018 article on Newshub, where Jacinda Ardern proudly revealed her colleagues' nickname for her - "Mother of Dragons".

It was meant to portray the motherly, kind, saviour-like persona of a young woman who rose to power despite the odds - but what Jacinda didn't comprehend was the enormity of how her colleagues had inadvertently prophesied her terrible future.

"Half the Targaryens went mad, didn't they?... What's the saying? 'Every time a Targaryen is born the gods flip a coin.'"  - Cersei Lannister

Daenerys Targaryen is a fictional character in the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R. R. Martin, and the television adaptation Game of Thrones, in which English actress Emilia Clarke portrays her. In the novels, she is a prominent point of view character. She was one of the series' most popular characters. 

Daenarys was everyone's warrior heroine - until she wasn't.

As the series continues, it becomes clear that Daenarys has inherited the paranoid schizophrenia that the inbreeding of her family has passed down through genetic inheritance. The Targaryen family, mostly products of incest, were known predominantly for their sociopathic aggressors. With each generation, the madness got worse. 

And so it was with Daenarys. As time went on her craving for cruel public displays of her power became at first concerning, then the subject of political speculation about her suitability for leadership, and finally it led to the realisation that she was stark raving mad. Yes, indeed, Jacinda's colleagues have chosen an apt nickname for their very own (also quite mad) version of the Mother of Dragons.

Everything Daenarys gained was through war and bloodshed. She sent a message to every population she encountered by publicly executing her enemies. Although she always believed in her own twisted way that she was "doing the right thing", like Jacinda, she seemed utterly incapable of comprehending that true leadership is as much about mercy as it is about terrifying and crushing opposition in order to demand unwavering fealty. While the Mother of Dragons had purpose, she lacked sympathy, remorse, or understanding.

In the end, as oftentimes happens, the madness took over and the heroine was lost forever. Daenarys Targaryen utilised a scorched earth policy on innumerable innocents in order to take back what she believed was rightfully hers - the Iron Throne, a symbol of the utmost power in world domination.

For the lust of power, rivers of blood flowed through the streets and the stench of charred flesh hung in the air for days. No one was spared the pain and suffering of the onslaught of the Mother of Dragons. Neither the guilty nor the innocent made it out alive.

Like Jacinda Ardern, the Mother of Dragons was also one whose word meant nothing and was subject to change on a whim. “I am not here to be queen of the ashes”, she said. But then, they burned.