Our mascot, Queen Carol, is the unproblematic fave we all strive to be. This relatable, struggling super-mom graced our screens for eight glorious years on Game of Thrones, always standing poised through an onslaught of indignities. Though many viewers may have thought of our queen as ‘Cersei Lannister: ultimate villain’, we here at The Fandomentals can celebrate the truth: she ruled wisely, protected her children, honored her debts, and won the hearts of the smallfolk, only to be plucked from this cruel world by a woman who wanted to see it all burn.
Sure, Carol had her angry moments…sometimes that patriarchy becomes just too much. But they were only passing moments. It would never be long before Queen Carol was back carefully planning her next tactical move, whether correctly understanding the [lack of a] threat the zombies posed, or freeing her kingdom from the yolk of superstition with a controlled demolition of its central church. Even the most cynical of bankers quickly came to see Carol for what she was: the best ruler anyone could possibly invest in.
Yet while her political brilliance was clear, Carol never seemed to catch much of a break. Her daughter-in-law was super mean to her, her uncle hated her for being a woman and didn’t even recognize her as a ruler, one time her own son changed the entire law of the land just to give her worse odds in her trial, and then her long-term boyfriend/brother broke up with her for telling a lie to a political adversary. Poor Carol! It’s little wonder she spent the last of her days sipping red wine sadly (for the antioxidants) from her balcony.
And thus, we can think of no better figure here to represent our site. We can also think of no more noble a creature to represent her likeness than a guinea pig, known for being outgoing, energetic, curious, and yes…at times clingy. This is the kind of multi-faceted and complex woman we want to see in our media. Carol’s strength certainly inspires us, and we hope in time, it can inspire you as well. (Also, GRRM uses a ton of other animals in his heraldry. Without being too on the nose, we had to get a little creative.)
Look for the Good Queen Carol to pop up from time to time around the site as we continue to move into a post-GoT world, whether she’s judging us all, issuing royal decrees, or making the editors give her a line of merch in our store.
