Image: Game of Thrones/HBO, The Tiger King/Netflix
Just lately, I finished watching the foremost epic saga of our time, a thrilling tale of ambition, power, madness, destruction, murder, and wild animals of incredible power and beauty. I’m talking, of course, about The Tiger King on Netflix.
For those who haven’t tuned in, The Tiger King is a Netflix docuseries about the larger-than-life figures working in America’s big cat trade, maintaining zoos dedicated to displaying lions, chimps, and tigers — tigers most of all. And when I say larger-than-life, I mean it. From the eccentric Joe Exotic to the polygamous Doc Antle to the manipulative Jeff Lowe, these are people who would feel right at home in the wildest fantasy yarn, and honestly might be too outlandish for some.
Speaking of wild fantasy yarns, while watching The Tiger King my mind couldn’t help but wander to that other epic saga about power, madness and destruction: HBO’s Game of Thrones. Were the people climbing the big cat hierarchy in the United States really so different from the power players in Westeros?
Yes. Yes, they are, but I’m going to compare and contrast them anyway, starting with…