Iâm really glad we opened up the discussion about what should be represented in The Inheritance Games series, because itâs impossible to ignore how much privilege surrounds the Hawthorne family and how little attention is given to the systemic injustices that exist outside their billionaire bubble. Tobias Hawthorne and his descendants occupy positions of unimaginable wealth, security, and influence, but that comes at the expense of others who are left disadvantaged, silenced, or excluded.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes created a world of games, billions of dollars, and power struggles,all set in Texas, a state with its own complicated history of social injustice. This context could have made the series a brilliant space to address issues like prejudice, classism, and racism. For example, Xander briefly points out that he faces racism because heâs not white, but the books never really expand on what that means,what it feels like to exist as a person of color in the Hawthorne family which is notoriously powerful and wealthy. His position in the infamous Hawthorne family should have been an entry point into a deeper conversation about racial prejudice and the weight of existing in spaces not designed to include you.
Thatâs why I appreciated when Lyra called out the idea of Hawthorne blood being âcerulean.â She refused to glorify their bloodline for what it represents: privilege, power, and exclusion. Grayson, for instance, is a rich, white, straight man,and with that comes extraordinary privilege in terms of rights, opportunities, and how the world perceives him. Lyra, by contrast, is not white, sheâs a woman, and her family struggles financially. Their worlds are not equally matched, and while Lyra is one of the few characters unwilling to tolerate blind privilege, I wish the narrative had given her more space to hold the Hawthornes accountable.
The concept of white privilege runs through the story, even when it isnât named. Take Jameson,the reckless, thrill-seeking âbad boy.â His actions, like getting banned from countries, are portrayed as charming, adventurous, and fun. But letâs be honest: if Jameson werenât white, his behavior wouldnât be romanticized. It would be criminalized. His ability to be immature and âhungry for riskâ is enabled by privilege â and the fact that the narrative doesnât interrogate this is frustrating.
Similarly, Rohan â a South Asian character â could have been an incredibly rich lens for exploring discrimination. He grew up in a white-centered underground association, and thereâs no way he avoided prejudice there. Yet the books never really delve into what that means for him. Heâs not wealthy like the Hawthornes, heâs not at the top one percent, and he faces struggles that some of the Hawthornes and other characters will never understand. Savannahâs perspective is important here, because the series does do a strong job of exploring sexism and gender inequality â and that shouldnât be overlooked. But alongside that, thereâs also intersectionality. Yes, Rohan benefits from being a man, but at the same time, he faces racism. The story should have acknowledged both truths instead of flattening his character into a single dimension.
What we ended up with, unfortunately, was diversity without depth. Characters of color were included, but their experiences of systemic injustice were left unexplored, which is a missed opportunity. Books donât exist in a vacuum. They are political, whether or not the author intends them to be. And a series like The Inheritance Games â with its themes of money, power, and corruption,practically begs to wrestle with these issues instead of skating past them.
Even Avery, who begins the series as the âoutsider,â eventually mirrors Jamesonâs lawbreaking tendencies. And while itâs fine to show characters being wild and risky, the narrative fails to interrogate what it means to abuse privilege while others â like Lyra or Rohan â donât have the luxury of being reckless. Playing dirty when youâre rich and powerful isnât clever; itâs corrupt. âThereâs no such thing as playing dirty if you winâwell of course your privileges will allow you to win.And corruption is already the beating heart of this story,so why not examine it more deeply?
The series often glorifies behaviors that, when stripped of privilege, are neither admirable nor excusable. Getting banned from countries isnât hot. Abusing power in a game designed to make others have the experience of a lifetime isnât âokayâ or âcool.â If we really want to talk about what The Inheritance Games represents, we need to acknowledge the corruption, the systemic inequalities, and the real-world prejudices mirrored in its characters. Fiction doesnât get a free pass. Representation matters and stories that center power and wealth should never shy away from interrogating the darker realities that come with them.
