One of the main reasons people love Game of Thrones is because of the way it portrays sex: shameless, dirty, energetic yet sexy, occasionally the show allows itself to show clearly how sex plays a part in the politics and the struggle for power in Westeros and beyond.
In this article, you will find the 10 best sex scenes in the adaptation from A song of Ice and Fire, saga written by George R.R. Martin in no particular order.
These are qualified in terms of transcendence, uniqueness, and opportunity for commentary, and thus are sure worth a rewatch!
Mind you, SPOILER ALERT: The following mentions are filled with spoilers of the series. Continue reading at your own risk!
1: A dark secret: Cersei and Jaime Lannister, Season 1 Episode 1
We all remember the brutal scene where King Robert Baratheon’s wife, Cersei Lannister and her brother, Kingslayer Jaime Lannister are found at the top of a tower of Winterfell Castle having passionate sex doggy style by an unsuspecting Brandon Stark who was just climbing the castle’s walls and ended up being pushed from the tower by a furious Jaime, who could not let the Lannisters’ long history of incestuous romance be discovered as Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen didn’t have a single drop of Baratheon blood in them, in one of the most shocking endings for a first episode in the story of TV.
2: The power of the Khaleesi: Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo, Season 1 Episode 2
After being sold by her brother Viserys to a ruthless barbarian warlord who subdued and forced himself into her at first, the once powerless Daenerys makes an effort to learn about the Dothraki language and culture and empowers herself by learning the ins and outs of seduction and lovemaking with the help of Doreah, her handmaid.
In this scene, Drogo seeks her body for the third time in the depiction but this time she decides to take the lead and rides the Khal looking into his eyes, which mesmerizes him and starts the love between the two and consolidates Dany’s transformation process from a powerless slave to a merciless queen.
3: Is that what lords do to the ladies in the South? Jon Snow and Ygritte, season 3 Episode 5
This scene is probably one of the most anticipated and rooted for by fans of the series, seeing Jon with his captor and now lover from beyond the Wall, Ygritte. The sexual tension is high when Ygritte steals Jon’s sword and starts acting coy, letting herself be chased by him but actually leading them both to a secluded cave with hot springs in which she tests his loyalty to her kin by stripping herself naked to see what Jon will make of it.
They start kissing, and she snaps back with her classic “You know nothing, Jon Snow”. Boy, was she wrong because before she could even end her sentence, Jon was already giving her pleasure with his mouth?
They lay together and then they share about their sexual experience, right before going for a second-round inside the water, sealing what was a rather tragic love story in the series.
4: Becoming a man: Margaery Tyrell and Tommen Baratheon, Season 5 Episode 3
In ‘the most awkward scene she has had to record in her career’, Natalie Dormer (who plays the princess Margaery Tyrell) goes into bed with her new husband and King of the Seven Kingdoms, the young Tommen Baratheon.
Margaery, who seems for moments true to Tommen, has played her cards very well so far in her unstoppable quest for power and finally consolidates herself as Queen, albeit for a short time, by consummating the bond with a young, inexperienced and naïve Tommen.
This also consolidates the manipulation game Margaery has been playing over time with the young king through his emotions and libido; a game soon to end by the hands of his mother, Cersei, who pulls her strings and sets them apart, with tragic consequences.
5: Wait… they are what again? Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, Season 7 Episode 7
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT. At last! The scene we’ve all been anticipating. The ultimate union. The bedding of beddings. Ice and fire: the scene where Jon Snow finally gets intimate with Daenerys Targaryen.
Truth be told, when a scene is as predictable and expected as this was it becomes rather underwhelming, but Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke delivered on this one.
Plus, it gets more complicated when the real issue of the scene hits you: as they enjoy themselves inside Dany’s bedroom, Bran’s voiceover accounts for the lineage of both of them and you, as the audience, realize Jon is unknowingly inside his aunt. What a twist for such an expected climax!
6: More believable: Ros, Littlefinger and an unnamed prostitute, Season 1 Episode 7
Littlefinger shows how well he does as the owner of a whorehouse in Casterly Rock. In a scene where Ros and another prostitute are seen having mock sex, Littlefinger acts as a coach of sorts and directs his critique to the performers.
Little do people realize that he’s just a businessman making sure his business does well, but he will prove himself not to step too far as being a live trainer when he is asked to join by the duo, but he replies coldly by saying he’s reserving himself for someone more worthy of his bloodline.
Whether his intentions are so or not, he knew better by separating business from pleasure in this scene.
7: Buzzkill! Theon Frey, Myranda, Violet, and Ramsay Bolton, Season 3 Episode 7
In a scene where the now called Reek, once Theon Frey is being held captive by the maniac Ramsay Bolton, the prostitutes Myranda and Violet come to give who once was the typical Don Juan in the show a last few moments of happiness.
The scene starts when Myranda and Violet enter the room Theon is being held captive in, untie him and start seducing him; to which he responds amiss and reluctant due to the hazing he’s been submitted to by Ramsay Bolton; but after Myranda’s persistence in wanting to know the manhood of legend he has and getting completely naked to straddle him, he obliges.
When things couldn’t go better for Reek, Ramsay breaks in and sadistically castrates him in one of the most deserved comeuppances for some in the show since at that point, if you’re team Stark, Theon is easy to hate.
8: No penis? No problem! Missandei and Greyworm, Season 7 Episode 2
Being one of the cutest romances Game of Thrones has to offer, the loyal soldier Torgon Nudhon (Greyworm) and the now advisor to the queen Missandei share an intimate scene.
Greyworm says to her that he wants to be with her but can’t, to which Missandei reacts reassuringly and confidently because of her feelings towards him, with this resulting in a very hot scene in which Greyworm goes down on Missandei.
This scene could be seen as an interesting take in how it is possible to have a fulfilling sex life in the face of disability.
9: I’m not going a virgin: Arya Stark and Gendry Baratheon, Season 8 Episode 2
Near the end of the series, a now transformed and badass Arya Stark meets Gendry, and soon before everyone dies in the hands of White Walkers, she decides she wants to know what sex feels like.
After grilling Gendry and showing him her battle prowess both in the forge and in an undisclosed room, Arya decides she wants him to be the one with whom she’ll share her first (and probably last) sexual experience, and Gendry is more than happy to give her that.
This scene was alright, but to many, it might have been unsettling as Arya tends to be perceived as a cute, innocent 12-year-old; the truth is at that point of the story, Arya is over 18 (and actress Maisie Williams was 22 when that scene was recorded, so you can sigh in relief now).
10: Oh my! Samwell Tarly and Gilly, Season 5 Episode 7
In a scene that breaks the stereotypes already established by the previous sex scenes in Game of Thrones, the once Night’s Watch and soon-to-be Maester Samwell Tarly and his lover from beyond the Wall, Gilly share their first time in intimacy, in the most heartwarming and rooted for sex scene the series has to offer.
It’s all in their dialogue and gestures that depict a shy couple jumping into the pleasures of the act of love, just as silly and cute as their relationship has been during all the time they’ve spent together.
Who would have thought that such a vanilla sex scene for GoT standards could be that impactful?
Honorable mentions
Game of Thrones is packed with sex scenes, and even though not all of them had the same impact, they still served an important part in the plot of the series. The sex scenes we can’t forget to mention are:
- The highly anticipated union of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, which wasn’t impressive in itself because of its predictability but served as an apex for their story arc.
- The rather fear-factor sex scenes Melisandre the Red Woman stars in; one with Stannis Baratheon resulting in the conception of a shadow monstrosity and the second with Gendry, to take control of him and extract his royal blood with leeches.
- The wedding night of Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo, in which Dany is brutally raped by the Khal.
- Ros… and a good portion of the male characters in the show. Being the most notorious prostitute in the show, we see her pleasing a lot of important characters until she is shot dead by a sadistic and whimsical Joffrey.
Game of Thrones perfectly validates Oscar Wilde’s words: “Everything in life is about sex except sex. Sex is about power”.
What do you think about this? Do you have another favorite sex scene from the series?
Do you think there’s another scene worth to be mentioned? Leave it in the comments section!
