Got gay scene

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Let's quickly circle back to Rhaegar and Lyanna — because here's the thing. Loras’s characterisation is hotly contested.

Daemon claims the Iron Throne for himself and marches towards King's Landing with a considerable army behind him; though he's met by Daeron's sons Baelor and Maekar, the battle is hard-fought. There’s nothing wrong in that in itself, but take away the plots that revolve around Loras’s sexuality in the TV show, and the character disappears.

A matter of tastes

There is also plenty of lesbian lust blooming in GoT.

Daenerys Targaryen, mother of dragons, is headed throughout the show’s long narrative to Westeros to claim back the Iron Throne that was stolen from her murderous and insane father. though it should be noted that, because this story spans hundreds of pages in Martin's books, we've done some condensing. The area around Valyria, which includes the Free Cities, sees some infighting but eventually settles down.

And it matters.

It matters in terms of representation. Arguably, the show’s strongest woman, Daenerys Targaryen, is unapologetic in her quest for power, and unlike her modern American counterpart, is never referred to as “shrill” or told she should "smile" more.

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Before the First Men come to Westeros, it's inhabited by non-human creatures like the Children of the Forest ...

(His crime, specifically, is that he correctly points out that Cersei and Robert's "children" are definitely products of a relationship between Cersei and her own brother Jaime, and thus are illegitimate bastards.) Elsewhere, Daenerys is married to a Dothraki warlord named Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), and when he dies, she's reborn from his funeral pyre with three baby dragons, having brought eggs into the flames.

This kicks off the War of the Five Kings in 298 AC, in which Starks, Baratheons, Lannisters, and Greyjoys all duke it out for control of the Seven Kingdoms (and, in the case of the Starks and Greyjoys, independence for the North and Iron Islands).

We first met Yara in Season 2, and she’s only been seen in 10 episodes, but only last night did we discover that she enjoys the company of women. After the king’s death, it is Renly’s champion knight Loras – also his lover – who first puts the idea of claiming the throne into Renly’s head.

One of the biggest threads of online debate about the show is the way the television series deviates from the books.

Daenerys Targaryen co-operates with her brother’s brutal murder to blossom into a leader of global proportions and Brienne of Tarth is perhaps this world’s only honourable knight. As we enter the final season it looks like the central heterosexual characters will grab the focus. regular guys in Westeros, and great Houses start forming, including House Bolton, House Martell (in Dorne), and House Frey; House Targaryen, meanwhile, marks its territory in Dragonstone.

As the show moves towards its conclusion, it’s time to ask whether, given that cultural importance, the show has missed an opportunity with its queer storylines.

The story’s creator, George R.R. Martin, acknowledges his general debt to European history for inspiring plots and characters. Played on "House of the Dragon" by Paddy Considine, Viserys is a kind and good-hearted ruler who narrowly wins the throne over his cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best on the series), who becomes known as the Queen Who Never Was.

Viserys has a problem, though: he only has one child, and it's a girl named Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock during the first five episodes of "House of the Dragon"). The Andals are now just ...

How GoT reflects sexuality and what lessons are implied is culturally important. Rhaegar is killed by Robert for stealing Robert's first love, Lyanna, and as the Lannisters sack King's Landing, Aerys tells the leader of his Kingsguard, Tywin's son Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), he intends to destroy the city. That guy only gets five years on the throne before he dies prematurely and is replaced by Maegor, Aenys' half-brother, who steals the throne from Aenys' children.

And the list of gay men that the show has killed weighs heavy.

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Read more: Game of Thrones and the fluid world of medieval gender

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In GoT, we are still waiting for a love that endures, for a fully-formed same-sex relationship that offers more than a prelude to death, for a queer character who enjoys promiscuity and gets away with it, for more expressions of gender fluidity.

but loses herself in the process. This infighting is benign enough until Rhaenyra's second-eldest son Lucerys Velaryon (Elliott Grihault) and his dragon are both killed by Alicent's second-eldest son Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and his much-larger dragon during a fight in the skies.

Rhaenyra vows revenge against her own kin, and the Dance of the Dragons sees a ton of royal casualties, including Rhaenys — and Aegon II loses two children to assassins and then is grievously wounded during the Battle of Rook's Rest.

and experiences its golden age