Emilia Clarke has made a household name for herself through her amazing portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen AKA Khaleesi in HBO’s series Game of Thrones.
We’re seen her character emerge as a strong, determined woman and we have seen her face some truly horrible situations; one of which being the marriage between herself and Khal Drogo which begins with the customary rape of Daenerys after their wedding.
As an actress, Emilia has put it all on show but interestingly the same has not been asked of the male cast members like Jason Momoa (who plays Khal Drogo)
In the May issue of Glamour magazine, Emilia talks about the differences in male and female nudity on the show. She jokes that while some viewers were left disappointed to have not been given a glimpse of Jason Momoa’s goods, she had in fact seen him in the buff. Well kind of. “It was covered by a fluffy pink sock” she says, “showing out would make people feel bad. It’s too fabulous”.
Joking aside, Emilia progresses in the interview to the more serious idea of consent in the plot lines of Game of Thrones. She says that people seeking answers to why her character needed to go through the customary rape scenes should ask the shows creator George R. R. Martin. “That’s on him,” she says.
Emilia does go on to say that she feels as though her character goes through a transformation throughout the series and becomes empowered in her sexual relationships with her husband. After the initial scene, Khaleesi consents to intercourse with her husband. Emilia says this is symbolic of her evolution “ I thought the consensual sex she has thereafter was genius. She is physically saying, ‘You can’t rape me again. I’m going to be in control and show you something you’ve never seen before.’"
Throughout the series Khaleesi’s character has become one of the most empowered, a status rarely seen in the plot lines of other female characters. "At the heart of it, we’re telling a story; you need that part [the rape] of the story to feel empathy for Daenerys. You see her attacked by her brother, raped by her husband, and then going, ‘F—k all of you, I’m gonna rule the world.’ That’s where we are now.”