Emilia Clarke plays the most powerful female character on one of TV's most controversial shows when it comes to depictions of sex, rape, and nudity. Fittingly, she's got a lot to say about how that pertains to Daenerys Targaryen and her late hubby, Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa). In the May issue of Glamour, Clarke talks about female vs. male nudity and issues of sexual consent on Game of Thrones. She also addresses one of the most serious, inflammatory points of controversy on the show: the inexplicable mystery of why we never saw Khal Drogo's penis. "Showing it would make people feel bad. It’s too fabulous," she jokes. "No, I don’t know why." But Clarke herself caught more than a glimpse of her co-star's nether regions. "I saw his member, but it was covered in a pink fluffy sock."
On a note much more serious than fluffy pink man-parts, Clarke gets into the complex sexual relationship that Khaleesi had with her late husband — which, you'll remember, began with a disturbing post-wedding rape scene in season one. She blames series author George R.R. Martin for that. "Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s arranged marriage, and the customary rape that followed — ask George R.R. Martin why he did that, ’cause that’s on him." But Clarke — who has defended the HBO show against accusations of sexism before — also sees the evolution of Khaleesi's sexual agency as empowering for the character. "I thought the consensual sex she has thereafter was genius," the actress says. 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.'"
And now? Last we saw, Khaleesi is kicking ass — and seeing what she went through makes it feel all the more redemptive. "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.” Yas queen! See Clarke continue her reign when Game Of Thrones returns on April 24.
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