Following the epic blockbuster that was The Battle of Winterfell, Game of Thrones season eight, episode four took a much slower pace. It’s been met with mixed reviews, but it undeniably had a few standout moments. 

Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) shouting “dracarys!” before the Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) swiftly decapitated her nearly angered viewers as much as it did Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clark) and Grey Worm (Jacob Basil Anderson) combined. Seeing the former slave - who was freed by her friend and queen Daenerys - die in chains was just too much. It also pretty much granted Dany permission to unleash a fiery hell on King’s Landing to get to Cersei Lannister (Lena Heady), right? 

There was some good news. Kinda. Writers finally gave the fans what they’ve been waiting for: the union of Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. But did they handle it in the correct way?

Well, let’s first remind ourselves of what happened…

While the North celebrated its defeat of the dead, Jaime and Brienne were joined by Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman) and Tyrion Lannister for a drinking game of truth. Yes, classic teenage drinking game ‘never have I ever’ is a thing in Westeros, apparently.

Anyway, things took an awkward turn when Tyrion asked Brienne if she’s a virgin. Refusing to answer such a personal question - and rightly so - Ser Brienne stood up and left. But it wasn’t long before Jaime knocked on her door. Although many fans were very happy about the pair finally about to get it on, it was pretty disappointing that Jaime brought up the question about her being a virgin up once more. Brienne, being the knight that she is, shut him down, but then opened up by telling him that she was a virgin. They then had sex.

Some fans are saying that the Lannisters – in particular, Tyrion, ‘virgin shamed’ Brienne and that it was a ‘new low’ for the show. It looks like they have a point.

One viewer aimed their views at showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss’s, writing on Twitter: “If Brienne and Jaime have sex simply because Tyrion mocks her for being a virgin I will kill D&D.” 

And a third added: “Virgin-shaming is NEVER ok!!! We don’t slut-shame or virgin-shame! #GameofThrones.”

Another added: “The fact that Tyrion shamed Brienne for being a virgin (D+D’s writing always hits new lows when I never think it can) and publicly embarrassed her… I hope he dies a painful death! But of course even though he is “a good guy” a woman’s body is up for public discussion to him.”

However, Gwendoline Christie had a different take on the scene.

Speaking about the scene with Entertainment Weekly, Christie compared it to the sex scene between Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Gendry (Joe Dempsy), saying: “I believe they both elect to have a sexual liaison. Also, it’s about a coming together of two people. Both will enjoy this, so why not have that experience?

“I think if you’re facing and survived death you want to experience everything life has to offer and to not explore that it wouldn’t be as human. She’s a woman and that means she has a sex drive so why shouldn’t she explore it?”

She also revealed that she wanted Brienne to “get together” with Daenerys, saying: “Personally … I always wanted to see her get together with Dany. ‘That’s what I wanted, always! Exactly, yes? Wouldn’t that have been amazing?”

Image: HBO