HBO's Game of Thrones is a series that has a huge following, and there are those who know the history of the fictional Westros kingdoms better than they know actual history. As an HBO show, it is free to show quite a lot, and many have criticized the show due to its nudity and sex scenes. Emilia Clarke, the actress who plays Daenerys Targaryen, is one of them, and she has deliberately said no to what she considers gratuitous sex scenes. Perhaps the show will soon be taken into a new direction.
Emilia has recently told the Daily Mail that "sex scenes should be more subtle". She also added: "I'm British, so I cringe at that sort of thing anyway. I can't stand it...I don't want to have sex thrown and I've always thought the suggestion is so much more titillating than the act itself...Most sex scenes you see in films or on TV are gratuitous and they're usually just to attract an audience".
According to Relevant, Emilia has "practiced what she preaches", refusing to do nude scenes on the series for the last two seasons, even telling the show creators that she "wanted to be known for my acting, not my breasts".
Considering that Emilia's character was introduced naked in the first season, and then was given away as a prize with a sex scene with a Dothraki leader, this is quite a stance for the actress to take. Working as an actor/actress often involves taking roles where one has to do certain things they wouldn't do in real life, but when it comes to nudity and sex scenes, these are often put in the actor/actress contract ahead of time. It is interesting to see Emilia say no to these stipulations. After all, Daenerys Targaryen is a fan-favorite of the show, and it probably isn't really necessary in the story to have her appear naked or in a sex scene again.
Many critics and fans enjoy the political intrigue of a medieval setting of the show in its fictional fantasy world, and the popular YouTube channel Honest Trailer for the series calls it "the medieval encyclopedia/Dungeon Master's Guide/porno that is Game of Thrones". As the Honest Trailer states: "a show with so many monologues, that HBO has to offset it with boobs".
It is pretty clear that even if Game of Thrones did not have its sex scenes or nudity, people would still watch it. It is possible that they are there so the viewers aren't thinking they are watching kid-friendly fantasy like The Lord of the Rings.
The nudity and sex scenes are not a problem in the books unless they are described in gratuitous detail. However, as George R.R. Martin's books have made the leap into television, it does feel like the show is going out of its way to show sex scenes that it doesn't really have to depict.
By now, it's very clear that now viewers are entranced with the world of Westros due to its conflicts and not its sex scenes. Emilia's comments are echoed by a lot of watchers of Game of Thrones, and it would not be surprising of the last seasons of the show are less revealing of flesh and more revealing of its epic story.
