Throughout its five-season run, some critics have pigeonholed HBO's "Game of Thrones" as a male dominated exercise in wish fulfillment and fantasy. However, actress Sophie Turner, who plays the tormented Sansa Stark, believes that the hit series is actually a feminist show.
While there has been a lot of violence against women in the show, the cast is also punched up by a handful of incredibly strong female characters. From Emilia Clarke's dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen to Lena Headey's actual queen Cersei Lannister, "Game of Thrones" does regularly empower women and put them at the forefront.
"I think the depiction of women in 'Game of Thrones' is really...nice," the 20-year-old British actress said. "I think back then, women didn't have half the power that they do in the show. This isn't a popular opinion but it's definitely a feminist show, I believe."
"Back then, women didn't have powers to control kingdoms and they weren't...the strongest characters in life. And in the show, some of the strongest characters are the female characters. Obviously, we have to cater to the times that they were in, and so there are those social boundaries put upon them, but they break out of them in the show, and that's why I think it's quite feminist."
It's understandable while some viewers and critics would argue against Turner's point. Her character in particular has suffered quite a bit at the hands of evil men on the show. However, season six appears to further strengthen the female characters of the series and provide them with more ownership of their own lives.
"The women are rocking this season - and I'm not just say that because they're on your cover," HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told EW. "Daenerys always does, but also Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), Arya (Maisie Williams), Sansa, Cersei, Margaery (Natalie Dormer, and other characters too, like Yara (Gemma Whelan). They power this season. It's organic to the storytelling, yet a radical shift. It's the women that are the hope that we're watching as the chess pieces move this season, and it's very exciting."
"Game of Thrones" will return to HBO for a sixth season on April 24.
