Entertainment

That Yara & Dany Chemistry On 'GoT' Was Unscripted

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I finally found a silver lining to the fact that Game of Thrones is ahead of the books, and it's the fact that the story can go, well, off book. According to a new interview with Vulture, Gemma Whelan (Yara) says the sexual chemistry between Yara and Daenerys was unscripted. I'm referring, of course, to Daenerys Targaryen and Yara Greyjoy, who shared a flirtatious moment during the HBO hit's Season 6 finale, "Battle of the Bastards." It had fans immediately excited at the prospect of a romantic relationship between the two. It had never occurred to me that those two might cross paths, let alone make eyes at each other, so I was both surprised and delighted to watch it happening right in front of me, but in retrospect it all seems so obvious — of course they're into each other, they're both bomb-ass women who have never met a man who's truly on their level. Whelan does state that she doesn't think the chemistry is sexual, as many fans had hoped, but two ladies vibing on each other's power is still pretty cool.

In a recent interview with Vulture , Whelan said the flirtatiousness was maybe hinted at, but never outright stated; instead, it came from the two women playing the roles themselves:

It just turned out that Emilia [Clarke] and I had some chemistry going on! It was probably intended in the script, but it didn't need writing down because it was so well-written. I suppose we're matching each other, we're testing each other's mettle with our very sparse dialogue there, and we get the idea, we get the cut of each other's jib quite quickly, and we like the size of each other — what we have to say, what we both stand for, is appealing. Not necessarily in a sexual way, but in the way that power is attractive, and it's something we both want to achieve, and we can do it together.

And here's where the unexpected blessing of being ahead of the books comes in: we might see more of Yara and Daenerys feeling themselves and their power. Because A Song of Ice and Fire the series hasn't covered this material, the showrunners are free to take inspiration from other sources, up to and including the actors themselves. It's something that Whelan herself hopes the writers explore:

Emilia and I both enjoy the idea. We get along very well, so we enjoy working with each other quite a lot. So maybe! I don't know! It's up to the writers and the machinations of their minds. We like each other, we reflect each other, and whether it's more than friendship is irrelevant, really.

And even if the "more than friendship" bit doesn't happen, I'm delighted to have finally found a reason why it isn't the worst that the show passed up the books. Thank you, natural chemistry between two talented ladies. They couldn't have done it without you.

Image: HBO