The 8 most empowering Game of Thrones episodes for women

Season 7, Episode 2: “Stormborn”

Sadly, it’s not often—in fiction or in real life—that you get to see a room full of powerful women leading a war council that could very well determine the fates of their kingdoms. But during “Stormborn,” the second episode of season 7, that’s exactly what Game of Thrones fans get to witness—and it really is a testament to how far so many of the female characters have come since the first season.

When Daenerys arrives at Dragonstone and plans to move against King’s Landing, she seeks the counsel of women like Yara Greyjoy, Olenna Tyrell, and Ellaria Sand. Tyrion Lannister is the only male voice viewers get a perspective from during this scene, and it’s refreshing to see Daenerys lifting the opinions of the women on her side of the war—even if she doesn’t necessarily take their advice in the end.

This scene also pokes a bit of fun at the notion that women are “gentle”—or have “gentle hearts” as Daenerys is told earlier in the series—by having each of the women in the room advise Daenerys to attack King’s Landing, while Tyrion tells her to utilize a more peaceful approach. The women of Westeros are fed up with what they’ve endured, and their insistence that Daenerys should invade King’s Landing outright emphasizes that — and the fact that they have the stomach for war just as much as any of the men on the show.

And finally, viewers can’t forget the amazing scene that comes after the war council, during which Daenerys receives a bit of advice from Olenna Tyrell. Olenna is one of the series’ toughest women, and she tells Daenerys so, claiming that she’s outlived all the clever men she’s known… by ignoring them.

That’s exactly what she tells Daenerys to do with Tyrion’s advice, something Daenerys later goes through with. “The men of Westeros are sheep,” Olenna concludes. “Are you a sheep? No, you’re a dragon. Be a dragon.” If that quote isn’t empowering, we don’t know what is.