Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy. Photo / HBO
Game of Thrones fans are over the moon after the show revealed a main character is gay, despite being depicted as straight in the books.
Asha Greyjoy (renamed Yara in the show) had a male lover in George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, but was shown with a female prostitute in the show's latest episode.
Fans are super excited that such a strong character has been depicted as gay, taking to social media to celebrate.
Gemma Whelan, the actress who plays Yara, told HBO she had no idea her character was gay, but didn't think it was likely Yara would box herself in.
"I reckon she's any way. I don't think she'd limit herself to one or another. Anything goes. Get the job done with whatever if [it's] fun and interesting," she said.
Thrones fans are now pinning all their hopes on Yara finding love with long-time show favourite Daenerys, as she's seeking an alliance with the Mother of Dragons, who has been open to relationships with women in the past.
But there's also a fear that now that she's been outed as gay, it's only a matter of time before Yara dies, as is wont to happen to gay characters in popular culture.
Yara and her brother Theon are on their way to take a fleet of ships to Dany, to help her move her army to Westeros, and Whelan says Yara is definitely playing the "long game".
"A few people have tweeted me saying, 'Why does Yara keep running away from threats?'", she says, referring to the Kingsmoot in which Yara ran from Euron.
"It's because she's playing the long game. It's like chess and she plays several moves ahead - which makes her even more of a brilliant candidate to lead. She understands exactly how things will play out."
The Australian site cited a 'heightened threat level' as the issue.