Arya may not always respect the choices made by other women (remember how rude she used to be to Sansa?), but she has always been consistent in her own dreams, thoughts and ideas about herself. Take, for instance, the fact that she wanted to be a warrior. She didn’t sit on her hands: instead, she confidently informed her father of her plans, dedicated herself to her daily fencing lessons, and then took herself to Braavos, where she trained as a faceless assassin.

And all of that hard work paid off, too: nowadays, she’s a fully-trained ninja squirrel with all the skills required to take down an army. Pretty tight story arc, eh?

Sansa Stark

Sansa Stark started off as the character everyone loved to hate. She was prim, and proper, and impossibly whiny. She heckled her sister for not behaving like a proper girl. She fancied Joffrey.

But Sansa has certainly grown since the heady days of season one, enduring horrible cruelties and putting up with an array of awful, awful men. Is it any wonder that, after all of that, she thoroughly refuses to take any shit from anyone? She’s refused to let anyone diminish her suffering, or skirt around the truth of what’s been done to her. She’s called Jon out for thinking with his dick. She’s teamed up with her sister to bring down Littlefinger, the human embodiment of the patriarchy. She’s been walking around Winterfell, pointing out everyone’s mistakes and doling out advice on how to prepare for winter.And she’s proven herself a fair and wise ruler, too… one who is well aware of her own worth.

To be honest, Sansa is looking like a viable contender for the Iron Throne at this point. Will she get her butt on that seat before season eight is out?

Brienne of Tarth

How do I love thee, Brienne of Tarth? Let me count the ways…

Any GOT fan worth their salt will tell you that Gwendoline Christie’s badass warrior is the truest of knights: she’s brave, loyal, honourable, tanacious, and utterly fierce in battle. She’s also unwavering in her kindness, too, and always poised and ready to make the ultimate sacrifice. In a male dominated world, she blurs gender binaries and refuses to bow to sexist stereotypes.

Instead, she blazes her own path for other women to follow – and is a source of inspiration for male and female viewers everywhere. Can we… can we just make sure she gets a lot more screen-time for the final season? Please? She’s been criminally underused up until now.

Daenerys Targaryen

She’s the Mother of Dragons, guys: how could she not have swooped into one of the top spots?

Daenerys began her GOT story arc as an incredibly vulnerable young girl. Oppressed and essentially sold into a violent marriage by her brother, she has endured great hardships, but always come out stronger than ever. She’s taken the time to understand new cultures and societies. She respects the ways of those different to herself (unless it involves slavery, of course: then she sets them on fire). She refuses to be pushed around by any man… or woman, for that matter.

Best of all? The Khaleesi may not have the wealth of the Lannisters, or the vast fleets of the Greyjoys, or the roughness of the Starks, but she has something far better: she has the confidence and self-belief to see through her cause to the bitter end.

As she says to her legions of loyal followers: “I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyria. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you that those who would harm you will die screaming.”

Words we can all get behind, I reckon. Too bad she abandoned her best friend to hop aboard Drogon and save her own skin when they were attacked by the Sons of the Harpy, eh?

Missandei

The definitive feminist ranking of every (still alive) Game of Thrones character