“I spent my life in foreign lands. So many men have tried to kill me, I don’t remember all their names. I have been sold like a broodmare. I’ve been chained and betrayed, raped and defiled. Do you know what kept me standing through all those years in exile? Faith. Not in any gods. Not in myths and legends. In myself. In Daenerys Targaryen. The world hadn’t seen a dragon in centuries until my children were born. The Dothraki hadn’t crossed the sea. Any sea. They did for me. I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and I will.”

As Daenerys Targaryen, Emilia Clarke is one of the most powerful women in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Over the past eight seasons, her character has been abused by many of the men in her life. She has lost loved ones, including her husband Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa), her best friend Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), her loyal knight Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), and two of her beloved dragons. Her first baby was stillborn when a witch placed a curse upon her, rendering her (apparently) infertile.

Her journey to power has seen her rise from the absolute bottom: she had nothing to begin with, no armies, no followers, no wealth, no dragons. Now, as we move into the show’s endgame, she has all of that and more, but her personality seems somewhat changed. Indeed, some have even suggested that she has been touched by the ‘Targaryen madness’ that has afflicted countless others in her family, yet her perceived confidence and ruthlessness are belayed by the vulnerability she shows away from her people. It remains to be seen as to whether or not she will prove herself to be the good-hearted queen that everyone hopes and believes her to be, or whether Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and co will be forced to assassinate her in a bid to save thousands of innocents.

Game of Thrones: the best behind-the-scenes photos, as taken by Emilia Clarke