The Ultimate Ranking of 'Game of Thrones' Sex Scenes

Rated on a scale of dracarys. 🔥

ritual, barechested,
(Image credit: HBO)

Even though it's over, if there's one thing Game of Thrones remains notorious for—aside from that divisive and disappointing ending, of course—it's the sex scenes that littered the series. From season one, episode one, Game of Thrones proved that it was a show that was not afraid to show plenty of sex scenes, from young hotties Daenerys and Jon Snow to the incestuous pairing that were Cersei and Jamie. Yes, there was plenty of death in Game of Thrones (some would say a depressing and unnecessary amount of death), including many of the people above—it's been over for a while, guys, I'm not going to apologize for the spoiler—but those heartbreaking death scenes were far outweighed by a long list of scorching hot (and, okay, if we're being totally honest here, some not as hot) sex scenes.

Game of Thrones wasn't shy about exploring sex in many different forms and between many different characters. Some of the show's love scenes were hard to watch (but some real-life sex is not the greatest either, so who are we to judge), but many of them were flaming hot like dragon fire. That's why we think it's appropriate that we've utilized a very scientific, very official fire emoji (🔥)-based system to rank the best Game of Thrones sex scenes. Below, we count down Game of Thrones' best and most iconic sexy time moments, from the not-at-all sexy to the ones that might as well have had characters literally screaming "DRACARYS" in ecstasy.

28. Joffrey, Ros, and Daisy

Trigger warning: rape, violence. Joffrey was the absolute worst and his masochistic sex scene with Ros and Daisy was nightmare-worthy, even though the show (thankfully) cut away before we actually had to witness the implied acts.

Dracarys level: -🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

27. Daenerys and Khal Drogo's wedding night

Trigger warning: rape. When it comes to hard-to-watch Game of Thrones scenes, Daenerys and Khal Drogo's wedding night is up there. The couple gained a devoted following of shippers over the years, but their wedding night scene is...horrible.

Dracarys level: -🔥 🔥 🔥

26. Margaery and Renly

Margaery Tyrell was in it to win it when it came to her rightful spot as the future queen of Westeros. Before she married Joffrey and dodged a bullet when he died before their wedding night, she was with Renly Baratheon, another early hopeful for the Iron Throne. Unfortunately, even the unadulterated hotness of Natalie Dormer couldn't save this sex scene, since Renly was gay and not into even the objectively sexiest of ladies.

Dracarys level: 🔥

25. Sam and Gilly

Do not @ me. This might not be the *hottest* sex scene ever, but we challenge you to find a sweeter moment of intimacy in all of Game of Thrones.

Dracarys level: 🔥

24. Gendry and Melisandre

Did Melisandre ultimately seduce Gendry with the goal of surprising him by bringing leeches into the bedroom to suck out some of his blood for some ritual? Yes. Was it hot in a BDSM-y way? Yes.

Dracarys level: 🔥

23. Daenerys and Jon Snow

Look, we know this scene was 50 shades of weird. But it makes the list because there has been so much hype surrounding Jon and Dany's relationship, *and* because Jon Snow's butt went viral, *and* because it single-handedly convinced most of the internet that incest between aunts and nephews is just fine. Help! What is life!

Dracarys level: 🔥

22. Theon and Yara

You would think Theon would know when and how to keep it in his pants, but it seems that day will never come. The idea of hooking up on a horse is what makes this scene so steamy, just not the part about finding out it was with his sister.

Dracarys level: 🔥

21. Viserys and Doreah

Daenerys' asshole older brother Viserys doesn't last long in the series (you don't just keep crossing a beloved Khaleesi and live to tell about it), but he managed to sneak in a bathtub sex scene with Daenerys' handmaid, Doreah, before he bowed out under weight of his golden crown.

Dracarys level: 🔥

20. Theon and Ros

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Ros is great. Theon is meh. Their sex is...hotter than Theon sex should really be.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥

19. Cersei and Jaime stop hiding from their dad

In Season 4, Cersei decided to reveal her inappropriately close twin-ly relationship with Jaime to their super uptight dad, Tywin, and then proceeded to have twincestous monkey sex with her brother on a table. As you do?

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥

18. Cersei and Jaime stop hiding...at all

Jaime and Cersei have several intimate moments over the course of the series, but by Season 7, Cersei is on the Iron Throne no longer gives any f*cks about people knowing that she and her brother are a ~thing~. There's something kind of hot about the brazen confidence in this later-era GOT twincest moment.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥

17. Arya and Gendry

It's the night before the Battle of Winterfell, and Arya wants to get down for the first time before she could potentially die as she faces the White Walkers. Was it the most comfortable scene to watch? Not necessarily, but Arya and Gendry were reunited after many years of separation, and that is worth celebrating.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥

16. Cersei and Jaime

We're including Cersei and Jaime's debut incestual sex scene on this list because it's completely insane, broke a million taboos, and—to be honest—was kinda steamy. Let's just forget about the fact that they're siblings, mmmkay?

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥

15. Tyrion and Ros

This one isn't the steamiest in GOT history by a long shot, but Tyrion getting it on with Ros at a Winterfell brothel in season one was probably the most perfect introduction we could have had to both characters. 

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥

14. Stannis and Melisandre

Game of Thrones definitely knows how to make a weird sex scene weirdly hot and Stannis and Melisandre hooking up on a battle map to make a smoke monster baby definitely qualifies—on both counts.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

13. Myranda and Ramsay

So, two wrong things (people in this case) shouldn't make a right, but the lip biting, to the point of bleeding, in this scene is superb. It's such an intense amount of passion from two equally crazy people.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

12. Bronn and Mirelle

If you don't remember this one, you're not to be blamed. This loved up moment went down between Bronn and one of the prostitutes in Littlefinger's brothel way back in Season 3, but it was pretty damn hot.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

11. Daenerys and Her Handmaid

Before seeking out mutual respect in her sexual relationship with Khal Drogo, Daenerys got lessons in lovemaking (sorry) from one of her handmaids, who taught her to make eye contact and encouraged her to be on top. To quote: "You will make him like it, Khaleesi. Men want what they've never had."

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

10. Pod and an entire brothel

Pod is one of the least assuming characters in all of Westeros, so it was beyond perfect when Tyrion hired an entire brothel of ladies to take his virginity and—twist alert—it turned out that Pod was such an incredible and natural lover that the prostitutes insisted on giving him the money back.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

9. Daenerys and Daario

Daenerys took a long time to get over the death of Khal Drogo, but once she did, it was insanely hot.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

8. Tyrion and Shae

Nothing says "anything goes" like "I'm 99 percent sure I'm going to die in battle tomorrow" sex. And that's the kind of sex Tyrion and his one-time true love Shae have the first night they meet. Hawt.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

7. Missandei and Grey Worm

This scene was A) a long time coming, and B) featured oral sex on a woman—which just doesn't get as much screen time as it deserves on TV. But the great thing about the moment is it wasn't just built out of lust and sexual tension. These two have been hopelessly smitten forever, and to see them so vulnerable was extremely sweet.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

6. Loras and Renly

While Game of Thrones doesn't have nearly as much male nudity as it does female, they've featured several gay sex scenes—like this oral sex scene between Loras and Renly.

Dracarys level:🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

5. Robb and Talisa

This scene makes the list because—like Jon and Ygritte—there was *so much* sexual tension leading up to it. But the best part? How Talisa had to undo all the fancy laces on Robb's leather vest. Tragically, it's impossible to watch without crying due to Red Wedding related trauma, so have fun with that.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

4. Jaime and Brienne

After years of these-two-are-probably-definitely-soul-mates tension, Jaime and Brienne finally got it on in the show's final season. Just don't think about the fact that Jaime ruins it by leaving Brienne for his sister/lover Cersei pretty much immediately after.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

3. Oberyn, Ellaria, Olyvar, and two unnamed women

Sorry, Pod, but this is Westeros' hottest orgy to date. The Dornishmen (and women) really know how to bring the fire emojis.

 Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

2. Jon and Ygritte

Hello and welcome to the second-best sex scene of all time, the moment in which Jon Snow proved he does, in fact, know some stuff—that stuff being how to perform oral sex on a woman in a dimly lit cave.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

1. Daenerys and Khal Drogo

This is the scene where Daenerys takes control of her sexual relationship with her husband Khal Drogo (they've previously only ever had sex from behind), and tells him "tonight I would look upon your face." They proceed to form an intimate connection that changes the tenor of their relationship.

Dracarys level: 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 (and then some)

Bianca Rodriguez
Editor

Bianca Rodriguez is the Fashion & Luxury Commerce Manager at Hearst Magazines, covering fashion, beauty, and more for Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Harper’s BAZAAR, and Town & Country. She likes lounging about with a good book and thinks a closet without platform sneakers is a travesty.