A sex expert explains why everyone was so horny before the big battle on 'Game of Thrones'
Spoiler warning for Game of Thrones: Season 8. Proceed with caution.
Game of Thrones, Episode 69 "A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms": It was tense. It was dramatic. It was hornier than a Dothraki cookout.
Facing certain death from an approaching army of White Walkers, the extremely thirsty inhabitants of Winterfell flirted, seduced, and boinked each other into sexy oblivion on Sunday — stopping just short of breaking into a castle-wide orgy.
Of course, to most this makes total sense. Whether you've gotten it on to relieve relationship tension or taken some "me time" before a big exam, it's no secret that sexual activity can help take the edge off of stress and reduce anxiety. But would everyone really be doing the no pants dance with a horde of pissed off zombies in the backyard?
Seeking out answers, Mashable spoke with sexologist and author of the upcoming book The Game of Desire Shannon Boodram about Winterfell's pre-battle thirst levels and the science behind fear and lust.
As is often the case with the study of human behavior, the cause behind any specific instance of sexual arousal is not only uniquely personal, but also deeply mysterious. As a result, Boodram couldn't tell us exactly what inspired Arya to put the moves on Gendry, why that Theo and Sansa hug lasted so long, or how it's possible Brienne and Jaime didn't find a secluded stairwell to make their reunion more "official."
Instead, she offered up some widely accepted scientific theories on intimate behavior, the first of which centers around good ol' sexual confusion.
Confusing being afraid for wanting to bone
Considering pretty much everyone at Winterfell is about to be turned into an angry, sentient popsicle, it's safe to say a lot of these horny characters were pretty scared last week — an emotion they could have confused for lust.
"Sometimes that can be misperceived by the body as being horny."
"Fear gets confused for [sexual] arousal frequently," Boodram says. "When we're in those places where our anxiety levels are extremely high, sometimes that can be misperceived by the body as being horny."
This physiological confusion, known as misattribution of arousal, is linked closely to the body's monitoring of adrenaline levels, according to Boodram.
"Fear causes arousal, which is just a heightened state during which adrenaline gets dumped into your system. So, when you're [sexually] aroused, a bunch of adrenaline gets dumped into your system — and when you're afraid, a bunch of adrenaline gets dumped into your system."
Simply put, when the body goes through a chemical process, like a sudden increase in adrenaline, it can be tricky for the brain to rationalize why that is happening, potentially leading to some (very sexy) confusion.
In anticipation of the White Walkers fucking everyone's shit up, it's possible these terrified characters may have confused panic for passion, launching into misdirected bouts of naked wrestling when they could have been boarding up more windows.
A subconscious desire to procreate
Alternatively, one could look at Winterfell's foreplay relay through the evolutionary lens, inferring a subconscious desire of Thrones' characters to prolong their family lines before charging into battle.
"[During sex] there's this desire to connect with somebody in that really physical way. Half of that might be pleasure, but ultimately there might be a part of it that is a part of procreation," Boodram says.
Speculating on what these characters might be thinking — consciously or unconsciously — Boodram says, "When my survival is at risk, I want to ensure that there is a lineage or a legacy left behind, and having a child is the best way to do so."
The psychology of "fuck it"
And then, there's the very real possibility that all these doomed guys and gals just wanted to bang it out one last time before joining the Night King's legion of the undead.
"It's these characters thinking, 'Maybe this is my last night alive,'" Boodram says, "In those moments when you're faced with your own mortality, it's natural to go towards your basic human instincts."
Those instincts can vary dramatically from person to person.
"You've got some people who just want to sit and drink their misery away, some people who just want human connection, some people who just want to eat, and for some people it's just sex," Boodram adds.
In layman's terms — and in the immortal words of Thrones actress Sophie Turner — when facing certain death, the only logical action for some to take in their final moments is to "hop, hop, hop into that pussay."
And that's the tea.
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Topics Game Of Thrones
