Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire (ASoIaF) fans know that not only is Daenerys Targaryen one sexy mama, she’s also pretty badass on all accounts. Her love for the people (the ones that don’t try to kill her, anyway), and her convictions for what is right give her the lead on all of the Game of Thrones hotties in the world of ASoIaF. Daenerys isn’t your average beautiful lady, George R. R. Martin has created an incredibly complex character that grows and changes throughout the books and the series. Of course, she does make for some great eye candy, but what really makes Daenerys hot all starts when she starts empowering herself.

In the books, Daenerys starts off at about 13 years old. However, in the shows, she seems a little older than that, and as she matures as a Khaleesi, you can tell her character has come of age. So, for this list of 15 times Daenerys Targaryen was sexy AF, we are going to ignore the creepy rape scenes, and her weird touchy-feely brother. We’ll start where she really starts to become a woman… and that is, of course, when she took control over her warrior hubby, and got on top.

Fair Warning: There Will Be SPOILERS!

15. That Time She Got On Top

Here is where Dany really starts showing the world that she is more than a Khal’s plaything. She is a Khaleesi. When I say “showing the world,” I literally mean, showing her power to the world. In the books, she becomes more of an equal to Khal both outside and inside the bedroom. They don’t shy away from showing their unity to the world either. They go so far as to conceive their first son, who is meant to be The Stallion who Mounts the World (the chosen one who unites all of the Dothraki Clans– but we’ll get to that in greater detail later), in front of the whole Khalasar. Super hot points to Dany for taking the reins in the marriage bed, and becoming empowered.

14. That Time She Showed People She Doesn’t Mess Around

Way back in Season 2, you may remember Khaleesi found herself in Qarth after a long walk through the Red Waste. In Qarth, she looked for the funding to bring her to Westeros, so she could take back what is rightfully hers. Unfortunately, all she found there were scandalous warlocks (Pyat Pree) and a shady trader named Xaro Xhoan Daxos. While in Qarth, Dany’s dragons go missing, and she’s super pissed about it. She finds out who took them, then shows them you should never, ever f*ck with a Khaleesi! She locks him in his empty vault with his accomplices. What’s sexier than an empowered woman, punishing those who have wronged her?

13. That Time She Helped Her Dragons Make Their First Kill

Speaking of when Daenerys was in Qarth, this was the first time her dragons actually made a kill. When she locates her dragons in The House of the Undying, she’s faced with Pyat Pree’s sorcery, and learns he plans to keep her there with her dragons until the end of days. Fortunately for Dany, she has three dragons (about the size of cats at this point), and as the mother of said dragons, she knows how to escape. It takes all of twenty seconds for her to break the chains Pyat Pree had her in. No man can hold Khaleesi down, and that makes her extra hot in this scene.

12. That Time She Lived Through a Fire…The First Time

While we all like a little skin with our Game of Thrones, there’s nothing better than seeing our favorite characters defy death. When Khaleesi exits the ashes Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre, there is no sexier moment. Here, we have the rebirth of Dany, and the actual birth of her dragons. What’s sexier than a naked woman, unburnt, rising from the ashes with three dragons suckling her teet? Not much! She may not have given birth to The Stallion Who Mounts the World, but she gave birth to something that she can mount to take over the world! And all while naked.

11. That Time She Ate A Horse’s Heart

Khaleesi is in love with Drogo. They are going to have a baby together, and she will do anything for her man. When Dany finds out she’s expecting a child, the Khalasar heads to Vaes Dothrak, where the dosh khaleen priestesses have her perform a common ceremony… she has to eat a horse’s heart… nom! Look guys, we all know there’s a certain level of sexy in a girl who embraces her primitive side, and not only does Dany get her sexy on when she finishes the horse’s heart, but she doesn’t let a drop of it hit the floor. Now, that is talent! Khaleesi’s sexy level easily rose twenty points for that one!

10. That Time She Flew Away On a Dragon

Nothing beats the first time Daenerys mounts one of her dragons, and flies off. Of course, it’s the biggest dragon, and the one she didn’t lock away after they started using farm folk as hunting practice (still up in the air about that one). Drogon is Dany’s dragon, everyone knows that, and while we have yet to find out who the other two dragon riders are, we always love to see Dany hop on one and f*ck sh*t up! I mean, how amazing is she when she tames the wild beast and uses him as a highly functioning war machine?

9. That Time She Stopped Taking Everyone’s Crap

When we first meet Daenerys, she’s passive, submissive, and seemingly too young and green to really accomplish much: all she wants is to go home, and she blindly does what everyone tells her to do so she can get there. There isn’t anything sexy about that. It’s when Dany starts taking control and stops taking everyone’s shit crap she starts getting ridiculously sexy. She stands up to her brother (we’ll get to that), and she stands up to members of the Khalasar, even when Khal Drogo isn’t around. She loses her shy girl personality and replaces it with an alpha b*tch personality that proves to her adversaries that women in power are sexy as hell!

8. That Time She Got Her Vengeance

As Dany is transitioning from “young, naive Daenerys” to “strong, powerful, and super sexy” Daenerys, we see her make a few fatal mistakes. Saving Mirri Maz Durr, the godswife in the village the Dothraki sack is probably the biggest mistake of all time. She asks the godswife to heal her Khal, and Mirri Maz Durr does so. However, this leads to the Khal’s wound festering and a black magic ritual resulting in Dany losing her son and her husband. What does she do? She ties that b*tch to the funeral pyre and relishes in the woman’s screams as she dies and Dany lives and births three dragons (see #15). And there is nothing more satisfying to Daenerys than getting her vengeance on a bitter witch. Seeing Daenerys satisfied makes everyone want to satisfy her even more!

7. That Time She Finally Stood Up to Her Brother

In Season 1, everyone sees Viserys Targaryen as a snivelling douchebag who sells his sister for an army that he hopes will take him to Westeros, because he’s too much of a wuss to do it on his own. Nobody likes the bastard, and nobody wants anything to do with him. So, when he beats the hell out of one of Dany’s handmaids, she finally stands up to him. She belittles his lack of victories, and when he attacks her, she attacks back to defend herself. The look on his face was so priceless, and it seemed as though it was he who woke the dragon…. In her. A ragey Khaleesi is definitely a sexy Khaleesi.

6. That Time She Decided to Break the Wheel

As Khaleesi matures, we see quite a bit of change in her. She’s no longer a struggling, fighting girl who is trying to prove herself. She becomes a strong, empowered woman, trying to help the little people while she learns the ins and outs of politics. While talking to Tyrion, she discusses how simple the concept is of each family fighting for power over the Iron Throne, and compares them all to spokes on a wheel (“This one’s on top, then the next, and so on and so on.”)… When Tyrion tells her that stopping the wheel is nearly impossible, Dany calmly states: “I’m not going to stop the wheel. I’m going to break the wheel.” YASSS! In this scene, Dany is a cool-headed political hottie, ready to take on the world.

5. That Time She Told Daario What To Do

The Daenerys and Daario love affair is pretty fantastic. Two sexy people (well, Daario isn’t so sexy in the books, but he’s mighty fine in the show) getting it on, who could ask for anything more? Well, it definitely does get better. When Daario asks Daenerys to leave the city and fight for her abroad, Dany says she needs him to patrol the streets of Meereen. Daario pleads with her, saying “Let me do what I do best.” Then, the sexiest line to ever cross Dany’s lips comes out: “Very well, do what you do best…Take off your clothes.” Daenerys brings the sexy when she takes control of a situation, and of course, Daario obliges!

4. That Time She Let The Masters Know She Spoke Valyrian

In Astapor, as Daenerys is bartering for an unsullied army, the slave master speaks down to her, thinking she doesn’t know the language. He berates her while Missandei translates different words. One of the sexiest things here is the fact that Dany keeps her cool no matter what he says about her. It isn’t until she hands him a dragon on a leash, that she reveals that she knows the language… and here’s where things get real hot. She kills the masters, and delivers the fateful command to Drogon: “Dracarys.” That’s when we all knew, this sex symbol is a true warrior.

3. That Time She Killed the Khals

In Season 6, Daenerys is taken by a Khalasar back to Vaes Dothrak where she faces the Dosh Khaleen (grouped of widowed Khaleesis, for lack of a better explanation) and here, she meets with all of the Khals. As they discuss the terrible things they want to do to her, she has a better idea. She dumps the oil torches around the hut, and all of them die a terrible death. When she emerges from the ashes, she is naked (her clothes burned off), and proud. In this super sexy moment, Dany stands in front of all members of all Khalasars and they bow to her. Her prideful sexy stare looks down at her new followers, and we realize, Daenerys Targaryen is The Stallion Who Mounted the World, and united all of the Dothraki. Now that’s hot!

2. That Time She Flew In To Save the Day

While Meereen is under attack, and the great pyramid is getting destroyed with fiery cannonballs, and her council sits around trying not to die, Khaleesi lands on the balcony and enters like a boss. There’s nothing sexier than a woman with confidence, and it seems as though Dany is gaining more and more confidence as she develops throughout the series. At this moment, she isn’t just ready to shamelessly murder a bunch of enemies, she’s here to save her people, and the focus is on their safety rather than the destruction of her enemy. It’s a frightening moment, but Dany’s confidence keeps her super sexy.

1. “Shall We Begin”

In the Season 7 premiere, we finally see Daenerys step foot on Westerosi soil. It’s been a long journey for her, and fans have been waiting for this moment for such a long time, so we can feel her yearning for home, because we yearn for her to finally get there. In this scene, Dany doesn’t look scared or frightened. She looks relieved. She walks into the throne room, and takes her seat. As stated in number 2, there isn’t anything sexier than a woman with confidence, and when Dany stands at the head of the table, and asks her people, “Shall we begin?” we know, she’s ready to take what’s rightfully hers and nothing is gonna stop her now. MMMM… that’s hot.