One snippet from the latest Game of Thrones season 7 trailer has had fans in a right flutter: Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand snogging like teenagers.

We’ve already followed Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell’s tragic love affair, and Oberyn Martell and Ellaria’s very open relationship (both parties, the show implied, were bisexual) but could Yara and Ellaria become the show’s first lesbian power couple? With a fleet of ships at their behest and a newly forged entente with Daenerys Targaryen, there’s at least an outside chance. There’s an equally strong possibility (some might say inevitability) that things will go south for the pair – or even that the moment we witnessed was just another killer kiss from Ellaria (RIP Myrcella). Still, now seems as good a time as any to think about what this could mean for Game of Thrones’s depiction of sexuality.

Like so many aspects of the show, Game of Thrones’s portrayal of LGBT characters has come under scrutiny in seasons past. While some praise the drama for its inclusivity, pleased that it actually features gay characters in the first place (slow round of applause), others have issues with the way these characters seem to be consistently punished for their sexuality.