How GoT actresses bid farewell to the fierce women of Westeros

SPOILER ALERT! This social media posts in this article contains spoilers for season 8 of 'Game of Thrones' but NOT for the finale. Avoid reading the public's comments on these posts if you haven't seen the last episode yet.

Beyond jaw-dropping sets and costumes, incredible CGI, and a deliciously twisted plot that — up until recently — delighted the world, the multi-award-winning show Game of Thrones must be applauded for something else: it put a series of complex and powerful female characters centre stage. 

As the curtains come down on the eighth and final season, the actresses who passionately brought those characters to life are bidding them farewell with moving tributes on social media.

Sophie Turner, 23, who played Sansa Stark from the time she was teenager, posted a heartfelt message on Instagram saying she'll never forget the lessons that her character taught her.

"Sansa, Thank you for teaching me resilience, bravery and what true strength really is. Thank you teaching me to be kind and patient and to lead with love," she wrote.

Valuable life lessons were one of the rewards of starring in Game of Thrones for Nathalie Emmanuel too.

Emmanuel posted a tribute to her character, Missandei of Naath, on Instagram, saying, "A brilliant woman who overcame so much suffering and found herself, her voice ... and her one and only love. She represented so much for me, personally, that I have no choice but to carry the things she has taught me into my life going forward."

An "overwhelmed" Emilia Clarke posted on Instagram that being given the honour of playing Daenerys Targaryen was like slipping on a "platinum wig of dreams". 

"Words feel small in comparison to what this show and Dany have meant to me. The mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of my adult life. This woman has taken up the whole of my heart," she wrote.

Lena Headey also felt strongly about her character, Cersei Lannister, saying simply, "I loved her," on Instagram.

Unlike her co-stars, there was no emotional tribute from Maisie Williams about her character, Arya Stark, on social media. 

Instead she tweeted "just here for the memes" after the finale aired.

Meanwhile Gwendoline Christie, who played Brienne of Tarth, created her own meme. She posted a photo of her in her GoT getup looking shocked on Instagram with the caption "being told the ending to @gameofthrones".