Missandei, too, was failed. As one of the only two central people of colour in the entire series, her exit – her fridging, frankly – at the hands of a white woman was nothing short of woeful. She deserved so much more.

And that's not all. In 'The Last of the Starks' alone, the writers stuck two fingers up at Brienne after using her to service Jaime's internal struggle regarding his twisted devotion to Cersei. Then there was Sansa Stark's conversation with The Hound about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Ramsay Bolton, Littlefinger, and Joffrey, and the way in her suffering was, in the words of actor Jessica Chastain, used as "a tool to make a character stronger".

Following Rhaegal's death at the hands of Euron, Dany abandoned all reason to charge at him head on, endangering both herself and her last remaining dragon. Rather than attack from behind at speed, showering the fleet and their men in flames, she acted on impulse. Reason abandoned her.

That also does Jaime a disservice, implying that his love cannot possibly be as great and all-encompassing as Cersei's because she is their mother, and he is merely their father. He remains pragmatic, Cersei is deranged.

there has been one constant throughout: when women experience loss, they lose their minds.

Then another email. “Thank you very much, just one more question, for technical reasons, would it suffice if we credit D. A. Kaplan or Kaplan ink?” I wrote back and said no, photo credit should be Deborah Abrams Kaplan. And then I asked what the technical reason was for the requested change. I wondered to myself if my name was too long. And then I wondered if it was because I am a woman. But I dismissed that thought as ridiculous, because they’re not using a photo of a woman, but rather a photo of matzah. For those who aren’t familiar with aspects of orthodox Jewish practice, some require keeping a strict separation between men and women, so as not to tempt the men.

Women in science are cited less than their male colleagues. They have a harder time getting work published in notable journals, including the flagships Science and Nature. They are likely paid less than their peers (a 2013 study found that women working in physics and astronomy were paid 40 percent less than men). And they are more likely to face workplace harassment.

Researchers are protesting grant processes that overwhelmingly fund male-led projects, and scientific societies are reforming their sexual harassment policies.