Last night’s Game of Thrones episode “Kissed by Fire” featured big developments between two of the most popular pairings. Read what the actors have to say about shooting the scenes, and their importance for the characters.

In season 3, episode 5, we saw Jon and Ygritte finally act on the sexual tension which had been building between them, as Ygritte pulled Jon into a cave and took matters into her own hands.

“That was incredible,” Kit Harington tells EW. “That scene in this really dire, dark world where nothing good happens and there’s very little joy. That scene is one of the very few happy moments where you can escape from the grimness and horror of Westeros. We wanted to pay tribute to that scene because in [George R.R. Martin’s] books it’s so beautiful.”

Rose Leslie also weighs in on the moment. For this one scene, “these characters are in their own little bubble, so to speak, there’s no corruption from the outside,” she says. “It’s just two people falling in love. It’s very beautiful.”

Elsewhere, Jaime and Brienne shared an equally intense, though not sexual, encounter in a hot tub.

After assuring the blushing Brienne that he has no interest in her, Jaime ends up telling her the truth about how he became the Kingslayer, and ends up admitting that he wants a truce with her, and that he trusts her.

Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship? “He’s never met anyone like her,” Nikolaj Coster-Waldau says. “He sees himself in her. He’s never met anyone so determined.”

Gwendoline Christie explains why Brienne felt the need to stand up in the water and expose herself, even though a moment ago she had tried to hide herself away.

“The moment of nudity is an act of defiance from Brienne. In that moment she realizes the power of her womanhood without the armor, without the fighting, without killing anyone,” she says. “When she stands up naked in front of [Jaime], she’s angry. She overcomes her own issues about her own femininity and vulnerably and gender and in that moment finds the power of not only what it means to be a woman, but who she is as a woman. It’s a really powerful moment.”

Which water scene did you prefer? Share your thoughts on these two scenes in the comments!