Lena Headey recently offered her take on the rape scene that dominated the discussion of last week’s episode of Game of Thrones.

Much has been said and much has been written about the sexual assault of Cersei Lannister by her brother Jaime on last week’s episode of Game of Thrones. But one notable voice – that of Lena Headey, who plays Cersei Lannister – has been missing from the debate and discussion.

But this week, Headey shared her thoughts on the wildly divisive scene in a video interview with Gold Derby. In the discussion, transcribed by The Mary Sue, the actress describes the scene as “very messy.”

Headey takes the middle ground on the scene, declining to refer to Jaime’s actions as full-on sexual assault. As an actress, she says, “I came from this place of grieving and a need to feel connected and alive… This is the only other person, probably the only person she has ever trusted in the world.” Headey feels that Cersei herself is torn on what she wants in the scene, saying that, “In that moment she’s embracing and she’s rejecting of him in the same breath.”

But like her co-star Nikolaj Coster-Walder (Jaime), Headey is well aware of the rape scene’s twisted implications. “There was this need,” she admits, “and it wasn’t right and yet it felt great and yet it wasn’t right and it played out the way it did.”

Still, Headey stands by the scene’s controversial execution, emphasizing its effect on Jaime’s character development. “I stand by it absolutely, and I think that it’s an interesting turning point for Jaime’s character,” she says. “We’ve kind of despised him… and then we fell in love with him again and now… this greatly divided scene has happened and it’s getting people talking.”

It seems unlikely that Game of Thrones fans will ever come to a consensus on the scene in question, but it’s still valuable to hear Headey’s perspective on the deeply divisive event.

Game of Thrones season 4, episode 5, “First of His Name,” will air on Sunday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.