Game Of Thrones: 10 Smartest Changes HBO Made From The Books

This is by far the best battle in the entire show, a show chock full of epic battles.

It's a total spectacle and a feast for the eyes, beautifully shot, as well as being one of the grittiest fights ever committed to screen.

Lord of the Rings never showed us characters being crushed by all the corpses a battle would naturally produce.

There's a bit of a deus ex machina towards the battle's conclusion, when the Knights of the Vale show up at just the right moment, but this is the closest thing to a happy ending you're likely to see in GOT.

Yes Rickon cops it, but the Stark Banner flies over Winterfell for the first time in four seasons! Ramsay Bolton gets his comeuppance too and it's a doozy worthy of Martin's vision.

Score one for the good guys.

Unfortunately Martin kept teasing us in the books with Stannis' march on Winterfell and left it on a cliff hanger so this battle has still yet to happen. Jon Snow may not even be a part of it due to an overdose of stabbings to the torso. So technically there may never be a Battle of the Bastards. That makes this event within the show even more special and unique so treasure it.