Game Of Thrones: Every Penultimate Episode Ranked From Worst To Best

Blackwater, The Watchers on the Wall, and Hardhome all demonstrated that grand and impressive battles could exist on the small screen, but the Battle of the Bastards is something that rivals anything you’ve seen in the cinema. Everything, from the direction, special effects, and cinematography make it not only the best battle on the show to date (sorry, Battle of Winterfell, you kind of sucked) but it’s simply one of the greatest battles you’ll ever see on film or television; it's one of the greatest battle sequences ever filmed, period.

And it’s not even the only action set-piece in the episode (!) Earlier in the episode, Daenerys confronts the slave masters, and Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal burn their ships as they beg for mercy (only one is spared). And while that’s a fantastic sequence, it has nothing on the titular battle.

The death of Rickon Stark (why didn’t you zig zag, damn it?!), the shot of John facing the oncoming army, Jon emerging from the pile of bodies as all hope seems lost, Littlefinger’s army saving the day, and eventually, Ramsay Bolton finally being defeated, and beaten to a bloody pulp by John…there’s a lot to take in, and it’s beautiful!

Oh, and let’s not forget that Sansa ends Ramsay’s reign of terror once and for all, and by way of his own hounds nonetheless. Karma’s a bitch…quite literally.