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Game of Thronessx scenes were always considered problematic, especially since several actors had opened up about the demeaning nature of them. However, the show crossed all lines with one particularly disgusting scene in Season 5 Episode 6. Sophie Turner’s Sansa Stark is subjected to brutal rpe by her new husband, the sadistic Ramsay Bolton, in this episode. The scene was not only unwatchable but also problematic on multiple levels, prompting a fan outcry.
The infamous ‘Black Wedding’ episode was not a part of George R.R. Martin’s original books. Sansa Stark had already been through enough trauma in the series and another torture/r*pe scene did not add anything to her character arc.
Game Of Thrones‘ Unnecessarily Disgusting Scene Received Widespread Criticism
Sophie Turner‘s character went through a lot of suffering throughout the run ofGame of Thrones. She had to witness the beheading of her father and she believed for a larger part of the series that she was the only Stark alive. She was married to Jeoffrey and then Ramsay,two of the most hated characters in the series. However, the series still chose to depict the character’s r*pe scene, a decision met with severe backlash.
Game of Thrones Creators Had to Answer 1 Question Correctly to Convince George R.R. Martin That Was Ultimately Thrown Down the Drain
The creators of the series further diminished Sansa’s suffering, when it chose to show Theon’s traumatic reaction to witnessing the rpe rather than her trauma. This scene marked the peak of all the gratuitous nde scenes and demeaning s*x scenes in the series. Iwan Rheon, who played Ramsay, shared that filming the scene was the worst day of his career.
Rheon told Metro UK that it was a very hard scene to watch and revealed that no actor wanted to film such a scene. He shared withMetro UK:
“It was very, very hard watching. It’s a horrible thing that happens, unfortunately, and it shouldn’t be. It was the worst day of my career.”
Sophie Turner shared in an interview with Time Magazine that the r*pe scene was thehardest scene she ever filmed. She revealed that both she and Rheon couldn’t sleep the night before the filming of the scene. She shared withTime:
“To have to do a really intense scene, like the r*pe scene last season, we couldn’t really sleep beforehand, Iwan and I. During the day, it was a bit awkward. But afterwards you just go to Safe Haven, which is the hotel bar, and sort yourselves out.”
However, Turner defended the scene against the backlash and toldRolling Stonethat she did not agree with the criticism of the scene. She shared,“I think the backlash was wrong because those things did happen.”She added that the show spoke about people trying to establish their power in medieval times and it couldn’t just be dismissed that such things never happened.
How Did The Prequel Series ToGame Of ThronesAddress This Issue?
One of the reasons thatGame of Thronesfilmed such undignified s*x scenes was due to the lack of an intimacy coordinator on set. The job of such a coordinator would be to ensure that actors felt safe in filming intimate scenes. The coordinator would also help to depict the scene as realistic as possible. In the aftermath of the #MeToo movement in 2018, HBO came up with the decision to make intimacy coordinators mandatory for their shows (via Deadline).
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Game of Thronesnever got around to using an intimacy coordinator which made its sx scenes awkward and problematic until its end. However, when the prequel showHouse of the Dragonwas released on HBO, fans felt that the sx and intimate scenes were more dignified compared to its previous installment. The show had an in-house intimacy coordinator who made sure the scenes did not cross a line.
Be it the love scenes betweenMatt Smith‘s Daemon andEmma D’Arcy‘s Rhaenyra, or the young Rhaenyra played byMilly Alcock, seeking s*xual pleasure, the show handled these scenes with a better perspective. The intimacy coordinators made sure that the audience would never have to watch a scene like Sansa Stark’s assault again.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3019
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
