Game of Thrones: 'Battle of the Bastards' director on the one condition the showrunners had for killing [redacted]

'I kind of wanted to make people start to feel for him'

By all accounts, Miguel Sapochnik did a fantastic job of directing the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones season six. (SPOILERS AHEAD)

All season, things had been building up towards the ‘Battle of the Bastards’, a fight in which our beloved champions of The North, Jon Snow and Sansa Stark, came out victorious.

Of course, that eventually led to the death of the dastardly Ramsay Bolton, his hounds chewing him up. According to Sapochnik, he originally wanted to make the audience sympathise with the Bolton, something the showrunners wouldn’t allow.

He told EW: “I must admit I kind of wanted to make people start to feel for Ramsay in that wonderful way Thrones turns these things on their head but [showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] were clear: They didn’t want anyone to sympathise with Ramsay Bolton and this time they wanted blood.

“In a way I agree, this is not a time to be morally ambiguous. Ramsay needs to die, and horribly. This is what the audience has been waiting to see. That said, there’s no need to dwell on the actual carnage. What’s left to our imagination is always way worse.

He then details how they made the sound of Ramsay being eaten alive: “The most effective moment for me was the sound of a squealing pig you hear from Ramsay in the background as Sansa walks away. Apparently it’s actually what happens when you rip someone’s windpipe open while they’re still alive and gasping for air.

“The other thing I loved was the close-up shot of Sansa as she watches the dogs attack. There’s a moment where she turns to leave but then stops and leans back in, lingering a moment longer. It’s my favourite shot of my episodes this year.”

Meanwhile, the director has also spoken about the real-life battled that inspired the episode’s titular battle.