Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 9 "Battle of the Bastards": Stark Vs Bolton In Bastard Bowl *SPOILERS*

It’s the Game of Thrones battle we’ve all been waiting for and if this isn’t worth staying up till 2am BST to stream, I don’t know what is. Sure, I may be a little cranky when I get to the office later on but hey, at least I won’t have to avoid Facebook and Twitter like all day. On the other hand, maybe I’m just nuts and should have gone to sleep hours ago.

We knew we were in for a real treat before the episode had even aired. After all, Team Good (aka House Stark) couldn’t sit idly by and let Team Bad (led by Ramsay Bolton) rule the North as the white walkers descend, could they? Plus, Ramsay’s been holed up at Winterfell - the rightful Stark stronghold - where he holds Rickon Stark prisoner.

Of course, as most of us had probably guessed, Rickon would not last long. Sansa knew this too and had already painfully conceded this to Jon on the eve of battle. The way in which Rickon is taken from his remaining family is tragic to behold but just like Sansa told Jon the night before, Ramsay likes to play games.

Wun Wun the giant is another character we say goodbye to - but not before Team Good has been thoroughly diminished by Bolton’s forces and almost perish entirely before Sansa comes through and brings Littlefinger’s men to the rescue.

Jon had initially offered to fight Ramsay one on one to avoid mass causalities but of course, the sadistic Lord Bolton said no. At one stage, Jon almost suffocates beneath a hoard of bloodied and fighting men but prevails just in time to see Ramsay bolt (pun intended) at the arrival of Sansa’s backup troops.

With Wun Wun’s strength - and sadly, this is when he dies - Team Good are able to take back Winterfell where Ramsay has retreated to and the real Battle of the Bastards commences. The ensuing fight between Jon and Ramsay is essentially a non-fight; Jon beats him senseless and leaves his face a bloodied pulp as Sansa walks over.

Later on, Sansa watches as Ramsay is torn apart by his beloved hounds whom he’d starved for seven days prior. Walking away from his cries with a smile on her face, it certainly felt good to see Sansa get the last laugh.

Jon may have been the brawn but Sansa Stark has most definitely got the brains and for that she is my favourite!

Other super important, game changing stuff that happened in this episode:

Despite this not being shown in the “Battle of the Bastards” episode promo, Yara and Theon Greyjoy’s trek to seek out Daenerys Targaryen is definitely up there in terms of story progression.

The episode actually begins where we left off with Meereen under attack. Fearful that Daenerys would raze Meereen to the ground, Tyrion appears pleasantly surprised that her last minute plan of defense involves her dragons coming to the rescue and burning their enemimes to the ground.

It later transpires that Daenerys and Yara have hit it off and have struck a deal in which the latter supports the former’s claim to the iron throne. The potential for these two to become BFFs is great; they’re both female rulers and they’ve both had messed up dads who were usurped. Dany also manages to convince Yara to quit raiding, pillaging and uh, raping once she’s Queen of the Iron islands.

Fun facts about the making of “Battle of the Bastards”:

* The episode took 25 days to film

* There were 500 extras and 600 crew members involved

* Oh, and there were 70 real horses used

- All images courtesy of HBO