" Battle of the Bastards " received immense critical acclaim , with many calling it one of the best television episodes of all time . Matt Fowler of IGN calling it a " masterpiece . " Critics cited the size and scope of the battle in the North and Daenerys 's scene with her dragons at the beginning of the episode . It has a 98 % rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 50 reviews , with an average score of 9.2 out of 10 . According to the site consensus , " ' Battle of the Bastards ' delivered one of the greatest battle sequences in the show 's history , and some savagely satisfying vengeance as well . " IGN 's Matt Fowler wrote in his review , " At this point , it seems like the pattern when it comes to the ninth episode of a given season of '' Game of Thrones '' is tragic death , amazing battle , tragic death , amazing battle , and so on . And this being Season 6 , it was time to land on a phenomenal clash of swords and shields — and ' Battle of the Bastards ' certainly delivered . " He continued , " '' Game of Thrones '' did not disappoint when it came to this season 's great northern battle , as Jon and Sansa 's differences were spectacularly highlighted in a savagely strong war chapter that saw House Stark overcome huge odds to reclaim their home . Plus , Daenerys got to soar , as her dragons quickly stopped a violent siege with fury and fire . " Fowler gave the episode a top score of 10 . Jeremy Egner of '' The New York Times '' also praised the episode : " As directed by Miguel Sapochnik , who also oversaw last season 's terrific ' Hardhome ' episode , the lengthy sequence was terrifying , gripping and exhilarating , sometimes all at once , a sweeping display of all the different ways one can die on the battlefield . " Egner called Ramsay 's death an episode highlight ( " Ramsay Bolton 's demise was arguably the most eagerly anticipated death ever on '' Game of Thrones '' and the show handled it with flair , dispatching him in a poetic , canine-fueled fashion that was no less satisfying for being telegraphed early on " ) , and concluded about Daenerys 's scene : " Daenerys Stormborn had a few words for the slave masters who launched their attack last week . Those words included ' surrender or die ' and ' thanks for the ships ' , as we saw another thrilling action sequence that I believe reunited the dragon triplets for the first time since they were quite young . " Myles McNutt of '' The A.V. Club '' wrote in his review , " This battle works as a climactic moment for '' Game of Thrones '' as a cultural event , selling us on the scale and ambition of the producers and their production teams , all who should be commended for the accomplishments from a technical perspective . " According to James Hibberd of '' Entertainment Weekly '' , " Was this the show 's best episode ? It 's hard to immediately process that question . Maybe ? Probably . It 's almost certainly the most exciting hour and had the most jaw-dropping battle sequence we 've seen yet on TV . " Ed Power of '' The Daily Telegraph '' discussed the episode 's refreshing strong-women theme : " '' Game of Thrones '' has been justly criticised for employing young actresses as wobbly-wobbly window dressing and , though the toplessness has been dialed back this season , it 's still very much a calling card . However there are reasons for suspecting that the series is attempting to make amends — by arguing that Westeros would be far better off with women in charge . Even as Sansa was turning the tide at Winterfell , in Meereen , Daenerys and Yara Greyjoy were striking up a lady bromance — and seemingly rock-solid alliance — for the ages . " Laura Prudom of '' Variety '' agreed : " After seasons of criticism over the show 's misogyny ( sometimes earned , sometimes not ) , it 's thrilling to see an episode like ' Battle of the Bastards ' , where women like Dany , Sansa and Yara — and emasculated men ( either figuratively or literally ) like Tyrion and Theon — break the gears of war and the familiar patterns of violence by attempting to ' leave the world better than we found it ' , despite the examples set by the evil men who came before them . " According to Sarah Larson of '' The New Yorker '' , " Sansa watches calmly , then smiles . You 've come a long way , baby . Or she 's become a monster , and so have I . The women of Westeros are on the warpath . " The episode received a record six Primetime Emmy Awards , including awards for writing and direction . " Battle of the Bastards " has been nominated for 32 awards and has won 19
Primetime Emmy Awards
68th Primetime Emmy Awards
Battle of the Bastards