Audiences will be seeing a different "Game of Thrones" in Season 6 next year.
The award-winning series from HBO is set to tone down sexual violence, with potentially less brutality and rape scenes following fan outrage with Sansa Stark's controversial rape scene in May.
In "Game of Thrones" in Season 5, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) was brutally raped by Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) at the eve of their wedding. As if that wasn't enough, Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), who Sansa grew up with, was forced to watch the rape.
Sansa's rape scene, which was apparently not included in the "GoT" books, received much backlash "for being gratuitous, played for shock value and serving no narrative purpose," as noted by the Daily Mail. In addition, because the scene focused more on Theon's face, critics lambasted the scene as being about Theon's pain rather than Sansa's.
Because of the negative feedback, showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss will be "responsive to the discussion and there were a couple of things that changed as a result," according to Director Jeremy Podeswa at an event at Fox Studios Australia.
However, Podeswa, who helmed two previous "Game of Thrones" episodes, as well as two upcoming Season 6 episodes, added that it's still significant that the show's producers does not self-censor.
"The show depicts a brutal world where horrible things happen. They did not want to be too overly influenced by that (criticism) but they did absorb and take it in, and it did influence them in a way," Podeswa explained.
As for British actress Sophie Turner, her reaction to the rape scene is the opposite of negativity. According to the Daily Mail, the 19-year-old actress, who played the role of Sansa since 13, even defended the scene at the time of the uproar.
"When I read that scene, I kinda loved it... it was all so messed up," Turner said, adding "It's also so daunting for me to do it. I've been making [the producers] feel so bad for writing that scene: 'I can't believe you're doing this to me!' But I secretly loved it."
Author George R.R. Martin also defended the show's producers and claimed that it was only right that they chose to display on TV the leading actresses being violated.
The 66-year-old "A Song of Fire and Ice" author said that rape, which is depicted in his novels frequently, is simply a parcel of European history, and that they were part of what inspired his books.
According to Mashable, GRRM did however apologize to fans when the negative feedback went massive.
"I do regret if it has disturbed people for the wrong reasons," he told fans.
"Game of Thrones" Season 6 is scheduled for an April release on HBO.
Below is the controversial scene when Sansa gets "raped" by Ramsay Bolton in "Game of Thrones" Season 5.
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