The One Major Problem With 'Battle Of The Bastards'

Last Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones, “The Battle of the Bastards,” was many things. It was “the best thing I have ever seen.” It was cinematic with some of the brilliant special effects in TV history. It was, at times, improvised. It was emotional, with conquering winners and just as many sore losers.

But it wasn’t perfect. In fact, during one important scene involving Ramsay Bolton and his hostage Rickon Stark, it was downright frustrating.

Here’s what I wrote in my recap:

My question is: Why didn’t Rickon run right? Actually, let me rephrase that as a demand: Go right, Rickon. Or left. It was his choice, really. He could have zigged or he could have zagged, but he didn’t, and now he’s dead. Look, I get it. Rickon wasn’t thinking straight, only running straight. He was a hostage who saw freedom. His mind was distracted on what was in front of him, not who was behind him. And it cost him his life. (Via)

The actor who played Rickon, Art Parkinson, heard the criticism, and joked about it on Twitter, tweeting, “Had a good run #shouldazigzagged.”