If you’ve been paying close attention to the ebbs and flows of Game of Thrones seasons, you’ll have noticed a trend: out of the ten episodes a season, episode nine is always insane. Ned Stark’s death, the battle for King’s Landing, the Red Wedding, and the Wildling attack on the wall were all episode nine, with the next episode serving to mop up after all the carnage.
Game of Thrones producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss have previously said they feel like season six is the best season of the show thus far. And if you take their Emmy submissions to mean anything, next week’s ninth episode, titled “Battle of the Bastards,” may be the best episode of the best season. Here’s what they put forward to the Emmy Awards for consideration, via Entertainment Weekly:
Supporting actor: Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Supporting actress: Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Carice van Houten, Maisie Williams
Guest actor: Max von Sydow
Writing: “Battle of the Bastards” (David Benioff and Dan Weiss). The submission even includes a cryptic description: “Terms of surrender are rejected and accepted.”
Directing: “Battle of the Bastards” (Miguel Sapochnik), “Book of the Stranger” (Dan Sackheim), “Home” (Jeremy Podeswa), No One” (Mark Mylod), “The Door” (Jack Bender).
Editing: “Battle of the Bastards,” “Home,” “Oathbreaker”
Costumes: “The Winds of Winter” (which also includes a description – “Cersei faces her trial”).
Visual Effects: “The Battle of the Bastards”
Outstanding Cinematography: “Home,” “Oathbreaker,” “The Door,” “The Broken Man,” “The Winds of Winter”
Outstanding Production Design: “Blood of My Blood,” “The Broken Man,” “No One”
Sound Editing: “The Door”
Sound Mixing: “The Battle of the Bastards”
Hairstyling, Makeup: “The Door,” “Battle of the Bastards”
“Battle of the Bastards” was submitted for six Emmys, and “The Door” for four. Hidden in the nominations were a few extra teasers for what we’re about to witness over the next two weeks. For “Battle of the Bastards,” a new mysterious description is provided: “Terms of surrender are rejected and accepted.” And for season six finale “The Winds of Winter,” we learn that “Cersei faces her trial.”
Last year, Game of Thrones crushed the Emmys like the Mountain crushing skulls, winning 12 awards — a record for most Emmys won by a show in a single year. This year they’re up for 13 categories. I guess we’ll have to see how powerful the “Battle of the Bastards” episode is before we start contemplating a sweep.
