Brutal murders, beheading and rape have been important parts of the HBO's Game of Thrones series since its first episode.
Even with such intense and at times disturbing drama, the number of fans of the series have increased in leaps and bounds since it was first aired. However, the latest episode of the fifth season has left a considerable number of fans shocked.
The sixth episode of the fifth season has Sansa Stark marrying Ramsey Bolton, who is currently the heir to Winterfell, Sansa Stark's family home. The newly weds are then escorted to their quarters where Ramsey Bolten rapes Sansa, while Theon Greyjoy is forced to witness it.
The Stark girl, whose trouble does not seem to end but only gets worse, is heard crying in the background while Greyjoy is left helpless in the room.
This particular scene has reportedly caused a stir among the fans, who have already seen enough of the way the show has been portraying women.
A number of fans have expressed their disappointment over the storyline and also threatened to boycott the show over the scene.
They also opined that the show did not need to resort to a blatant display of sexual violence and if the story demanded it, the rape scene would have been portrayed more sensitively.
Sources said that fans also expressed displeasure as the rape scene was not a part of the book A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin, on which the TV series is based on.
Martin’s original story had a girl posing as Arya Stark marrying Ramsay and being subjected to a sexual assault, rather than main character Sansa
Meanwhile, George RR Martin has defended the twist in the storyline. He has reportedly blogged that there have always been differences between the novels and the television shows based on them and hardly any TV series is faithful to its source material.
He also added that Game of Thrones has been different from his book since its first episode.