Last night's episode of Game of Thrones went to the next level and people need to calm down about it.

Warning: this contains some major GoT spoilers. Enter at your own risk. *GoT theme song plays*

There are a few moments in television history that will never leave me.

Some because they were hilarious, like when Nicole shoved her arm up a cow’s butt in The Simple Life; and others because they scared the living daylights out of me, like Marlene’s demonic possession on Days of Our Lives. I was like ten, okay?

But, like most of us, the television moments that have really stuck are those particularly harrowing plot lines. The ones that shock on such a deep level you cannot help but think: is this allowed on television? And if so…why? For me, and thousands of other viewers, last night’s disturbing episode of Game of Thrones was one of those moments.

Remember this shocking episode? Did last night’s Game Of Thrones throw in a “rape for ratings” scene?

With a smorgasbord of majorly addictive television series on offer (seriously, it’s become like a part time job trying to keep up) it takes a team of particularly talented scriptwriters to maintain your loyalty to a particular show. Because that’s their job, right? Television is entertainment. Television is an escape. Television is fiction. And yet, it is television that in recent days is starting some fairly heated debates that feel more at home in an academic forum – not a plot line that also involves dragons, zombies, and witchcraft.

The internet is ablaze today with uproar and disgust following last night’s gory episode of GOT, in which Stannis Baratheon burns his young daughter at the stake in the hope it will win him an upcoming battle.

GOT-fan or first time watcher, you would have to agree – it was shocking, upsetting, and very much dabbling in the realms of just downright inappropriate. But for a show that has also featured rape of young women, brother-sister incest, and exploding heads, there was one thing it wasn’t: unexpected.

Across the world, people are declaring their anger today, yet again accusing the show of crossing the line, and showcasing attitudes of violence against women and the disabled (Stannis’s daughter Shireen suffered from ‘greyscale’ disfigurement). General sentiment? That GoT had gone way, WAY too far this time. Not cool, guys.

Hum.

On one hand, the voice of Maude Flanders rings through my ears – “Won’t somebody think of the children!” – whilst the Gen Y, apathetic cynic in me kinda just shrugs and thinks… if you don’t like it, don’t watch it. Yes, it was shocking, and yes, it’s a sad predicament that in the current climate our entertainment entertains themes of child prostitution and violent, torturous deaths… but this is nothing new, is it?

Horror movies have existed for almost a century, and gothic literature for many hundreds of years before that. It is simply part of the human condition that we find death, violence, and horror unbearably enticing, and, despite our desire for it not be, rather entertaining.

The author and mastermind behind the GoT series, George R. R. Martin, has had to respond to many questions regarding the violence and sexual themes since the show began almost 5 years ago, and is clear on his stance:

“There’s the whole issue of sexual violence, which I’ve been criticized for as well. I’m writing about war, which what almost all epic fantasy is about. But if you’re going to write about war, and you just want to include all the cool battles and heroes killing a lot of orcs and things like that and you don’t portray [sexual violence], then there’s something fundamentally dishonest about that.

Rape, unfortunately, is still a part of war today. It’s not a strong testament to the human race, but I don’t think we should pretend it doesn’t exist.

I want to portray struggle. Drama comes out of conflict. If you portray a utopia, then you probably wrote a pretty boring book.” 

Game of Thrones is based on a particularly dark time for humanity – the medieval ages – and has never claimed to be a voice for modern attitudes on feminism, female violence, or any other moral issue. It’s a fictional show about a pretty fucked-up place where hideous, gory, gnarly stuff happens A LOT.

Other shocking scenes from Game Of Thrones’. (Post continues after gallery):

So c’mon guys – let’s get real. This is TV. This is fake. Let’s let go of embarking on detailed moral debates following every episode – who are you arguing for, and what will it fix? Deep-seated attitudes and inherent human fascinations? Last night’s episode was totally and completely shocking, but hey – the remote is just there. Switch it off.

Shireen is not real. What’s real is the Pakistani woman who was burned alive in April for leaving home without permission of her husband and father. Or the mentally ill Afghan woman was burned alive by a mob in Kabul in May. And the young girl, also last month, who was doused in gasoline and set alight in Guatemala.

Thought of the day: fiction is shocking, but at least it’s only fiction.

What did you think of last night’s episode? Has GOT finally gone too far?

Haven’t been keeping up? Recap the most recent episodes here:

Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 8.

Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 7.

Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 7.