Game of Thrones’ Battle of the Bastards used a lot less CGI than you’d think

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t yet watched episode nine of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, you’ll want to bookmark this post for later and watch the show first.

When Jon Snow decides to take on Lord Ramsay Bolton in the Battle of Winterfell, the odds are stacked against him. His army is only half the size of Bolton’s, his brother Rickon Stark is still in the clutches of the enemy and he can’t win the war of the minds that Bolton is so very good at.

And so we get to witness the Battle of the Bastards, with massive armies, hundreds of horses and plenty of blood, mud and bodies. It’s an epic scene that’s worth rewatching a few times over just to try and spot all the intricate details.

In the clip above which shows how the battle was shot, you’ll find that most of it features live action sequences, with plenty of carefully choreographed stunts, clever camera work and lots of well trained horses – 80 to be precise.

There was certainly some crowd duplication to make the armies appear larger than they were, but it’s clear that this is likely one of the most painstakingly shot scenes in all six seasons of the show.