Game of Thrones creators will change their approach to rape in Season 6

There’s lots to love about Game of Thrones; physical and intense action sequences, dragons, shocking deaths (OK, maybe not that last one). But one thing the show has increasingly come under fire for is its handling of rape, and the complaints were particularly vocal last season after the rape of a significant character.

It appears that that outcry has been heard; Game of Thrones director James Podeswa recently spoke at a Fox Studios Australia briefing (via Forbes) and revealed that creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss "were responsive to the discussion and there were a couple of things that changed as a result … It is important that (the producers) not self-censor. The show depicts a brutal world where horrible things happen. They did not want to be too overly influenced by that (criticism) but they did absorb and take it in and it did influence them in a way".

This is welcome news for fans of the show, but there's a sense that seeing is believing here. After all, season 5 was not the first time people accused the show of going too far in its depiction of sexual violence. We'll see if these words are put into action when Game of Thrones returns in 4 months time.

Game of Thrones season 6 will debut in April 2016.

Images: HBO

Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.