Battle of the Bastards is a Game of Thrones episode.
`` Battle of the Bastards '' is the ninth episode of the sixth season of HBO 's fantasy television series Game of Thrones , and its 59th episode overall . It earned Game of Thrones several Primetime Emmy Awards ( including Outstanding Directing and Outstanding Writing ) , and was Harington 's choice to support his nomination for the Outstanding Supporting Actor ; Sapochnik also won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series for the episode . The third season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered in the United States on HBO on March 31 , 2013 , and concluded on June 9 , 2013 .