The controversial rape scene in the last season of 'Game of Thrones' left a lot of fans mortified and possibly turned off from the show in general.

The depiction of rape and sexual violence on the show has been steadily prevalent since its first season, however it is believed that fans were more appalled that it was happening to the seemingly innocent Sansa character.

In a recent interview with Deadline, director Jeremy Podeswa admits to seeing the backlash coming before he even shot the scene.

"We expected a certain amount of controversy because people had really felt a strong connection to Sansa and had really seen Sophie (Turner) grow up on the show, like literally grow up," he said. People are very invested in her as a character so anything that might happen to her is something that is going to affect the viewers a lot. We were very aware of that. All I can say is that we tried to handle it as delicately and carefully as we could. I worked very closely with the actors on it and I guess that's all I can really say about that subject."

Actress Sophie Turner even attempted to appease the distraught fans in her panel at this year's San Diego Comic Con.

"[If] there's one thing that Sansa still is, despite what happened to her, [it's] strong," she said when asked by an attendee about the scene. "She's not to blame for any of that. I really don't know why they ... focused on Theon, because I was giving a great performance."