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The HBO fantasy drama 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� has shocked and divided fans again following the airing of its most recent episode.聽

鈥淭hrones鈥� aired its ninth episode, the second-to-last in its fifth season, on June 7. (Spoilers for the installment follow鈥�)

The show had already sparked debate among fans for its portrayals of sexual violence against women.聽But the newest episode included a disturbing scene of a different type. In 鈥淭hrones,鈥� Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane), brother of a now-deceased king, is determined to take the throne himself and is mounting an attack on the castle Winterfell, which is currently held by his enemies, House Bolton. When one of the Boltons conducts a raid on Stannis鈥檚 camp and ruins the majority of his army's food and supplies, Stannis begins to listen to the urgings of his priestess Melisandre (Carice van Houten) that his daughter Shireen (Kerry Ingram) must be sacrificed to ensure his victory.

Stannis gives his consent for it to be done. His wife, Selyse (Tara Fitzgerald), tries to save her daughter but is unsuccessful.

Has the show made one dark choice too many? And did the narrative choice make sense, or was it simply made for shock value?

It鈥檚 another disturbing sequence for 鈥淭hrones鈥� fans and some found it to be too much. (In addition, this plotline apparently has not yet happened in the books.) writer Michael Rougeau wrote of the episode, 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 get any worse than that on 鈥楪ame of Thrones鈥� 鈥� [it] was one of the worst things this show has ever done 鈥� Whatever redeeming qualities he may have, the dude just sacrificed his own daughter.鈥�

writer Libby Hill wrote of the character, 鈥淚t makes sense to weep for Shireen Baratheon but to do so would be an exercise in futility. Because Shireen Baratheon was a girl and there is nothing in Westeros or beyond that holds as much value while simultaneously being so completely worthless 鈥� At some point, what 'Game of Thrones' has to realize is that there鈥檚 no need to continually remind audiences that the world at large is a dangerous and cruel place for women."

Some felt the scene didn鈥檛 make sense creatively, with writers Jamelle Bouie and Miriam Krule declaring that 鈥渢his week鈥檚 worst person in [鈥楾hrones鈥� country] Westeros [is] Stannis Baratheon" and Krule writing that "[the scene was] one of the most painful scenes we鈥檝e had to watch in聽鈥楪ame of Thrones鈥櫬爃istory ... What happened this week felt so completely impossible to me because I couldn鈥檛 imagine him doing this of his own free will.鈥� Bouie disagreed, writing that 鈥淪tannis may love his daughter, but she 鈥� like everything else in his life 鈥� is subordinate to his mission, which is reuniting the Seven Kingdoms under the rightful king.鈥� (Stannis had previously had his brother, Renly, who also wanted to be king, killed.)

But most fans on Twitter were simply outraged.