While Daenerys dispatched her enemies with typical Targaryen aplomb (aka napalm), things were a little more complicated in the North, where Ramsay had the advantage of men, horses, Winterfell and poor Rickon as a hostage. Despite Sansa’s warnings that Ramsay wouldn’t play by the rules of any game Jon might be familiar with, our noble bastard has the same shortcomings as Ned Stark; he fights with honor against opponents who are all too willing to use that predictable morality against him. While it was virtuous of him to attempt to flip the script and fight one on one with Ramsay to avoid thousands of soldiers dying on their behalf, men like the Boltons don’t get into positions of power by being nice. As this season has reinforced again and again, whether at the Tower of Joy (where Ned was forced to acknowledge the futility of an honest fight), or in The Hound’s brief flirtation with pacifism, you can’t make an omelet — or survive in Westeros — without breaking a few eggs/occasionally hitting someone in the nuts with an ax.