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If you watched Game of Thrones Season 5 Episode 3 then you know that [SPOILER ALERT] Jon Snow unwittingly exacted a bloody act of vengeance against Janos Slynt – the former head of the Kings Landing City Watch who (unbeknownst to Jon) played a part in the arrest and execution of Ned Stark.

Beheadings are nothing new in Westeros, (Theon Greyjoy botched a protracted and particularly gruesome one in season 2), but as times change, so do our sensibilities, and actor Kit Harington says recent events made it difficult for him to carry our Slynt’s punishment.

At the time the episode was filmed, ISIS beheading videos had just begun to appear online, and Harington says he struggled with the similarly brutal violence depicted in the latest episode of GoT.

“It felt really dark because of the current news, what was going on in the news at the time” Harington said in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. “And I’m doing this on camera. It really didn’t sit well.”

Asked if he believes GoT showrunners should have skipped the scene in light of recent events, Harington replied:

“You can’t shy away from horror or the things you see on the news every day. But to have Jon doing…to have him committing this murder in cold blood, that to me this was the most controversial bit this season.”

Yeah, Kit, we agree that it was pretty unexpected, but something tells us the upcoming Sansa Stark-Ramsay Bolton marriage will give you a run for your money in the controversy department.

Watch Game of Thrones online to relive every nightmare-fuel moment of unexpected carnage.