This season of Game of Thrones was perhaps the most controversial yet, and while it faltered badly as it struggled to find its own story away from George R.R. Martin’s novels, one episode—or one scene, rather—received near unanimous acclaim.

“Hardhome” delivered on a promise fans had been waiting on since the first episode, which was confronting the Army of the Dead and seeing why they were such a formidable foe. It’s a terrific sequence, and you could really see the show’s budget up on screen for a set piece that easily could have been in any major motion picture.

The effects in particular were top notch, and now Spanish VFX company El Ranchito released a new five-minute reel breaking down how they put together such an incredible action scene. I love these videos not just because they show the big stuff like creating a horde of CGI zombies, but the delicate compositing work to make a giant stand alongside humans while chaos reigns around them.

Check out the impressive Game of Thrones “Hardhome” VFX reel below.


Via ScreenCrush.com.

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Image via HBO