Controversy may stalk TV's Game of Thrones but far from getting in the way of either ratings or award recognition, it seems to be fuel for success.

Among the record 24 nominations the HBO received for this year's Emmy Awards – more than any other program – were nods for two episodes which garnered widespread discussion, anger and accusations of misogyny for their depiction of violence against women. This in a show already contentious for its portrayal of the pitfalls of being a woman in an environment of easy death, cruelty and widespread exploitation.

The two nominated episodes in question, Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken (nominated for best direction) and the season finale, Mother's Mercy (best writing and direction), were highly controversial for presentations of a rape and a public, naked, humiliation, respectively.

The former, where the character Sansa is forcibly assaulted by her sociopathic husband on their wedding night, saw some fans declaring online they would no longer watch the show (you can watch the controversial scene here). A number of those complainants cited earlier examples of rapes and sexualisation of characters as contributing to their decision, seeing a pattern of behaviour by show runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss that exceeded the high body count (one estimate has it that more than 60 characters have died in five seasons) and already inflammatory treatment of women in the books by George R. R. Martin.

Among the complaints were that the depiction of rape was exacerbated by the decision not to show the reaction of Sansa but to focus on the face of a male character, Theon Greyjoy, making it, some said, more about him than her. That said, there were at the time of the initial screening also comments that not showing Sansa's face saved the audience from the true horror of the experience and the possibility of more complaints about revelling in the pain of its characters.

Despite, or because, of these criticisms, rather than lose the show viewers, the two nominated episodes were part of a continuing success story for Game Of Thrones which ended its fifth season with its best ratings.

Meanwhile, among its nominations were nods for leading female actors Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey (whose character Cersei, already a victim of a rape, was made to walk naked and under assault from a baying mob in the season finale) and Diana Rigg.