The writers and showrunners of Game of Thrones discuss the controversial developments beyond the Wall, and other reveals from “Oathkeeper.”

HBO has released this week’s “Inside the Episode” featurette, which features showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss delving into several key scenes from Game of Thrones season 4, episode 4.

The first scene up for discussion is the cell-bound conversation between Jaime and Tyrion, which Weiss describes as “sort of heartbreaking.” In spite of the brothers’ closeness, he observes, Tyrion is forced to realize that Jaime is not prepared to make waves in his own life to set Tyrion free.

Next, Weiss and Benioff take on Sansa’s revealing scene with Littlefinger. According to Benioff, teaching Sansa the ways of the world has been a motive for Littlefinger “since the first time he met her.”

But educating Sansa is hardly Lord Baelish’s only goal. “He has a chance to at least be close in some way – we’re not quite sure in what way he wants to be close, yet – with Sansa,” Benioff says. Adds Weiss, “Sansa is completely under his power. So he tells her the truth… and she, I think very impressively, calls him on his bullshit.”

Finally, the showrunners tackle the final scene of Game of Thrones season 4, episode 4, which shows Craster’s last son being transformed into a blue-eyed White Walker. Though the scene has proved to be controversial among some fans, Weiss emphasizes that their goal was to delve deeper into the White Walkers’ existence while preserving “the fundamental mystery of that world.”

“It’s a moment that, while not in the books, is kind of suggested by the books,” says Benioff. “We thought [it] would be really fun to illustrate in a horrifying way.”

What Weiss and Benioff do not discuss is the identity of the black-clad White Walker who collects the baby. The figure was named in a now-adjusted synopsis on the official Viewer’s Guide, and suggests that this scene may hold even more significance than initially suspected.

For his part, Bryan Cogman, who penned “Oathkeeper,” told the Hollywood Reporter that he “can’t comment on the last scene.” But Cogman did give HBO some additional detail on the scene establishing the Craster’s Keep mutineers and the birth of the last sacrifice. The older woman who arrives with the child, for example, is called Morag.

“She’s the prime wife, if you will, and the matriarchal figure for these women,” Cogman explains. “She knows she can’t fight these mutineers and knows that without them, the White Walkers could destroy the wives.”

Cogman also admitted that the sequence in Craster’s Keep – which involved rape, torture, and the colossally violent Karl – was “the hardest to write for the show” throughout his work on Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones season 4, episode 5, “First of His Name,” will air on Sunday, May 4 at 9:00 p.m. on HBO.