Game of Thrones, “The Watchers on The Wall,” was written by the team of David Benioff and DB Weis and it was directed by Neil Marshall. The episode focused entirely on the Wildling attack on Castle Black. The action, special effects, and choreography combined to create one of the biggest and most intense battle scenes yet. The only other episode that Marshall has directed was “Blackwater” – featuring Stannis’s (Stephen Dillane) attack on King’s Landing - so obviously, they wanted him back to handle this epic battle scene too. Marshall said that he didn’t see a finished version with complete effects until four days before the episode aired – it was definitely worth the wait. Especially that shot – the one continuous shot that took us 360 degrees around the courtyard, from Jon (Kit Harington) to Tormund (Kristofer Hiyiu) to Samwell (John Bradley) running to release Ghost.
As both sides prepare for battle, thoughts turn to love – or sex at least. Sam wants to know about Ygritte (Rose Leslie). Jon’s first response is that she has red hair, and Sam’s sarcastic inquiry about the size of her feet is hilarious. It was nice to see the chemistry once again between Harington and Bradley. In fact, Bradley really shines in this episode as we see how much that Sam has grown in his time with the Watch. He’s certainly been giving their vows a lot of thought and points out to Jon that there is nothing in them that prohibits their having sex – they simply aren’t allowed to get married or father children...
Jon assumes that Sam had had sex with Gilly (Hannah Murray). Sam says that no, she’d just had a baby and never offered. Jon presses him saying Sam would have and would have broken his vows if given the chance. Clearly it weighs on Jon still that he broke his vows – and Ser Allister (Owen Teale) also clearly holds it against him when he refers to Ygritte as Jon’s Wildling whore.
In the end, Jon tells Sam, you become more than the sum of your parts, “for a little while, you’re more than just you.” Jon declares that he’s not a poet and Sam agrees. Jon laments that all he got for his trouble was an arrow six inches from his heart. Given the number of people we’ve seen Ygritte despatch, I’m quite sure that she’s too good a shot to have missed – unless it was on purpose. However, this conversation resonates with much that comes after it in the episode.
The next scene shows the Wildlings preparing for battle south of the wall. Tormund begins to tell a tall tale about having had sex with a bear. Ygritte, however, has no patience for this and declares she doesn’t want to hear about the bear that he didn’t fuck. Styr (Yuri Kolokolnikov) brings up the crow that she did fuck and wonders if she’ll actually be able to kill him. She then accuses him of thinking about her “ginger-minge,” again reducing her to the color of her hair. She goes toe to toe with Styr and tells him, and the entire camp, that Jon Snow is hers alone to kill, and if anyone else kills him, she’ll kill them.
Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan) comes across Sam in the library and wants to know what he’s been doing. Aemon knows that Sam is tormenting himself with all the stories of what Wildlings do to their prisoners. This is a terrific scene which Bradley brings wonderfully to life by the expressions on his face. Aemon remarks on the irony of his being blind in a library of 1,000 books. He may not be able to read them anymore, but he’s certainly gained their wisdom and more. He points out to Sam that the Wildlings likely tell similar tales about what the men of the Watch do to Wildlings. We’ve already seen a similarity in their campfire talk.
Maester Aemon also tells Sam that “love is the death of duty.” He accuses Sam of being in love with Gilly. Sam denies it at first, but Aemon insists, surprising Sam with the fact that he remembers what it’s like to be in love. Aemon may not be able to read the books in the library, but he can see the woman he loved – another irony of old age perhaps. Is she the reason he ended up at the Wall instead of a Targarean King? Did his love kill his duty? He also tells Sam that “nothing makes the past a sweeter place to visit than the imminent prospect of death. This is of course what Tormund is doing with his oft repeated story about his bruin conquest.
As Sam leaves the library, he hears Gilly at the gate, and insists that Pyp (Josef Altin) “Open the fucking gate!” Sam vows to Gilly that he will never leave her again – no matter what. He then hides her in the castle. She is determined that he not go back out to fight, but he tells her that he can’t abandon his brothers. Love has not killed his duty regardless of what Maester Aemon says. He kisses her and promises not to die. Did anyone else have a flashback to Oberyn (Pedro Pascal)? Luckily, Sam keeps his promise.
On the wall, Ser Allister and Jon watch the fire that Mance Rayder has started burning. Ser Allister proves himself to be a worthy leader in battle. He’s also a big enough man to invite Jon to say that Jon was right, they should have sealed the tunnel when they had the chance. For his own part, Jon is a big enough man to let it go, telling Allister that it was a difficult decision either way. In the end, neither Jon nor Allister is going to let petty differences stand in the way of their doing their duty to the Watch and their brothers of the Watch. Allister may fear the threat Jon poses to his leadership, yet Allister still schools Jon in what it means to be a leader. You can’t second guess yourself.
Jon has plenty of opportunity to prove himself as a leader when he takes charge of the wall, when he sends men to defend the tunnel, and when he leads the fight against the Wildlings in the castle. Edd (Ben Crompton) also proves he is a leader when he takes charge of the wall. Even Sam assumes a leadership role, particularly with Pyp. Sam is able to inspire courage in Pyp, in much the same way that Jon has helped Sam. Interestingly, Sam said that he only had the courage to kill the White Walker when he became nothing at all. In a sense, this is very much what Allister was saying too. You can’t stop to think in the heat of battle, about other distractions or other choices, you have to simply act. When Pyp asks if he’s afraid at that moment, Sam admits that he’s not nothing anymore. He isn’t in the heat of the battle.
There are a number of beautiful continuous shots – and here the VFX and entire effects team has to be lauded. The giants and the mammoths are wonderfully realized. As the fight begins there is a long shot that pans from the attacking Wildlings to the south of the wall, over the Castle and over the wall to the fire burning in the north and the Wildlings attacking from the north.
The giants are also realized as characters. We see the two work in concert and the anguish of the one when the other is killed. Two other great special effects were the giant’s arrows, particularly the one that impaled the guy and took him right over the wall. And who didn’t feel bad when the mammoth had his backside set on fire?
As they are attacked on multiple fronts, Allister leaves the wall under the command of Janos Slynt (Dominic Carter). Slynt denigrates the men of the Watch, still considering himself their superior even while he proves himself to be a coward. Grenn (Mark Stanley) tricks Slynt into going to join Allister, thus allowing Jon to take command of the wall. Slynt retreats to the same room that Gilly is hiding in. Did anyone else worry that he was going to kill Gilly?
The battle itself is simply fraught with irony. Sam tells Pyp that they will die if Pyp keeps missing, yet it is right after Pyp makes his first kill that Ygritte kills him. Sam then determines they need more help. Once again, he manages to kill when his life depends on it, killing one of the Thenn. He finds Olly (Brennock O’Connor) cowering by the controls to the lift. Grenn and his men exit the lift to go to defend the inner gate of the tunnel. Sam tells Olly to find a weapon and fight as he ascends the wall. Olly remembers Ygritte from the raid on his village, and it’s because of Sam’s command that Olly kills Ygritte.
Grenn has also learned to be a leader. He rallies his men, not by appealing to God or religion, but by having them chant their vows into the face of certain death. It’s a particularly stirring scene as they declare in unison, “I will live and die by my post.” The choice of the word “by” as opposed to “at” is very telling as well. It implies that their post will be the death of them – not simply that they will die at the wall. Grenn was a hard character to lose – even moreso than Pyp perhaps for the support he could have been for Jon in the future. Stanley gives a terrific final performance.
There were a number of great fight scenes. Tormund going up against Allister also highlighted that Allister is a more than competent fighter. The fight between Jon and Styr was also brutal and beautifully choreographed. When Styr slams Jon’s face into the anvil (and yes, he should have lost teeth), I once again found myself flashing back to last week. And then I was sitting on the edge of my seat wondering if Ygritte would save him – if only so she could kill him herself. Jon, however, manages to lay his hand on a handy hammer and nail Styr himself.
Up until this point, Ygritte has clearly put duty above love – she’s made every one of her arrows count – also once again proving that that six inches from Jon Snow’s heart was clearly intentional. It’s a beautiful moment when the two lovers are finally reunited and Jon’s face breaks into a smile – something we so rarely see on him. Leslie is fantastic throughout this episode, but in that moment – and this whole scene – she is brilliant. All of her love for her crow, her betrayal, her conflict over her loyalty to the other Wildlings, plays out across her face. Her duty is clear, but she cannot kill him. And then Olly looses his arrow and the moment is shattered.
Ygritte’s final wish is to return to the cave where they both escaped the world together. But in the world of Game of Thrones, duty will always be the death of love it seems. Ygritte dies after telling Jon one last time, “You know nothing, Jon Snow.” But he does – he has known what it means to love – both Ygritte and his brothers. He knows what it means to be a leader – and that is driven home when he and Sam find Grenn’s body. Leslie is particularly beautiful as she’s held in Jon’s arms as she dies, and the scene is beautifully shot as Jon does abandon his duty for love if only for a moment – and the battle slows and fades in the background.
Tormund ends up being the only Wildling still alive within Castle Black and Edd manages to beat the Wildlings back from the north. The scythe comes in handy and is another great special effect – I especially liked the blood spray and the hanging arm that was left!
Sam is happy to consider the night a victory, but Jon knows that Mance was only testing their defences. He’s determined to stop them by chopping off their head. Without Mance, Jon believes the tribes will drift away and be consumed by their own petty squabbles once again. Sam tells him it’s a bad plan but has no alternative for him to consider. Jon tells Sam that they’re going to die anyway, but they might all live if Jon can kill Mance. What I did find stupid was not only does Jon go completely alone, he leaves his sword with Sam – because he’d promised never to lose it again – and doesn’t take another one with him. And couldn’t he have at least taken Ghost to help him? It is a very, very bad plan... Sam’s final words are “Jon? Come back” and the final shot is Jon going out the gate.
Technically, this episode was spectacular. It had better special effects than some movies I’ve seen. It also teased out that tension between love and duty. I know that some fans will have missed their favorite characters, but I really enjoyed spending so much time with the Watchers on the Wall, especially as we haven’t seen much of them this season. What did you think of the episode? Is Jon’s plan as bad as it seems? Will you miss Pyp and Grenn? Ygritte? Can you believe there’s only one episode left in the season? Who are you most hoping to see in the last episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
