Game of Thrones - Hardhome - Review

Game of Thrones, “Hardhome,” was written by the team of David Benioff and DB Weiss and was directed by Miguel Sapochnik. Once again the show delivered a powerful scene that only increased in impact because the battle of Hardhome wasn’t featured in the previews. The episode also features not one but two fabulous scenes between two fan favorites – Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) – that fans have been looking forward to sharing scenes at least since the beginning of the season. The episode features terrific special effects for the battle with the White Walkers and great cinematography throughout. It’s hard to believe that there are only two more episodes left until the end of this season. It seems likely that at least a few things that have been teased or set in motion will not come to fruition this season, making the long winter of hiatus even more unappealing!

The episode begins with Tyrion and Jorah (Iain Glen) standing at the bottom of the stairs to Daenerys’ throne. She refuses to let Jorah speak. There’s a beautiful establishing shot that looks between Jorah and Tyrion up the stairs to Daenerys on her throne, framed by the two men at the base. Daenerys wants to know why she shouldn’t just kill Tyrion for everything his family has done to hers. This is a nice theme that is taken up later in the episode when Jon (Kit Harington) addresses the free folk. Old animosities need to be set aside to face the conflicts of the present.

Tyrion points out that if she wants revenge on the Lannisters, he’s the greatest Lannister killer of their time, having killed both his mother and father. Daenerys replies, “So I should welcome you into my service because you murdered members of your own family?” And then Tyrion cheekily replies, “In to your service. Your grace, we have only just met. It’s too soon to know if you deserve my service.” It’s nice to see Tyrion has regained his former confidence – and it’s a nice way to destabilize the power structure of their meeting by suggesting that he is the one making the decision and not her. I love the look that Jorah shoots him.

For her own part, Daenerys remains un-fazed and asks if he’ simply like to return to the pits. Tyrion changes tactics and relates her own history back to her, but adds that Varys was doing more than trying to kill her when she was a baby, and in fact, is probably the reason she is still alive. He tells her that Varys thought “she was our best, last chance to build a better world.” Tyrion thought she was worth meeting at the very least.

Daenerys asks why Tyrion is worth meeting. He points out that she will need help to build a better world. He tells her, “You have no one on your side who understands the land you want to rule. The strengths and weaknesses of the houses who will either join or oppose you.” She counters that she will have a very large army and very large dragons.

Tyrion points out sagely that “Killing and politics aren’t always the same thing.” Tyrion goes on in this quasi-job interview to list his former position as Hand of the King. Tyrion assumes he could do even better with a ruler that preferred ruling to torturing animals. Daenerys immediately puts him on the hot seat to advise her about what to do with Jorah, who she’s sworn to execute should he return to the city.

At this point, Tyrion starts to move away from Jorah. He’s clearly starting to win Daenerys over or at least pique her curiosity and he wants to distance himself from Jorah who is clearly out of favor. However, Tyrion, as we know, isn’t stupid, and it’s clear that he’s already figured out that Daenerys also has feelings for Jorah – even if they aren’t the same as those Jorah has for her. Tyrion first speaks of Jorah’s devotion – and finally voices what we’ve already figured out – Jorah’s also in love with her. Jorah looks hopeful.

However, Tyrion does give her real advice and the fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, Jorah didn’t trust Daenerys enough to tell her the entire truth until it was too late. As Tyrion points out his great failing, Glen is fantastic and his eyes fill with tears. Glen is almost immobile for the entire scene, yet his misery is clear to see. Daenerys says, “So I should kill him,” but Tyrion may not want Jorah as a rival for Daenerys attention as an advisor, but Tyrion also doesn’t want to see Jorah dead. After all, Jorah did save his life.

Tyrion’s eyes dart back and forth as he carefully considers his options. Finally he tells her, “A ruler who kills those devoted to her does not inspire devotion.” And we’ve already seen this when she killed the slave who murdered the Son of the Harpy. Daenerys knows that Tyrion is right about this. Tyrion saves his life, but Daenerys has Jorah removed from the city. There is another beautiful shot, much like the first with Jorah framed at the end of a long hallway between two soldiers as he’s put out of the city.

We get a close up of his arm to see that the greyscale is growing. Jorah makes his way back to Yezzan (Enzo Cilenti) and sells himself back into slavery just to be able to fight in front of Daenerys again. I’m curious as to what his end game is. Do he and Tyrion have a plan? Is Tyrion going to gently influence Daenerys to accept Jorah back? I doubt this for the reasons above. Does Jorah simply want to see her one more time? Does he want to prove that he is still valuable to lead her army? Hopefully, this will be one story we will see before the end of the season – we should as the great games are hinted at in the previews.

In the second scene between Tyrion and Daenerys, they are seated across from each other – framed by light coming through the windows behind them. This scene is juxtaposed by the scene between Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Theon (Alfie Allen), which is shot in the same way – with the light from the window behind them. In that case, Sansa is sitting and Theon standing – the light is clearly cold and wintery. The light in Meereen is warm and summerlike. A shoutout for the cinematography, lighting and blocking. In Meereen, we see that the power has shifted between Tyrion and Daenerys. She sits upright on the edge of her chair while they talk, while Tyrion lounges completely at ease in his. But at the end of the scene, she moves to stand, and prove that she is the Queen he’s been looking for.

As the scene begins, Tyrion and Daenerys are still sparring over whether she will kill him or not, though it’s clear that is unlikely at this point. They talk of their fathers and neither has any illusions about them. Tyrion concludes, “here we sit. Two terrible children of two terrible fathers.” Daenerys wants to know why he would travel so far to meet her if she is so terrible. He tells her he wanted to see if she was the right kind of terrible. He has no illusions that change can come peacefully. Blood will have to be shed, and she will have to be prepared to do so to have the opportunity to make things better.

Daenerys tells him, “I did reopen the fighting pits. Under my rule, murder will once again become entertainment.” I had to laugh at that line because isn’t that what Game of Thrones is all about? But here, Daenerys leans back in her seat and looks down. She’s clearly still not happy about that decision. Tyrion tells her that that was wise as was marrying a man she loathes for the greater good. He mentions that Cersei did the same but ended up killing her husband. Daenerys says, “Perhaps it won’t come to that.” She doesn’t intend to kill him, but she’s also not ruling it out. This leads Tyrion to muse that perhaps Varys was right about her. She is definitely winning him over.

Daenerys is not happy to have Varys name come up. She refers to him as King Robert’s spymaster and the Spider. She credits him with leading the campaign to have her killed as a baby. Tyron points out that Varys is actually the reason she wasn’t killed and admits that Varys is the one person other than Jaime whom he trusts. It’s a little sad after Jaime’s declaration to Bronn (Jerome Flynn) that he would kill Tyrion the next time he saw him. Clearly, theirs will not be a happy reunion.

The mention of Jaime has Daenerys remarking, “the one who killed my father?” She then remarks that maybe she’ll have Tyrion killed after all. Tyrion replies – languidly – that that’s her Queenly prerogative. But he then goes on to reveal his own state of mind: “I’d given up on living when Varys convinced me you might be worth living for. If you chop off my head? Well, my final days were interesting.” It should go without saying that Dinklage and Clarke are both outstanding in this scene.

Daenerys relents and tells him she’s not going to kill him, but he’s going to advise her. She does, however, take away his wine. Daenerys really does represent the best hope for Tyrion. She’s distant enough from him that she can command his respect enough to engage his intellect and save him from himself – prevent him from drinking himself into an early grave.

She wants him to advise her on what she wants: the Iron Throne. His first advice is to want something else. He compliments her on the hundreds of thousands of lives she’s already made better. She tells him that she has no intentions of abandoning the work she’s already begun. He has to see how serious she is. He also gently points out where she’s gone wrong so far. She tells him the common people will support her bid for the Iron Throne, and he questions how well that’s worked for her in Slavers’ Bay. It’s why she’s marrying a man she loathes – she can’t do that again in Westeros – though let’s face it, we all want her to marry Jon, right? Such a pretty couple!

Daenerys knows that Tyrion is right. Her failure to secure the support of the rich is what lead to Ser Barristan’s (Ian McElhinney) death. It also becomes apparent that Barristan had to die before Tyrion arrived because he would never have let him advise Daenerys. Tyrion, however, can now be the only one to advise her on the Lords of Westeros, and he paints a pretty bleak – but accurate – picture. She also fails to realize that the common people in Westeros are by and large not slaves. Those who are treated well are loyal to their Lords.

Daenerys surprises Tyrion, however. She tells him, “Lannister, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell. They’re all just spokes on a wheel. This one’s on top, then that one’s on top, and on and on it spins, crushing those on the ground.” Tyrion replies, “It’s a beautiful dream. Stopping the wheel. You’re not the first person who’s ever dreamed it.” But Daenerys has a different dream: “I’m not going to stop the wheel. I’m going to break the wheel.” This is where she stands and looks every inch the Queen.

Lena Headey (Cersei) is wonderful in this episode. How has she made me actually feel sorry for Cersei? She definitely has made me feel sorry for her, and I want to see Septa Unella (Hanna Waddingham) get what’s coming to her! They do a great job illustrating that these religious zealots are really no better than the Lannisters – they are using torture and abuse to get what they want. Cersei remains defiant for now, refusing to ask forgiveness or repent, choosing to lick water off the floor instead. However, she also immediately retreats cowering into a corner when Unella comes in.

Is anyone surprised that a Lannister – Kevan (Ian Gelder) – has taken the opportunity to seize control? Qyburn (Anton Lesser) is the only one who comes to see Cersei and tells her that Kevan has returned – at Maester Pycelle’s (Julian Gover) urging – and taken over as Hand of the King. Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) has locked himself in his room, refusing to eat or see anyone. Clearly, in his own way, he is just as unstable as his brother. Cersei forlornly asks after Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) but of course, he’s still on her fool’s errand.

        Qyburn actually suggests that she repent – the charges against her can only lead to her death: fornication, incest, treason, the murder of King Robert. Of course, Lancel (Eugene Simon) would have implicated himself in all these crimes when he confessed, and he’s been spared – but we don’t know what he was subjected to either. Who knows, perhaps, he will end up having to die with her. Qyburn does leave Cersei with the rather cryptic, “the work continues,” so maybe we will see his resurrected Frankenstein’s monster – the Mountain – storm the prison and rescue her!

In Bravos, Arya (Maise Williams) begins her work as a servant of the many faced God. It wasn’t entirely clear if she’s already been going out as oyster-selling orphan Lana or whether she’s just been telling Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha) the story. It's a great way to really twist reality to mirror what they are doing in service of the many faced God. I loved them sitting across from each other – blocking that is taken up in so many scenes in this episode – and him rapping her knuckles to correct her. What a difference in Arya as she calmly takes the direction and makes the correction.

Lana comes in contact with a Thin Man (Oengus MacNamara) who appears to be selling insurance to captains. They pay him, and if they don’t come back, the Thin Man pays a wager to the captain’s family. The problem is if he decides not to pay, the widow and orphans have no way to force him to. There’s the small issue here that if he becomes known for not paying, captains will no longer buy his “insurance.” Of course, we’re not meant to sympathize with him, and Jaqen gives Arya her first assignment – to watch the Thin Man and learn everything she can about him. He gives her a vial of liquid – poison? He doesn’t tell her to use it or to poison him, however. Will she learn what I’ve just said? The Waif (Faye Marsay) shows up after Arya leaves, saying she’s not ready. Daqen is unmoved, saying “It’s all the same to the many faced God.” I don’t trust the Waif. She’s clearly jealous of Arya.

At Winterfell, we finally get a scene that I’ve been waiting for. Reek arrives to deliver Sansa’s breakfast and is clearly shocked to see her sitting up, dressed at the table. Turner is just fantastic this season and it’s wonderful to see the development in this character! Finally, we are seeing the Stark come out in her! She’s clearly not giving up and not knuckling under to Ramsey’s (Iwan Rheon) torture. And she’s pissed at Theon. She demands to know why and it’s clear that he ratted her out as much for her own safety as his. He firmly believes that Ramsey would have caught her – as he did him – and done far worse to her. Theon tells Sansa that Ramsey caught him and cut away piece after piece until there was nothing left of him.

Sansa’s response is “Good.” He looks up surprised by her once again. He was clearly expecting sympathy. She goes on to tell him, “If I could do what Ramsey did to you right now, I would.” Theon then responds, “I deserved everything. I deserve everything. I’ve done terrible things. I turned on Rob and captured Winterfell. I killed those boys.” And this makes Sansa wild – “They weren’t “those boys”! They were Bran and Rickon. They were you’re brothers.” And Theon finally blurts out the truth – he didn’t kill Bran and Rickon, he killed two farm boys.

Sansa then wants to know more – where did the go, where are they? But Theon knows he’s in trouble if Ramsey finds out and breaks away from Sansa, terrified. The scene ends with a terrific shot of Sansa. Here is more evidence that she is not alone in the world. Did she draw at least some of her strength this week from the knowledge that Jon is now Lord Commander? She now has an even more powerful reason to live – to save her two youngest brothers.

It’s debatable whether we will see the battle for the north this season – but considering they kind of snuck the battle of Hardhome in, maybe they are keeping it hush hush too. Regardless, we see that the weather is still not helping Stannis. Roose (Michael McElhatton) is determined to simply wait it out. He doesn’t have the same reckless, driving ambition that Ramsey has developed while trying to win Roose’s favor. Now that he has that potential brother and rival for Roose’s favor and legacy on the way, he seems determined to secure glory and his future. Roose points out that the snow is already too deep to send an army to engage with Stannis, but Ramsey asks only for 20 men. Clearly, he has something sneaky planned. Would we expect anything less from him?

At Castle Black, Gilly (Hannah Murray) and Sam (John Bradley) are holed up in his quarters after the attack and both are clearly worried about what will happen next. Olly (Brenock O’Connor) brings them food, and Sam gives him reassurance that Jon will return and all will be well. He brushes off his own troubles by saying that “Men brawl from time to time” and tries to help Olly understand what Jon is doing. Sam’s words finally seem to get through to Olly. He explains that the wildlings are just like they are – some of them are good and some are bad. He also reminds Olly that he’s seen the army of the dead and the White Walkers.

        Jon is taking a risk because he has to: “Sometimes a man must make hard choices. Choices that look wrong to others but you know are right in the long run.” This applies to Jon, of course, but it can also apply to Olly. It will be a hard choice to accept the wildlings as allies when it looks like he’s betraying his family that they killed, but in the long run, it’s necessary to save everyone else. Does it also apply to Sam? Are he and Gilly going to have to run to save their own lives?

While my review may not reflect this, the bulk of the episode really takes place at Hardhome. This is again beautifully shot – many, many kudos to the special effects team. Jon arrives in Hardhome with Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Eddison (Ben Crompton) by his side – and in a beautiful mirror image of this they are the last three onto the boats at the end of the episode. Neither want to be there – Tormund doesn’t want to have to support the crows and Eddison doesn’t want to support the freefolk, but both are there because they believe in Jon.

There’s a nice bit of comedy to relieve the tension a bit before ramping it up as Tormund is met by the Lord of Bones (Ross O’Hennessy). In case we’ve forgotten, Tormund is a badass and it is not a good idea to insult him! I loved him bludgeoning the Lord of Bones with his own staff before declaring, “Gather the elders and let’s talk!”

Jon addresses the assembled clan leaders and once again proves why he’s a good leader: “We’re not friends. We’ve never been friends. We won’t become friends today. This isn’t about friendship. This is about survival.” Jon even admits that in normal times the Crows wouldn’t care about the wildlings, but points out that these are far from normal times. He then gifts them with the dragon glass daggers and promises them land on the other side of the wall if they promise to fight with him against the White Walkers when the time comes.

When Loboda (Zachary Baharov) wants to know where Mance is, Jon doesn’t lie or try to defend himself. He freely admits that he killed him. This may look stupid, but it’s so much more effective for Tormund to step in and explain that Jon was disobeying Stannis and showing mercy by putting an arrow in Mance’s chest. Jon goes on to tell them, “I’m not asking you to forget your dead. I’ll never forget mine. I lost 50 brothers the night Mance attacked the wall. But I’m asking you to think about your children now.”

        The camera then focuses on Karsi (Birgitte Hjort Sorensen). We see how she lovingly puts her children on the boats and is ultimately defeated when she can’t even fight the children of the army of the dead. I’m really, really disappointed that they killed her off so quickly as she was such a terrific character – very much along the lines of Daenerys. I also wished that Jon might have used a similar explanation to explain himself to Olly.

In the end, Karsi and the others that agree to follow Jon do so because they trust Tormund. He tells them that Jon is “prettier than both my daughters, but he knows how to fight. He’s young, but he knows how to lead. He didn’t have to come to Hardhome. He came because he needs us and we need him.” Yes. He is that pretty… But he also proves that he can fight and that he’s willing to stand with the freefolk. He has ample opportunity to simply get on the boats and flee, yet when the army of the dead attacks, Jon rallies his men and leads the defense.

There’s another beautifully shot scene. Wun Wun (Ian Whyte), the giant, is looking at one of the dragon glass daggers. It’s tiny in his hands. Meanwhile, Eddison is looking at the giant and he is tiny in comparison. In the end, both Wun Wun and Eddison are sizing up their new weapons. It’s also hilarious when Wun Wun booms, “The fuck you looking at?!”

The army of the dead and the White Walkers are suitably terrifying and the show really delivers on a promise made way back in the first season. It’s always a delight to have these kinds of production values on a television show. The battle utilizes a number of different horror/terror tropes. We have the unseen force pushing at the gates and then suddenly disappearing. We have Logoda peering out the peep hole – anybody else waiting for him to get a bolt in the eye? There’s the massive avalanche of uncontrollable weather that precedes them. There’s even the White Walkers calmly sitting on their horses on the ridge, which completely reminded me – as it was meant to – of every Western ever when the Indians appear on the ridge. Of course there are usually hundreds of them and here on five are needed!

Loboda stands with Jon against the Night’s Watch (Will O’Connell), having quickly seen that Jon is everything Tormund said he was. I was sad to see his character also cut down so quickly. The Watch and Jon fight and it seems hopeless as Jon struggles to reach the dragon glass daggers. The regular sword he picks up is shattered like ice, but when Jon finally gets his own sword back, the valyrian steel once again proves its worth – it shatters both the sword and the Watch himself. Clearly, Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) needs to get to the wall sooner rather than later… Jon is closely watched by the Night’s King (Richard Brake). His reaction to the death of the Watch is inscrutable.

The battle is clearly lost, however, and the survivors run for the boats. I loved Wun Wun just pulling the dead off himself and casually ripping them in half or stomping on them. As Jon and the others leave in the last boat, Jon watches, devastated as the last of the defenders are cut down. Harington is excellent throughout this episode. Was anybody else creeped out and suspicious of the hooded figure steering the boat? Why don’t we ever see their face???

As the boat basically drifts towards the ships – and I was really wanting them to row a lot faster – the King walks onto the docks, locking eyes with Jon. He slowly raises his arms and as he does, he raises the dead. We see Karsi rise from the dead to join the army of the dead. The message is clear. Even when you win, you lose because all those who are killed simply join the army of the dead. Yet, Jon also knows now that there are two weapons that can defeat the White Walkers and the army of the dead. Surely if those that animate the dead are killed themselves, the army will be instantly defeated.

        Is this where we may be headed? A small force – much like Ramsey suggested to Roose – will need to form around Jon to infiltrate the army of the dead and kill the King. Is he the only one with the power to reanimate, however? Perhaps they have to kill all the White Walkers? Time will tell…

Another fantastic episode, bringing together everything that makes this show one of – if not the – best shows on television. Terrific battle sequences – thought they were a bit choppily shot for my taste – great special effects and great writing, characters and acting. I apologize for the lateness of this review, but I’ve had an eye injury which makes writing both painful and slow. What did you think of the episode? Guesses as to what comes next? Can you stand that there are only TWO episodes left in the season??? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.