Game of Thrones “Beyond the Wall” was written by the creative team of David Benioff and DB Weiss and was directed by Alan Taylor, who was a producer and frequent director in season two. The episode begins somewhat slowly with a number of fantastic conversations before ending in a flurry of action and the death of Viserion. The pacing is deliberate and the plot is masterfully teased out. So many wonderful performances and fight scenes. I can’t believe there’s only one episode left in this season! I need more…
Before we get into the episode proper, a few words about the previously on scenes. We see Sansa (Sophie Turner) being coerced to write the note that’s come back to haunt her. It’s Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) who pushes for Sansa to write it “to prove her loyalty.” Was he simply trying to protect Katelyn’s daughter or was he already plotting some way to use this note in the future? Is he that good at what he does? It was a nice reminder, of course, for how much danger Sansa herself was in at that time – and how innocent she still was. It’s also a reminder that this is the sister that Arya (Maise Williams) knows. Not the sister who lived with the possibility of death every day and who was bullied and tormented by most of the Lannisters and who was ultimately raped and beaten by Ramsey Bolton.
The episode is full of beautiful shots. I loved the opening that built on the wonderful credits to begin with Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) table map at Dragonstone, flying towards the fire and then contrast that with the ice in the north as we see our band of heroes winding their way through the mountains. Welcome back to Iceland…
Our first great conversation picks up with Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) checking in on Gendry (Joe Dempsie) who is obviously freezing – notice he’s the only one of the “heroes” with his hood up – Tormund is clearly enjoying the cold! Tormund remarks that the snow – which Gendry has never seen before – is beautiful and he can finally breathe again. The south smells like pig shit. Again, this is beautifully shot, with Jon (Kit Harington) in the middle of north and south (Tormund and Gendry) remarks that Tormund has never been south. Winterfell is North!
Gendry asks how you keep your balls from freezing off, and Tormund tells him keep moving: “Walking’s good, fighting’s better, fucking’s best.” Jon points out there isn’t a living woman within a 100 miles, and Gendry looks worried when Tormund says you make do with what you’ve got – and he leers at poor Gendry… and this is a nice reminder of Tormund’s claim to have slept with a bear – which is also nice foreshadowing of the dead bear to come.
Tormund and Jon walk off together, and Tormund tells Jon he doesn’t think Gendry is too smart, but Jon assures him that Davos (Liam Cunningham) vouches for Gendry being a strong fighter – and Tormund asserts that’s more important than being smart. Tormund asks about Daenerys, and Jon tells him she’ll only fight beside them if he’ll bend the knee. Tormund tells him he’s spent too much time with the Freefolk – because now Jon doesn’t like kneeling! And isn’t that the truth!
Tormund then brings up Mance – and I’ve stated before that I thought the memory of Mance was preventing Jon from kneeling. Tormund surprises Jon by saying that Mance was a great and proud man – the King Beyond the Wall who never knelt. And then he goes on to ask how many of Mance’s people died for his pride?
Gendry finds himself once again surrounded by the Brotherhood and Thoros (Paul Kaye) asks Gendry if he’s still mad at them – yes! They sold him to a witch! A Priestess, Thoros corrects. Beric (Richard Dormer) tells him they’re fighting the great war and they needed the money. Gendry wanted to join them, and he’s still bitter that they sold him like a slave. The Hound (Rory McCann) isn’t impressed by what Melisandre did to him – and wanting to kill him isn’t the same as actually killing him.
The Hound is tired of listening to his whinging. I loved McCann in this scene! Gendry denies that he’s whinging, but the Hound points out that Gendry’s lips are moving and he’s complaing – that’s whinging. Then he off-handedly points out that this one – Beric – has “been killed six times. You don’t hear him bitching about it.” And he walks off, leaving Gendry to actually take a swig from Thoros’ wineskin!
Jon and Jorah (Iain Glen) share memories of their fathers. Jon admits he was with Jeor when he was killed, but they made sure to avenge his death. Jorah hates that he died at the hands of the men that he’d dedicated his life to – and of course, Jon experienced the same thing at the hands of the Nights Watch. But they also share the same experience of watching their honorable fathers die in ways they didn’t deserve. Jon is clearly still angry that Ned – who was good all the way through – died on the Executioner’s block. It’s a really nice walk and talk.
Jorah admits that he hated Ned because he wanted to execute him – even though Jorah also admits that Ned was in the right. Jon is glad he didn’t catch him – and so’s Jorah. Jon stops and takes off Longclaw. He tells Jorah that Jeor gave it to him after changing the pommel from a bear to a wolf. He wants to give it back to Jorah because Jeor gave it to him, thinking that Jorah would never come back to Westeros, and he’s not Jeor’s son. Jorah is clearly tempted, but tells Jon that Jeor gave it to him.
Jorah tells Jon that he brought shame into his House and broke his father’s heart. He’s lost any right to claim the sword. He insists that the sword is his – and will serve him well, and his children after him. This is not the first time that Jon’s children will come up in the episode.
The action switches to Winterfell where Arya is also thinking about Ned. She and Sansa are on the balcony looking down into the yard. Arya mentions that Ned used to watch them from there – but Sansa wouldn’t know because she was always inside “knitting” – likely the most worthless pastime that Arya could come up with! It immediately puts Sansa in a different category – as a member of the family who wasn’t training to fight, who wasn’t really a part of the rest of them, and who wasn’t the subject of Ned’s attention. But Sansa does remember. It’s Arya who is misremembering – or at least coloring the memory to her own liking. However, it is also another reminder of how Sansa has changed. How often do we see her on that balcony now overseeing the things happening in the yard? How many horrible things happened to her on those balconies while she was a prisoner of Ramsey?
Arya goes on to tell the story of her breaking the rules and using Bran’s bow to teach herself how to shoot and how Ned watched in silence and she only knew he was there when she shot a bullseye and he started to clap. Does she believe that Ned still watches over her silently, applauding and approving what she’s become? She clearly is sure he approved of her being a rule breaker – and this is another reminder of the scene in which she tries to tell him that she’ll never be that girl interested in dresses and boys – as she acknowledged Nymeria was different.
It’s also an example of Arya’s determination. That even though she only had one arrow, she kept walking back and forth. It was made worth it by both the satisfaction of mastering it, but also Ned’s approval. She is still consumed with Ned’s death and tells Sansa – “now he’s dead. Killed by the Lannisters. With your help.” She pulls out the note. She also demonstrates her continuing dislike for her own sister – something Sansa has grown out of. Arya is bitter as she says “that’s your pretty handwriting” – she recognizes it because she was criticized for not having as good – and had her knuckles rapped by their tutor. Clearly, she blames Sansa for her own failing.
Arya reads the note – so we hear it again – even though Sansa reminds her that she knows what it says because she wrote it. Sansa tells Arya she was forced to write it – but nothing less than torture – and likely even not that – will justify it in Arya’s eyes. Sansa tried to point out that she was a child, and Arya tells her so was she. She wouldn’t have betrayed her family. Sansa is guilty of being stupid enough to think it would save Ned. Arya reveals that she was watching as Ned was executed.
And Sansa immediately asks Arya what she did. Did she come running to the rescue – or was she forced to simply stand and watch? And it finally gives Arya pause – for once she’s not so full of her own self-righteousness. She tells Sansa that she wanted to – but Sansa says so did she! But Arya immediately goes on the offensive again – she accuses Sansa of betraying Ned and their whole family.
And that’s it for Sansa. She tells Arya that she should be on her knees thanking her because Sansa was the one who won Winterfell back. Sansa tells Arya that Jon lost the Battle of the Bastards – it was won by the Knights of the Vale who rode north for her. Sansa asks where Arya was – travelling the world? It sounds lame when Arya says that she was “training.” Sansa tells her that while Arya was training, she suffered things that Arya could never imagine. And I really wish that she had told her the details. The two are so busy trying to hurt each other that they are never going to be able to come to an understanding. Arya tells her that she could imagine quite a lot – let’s not forget what she suffered during that training.
Sansa needs to stop underestimating Arya as a child. Sansa doesn’t think that Arya could have survived what she survived – but I think we know differently. Sansa wants to know what Arya is going to do with the letter – and Arya sees that Sansa is scared. Arya knows it’s not Jon that Sansa is worried about. Sansa is worried. But Sansa also realizes that their fighting would make Cersei (Lena Headey) very happy. And this takes us back again to the scene in which Littlefinger is urging Cersei to let Sansa write the note…
Arya ignores Sansa’s plea that what Cersei wants it to tear them apart. It’s also what Littlefinger wants – to isolate Sansa and to make her need his protection again. I had hopes that Arya was on to Littlefinger, but she’s too engrossed in her dislike of Sansa to see past it. The note confirms what she thinks about Sansa – even if that isn’t the truth. Arya knows Sansa doesn’t want the Northern lords to see the note. She wonders what “little” Lyanna Mormont would think. She’s younger that Sansa was when she wrote the note – and we know that Lyanna would never have written it. And of course, Sansa can’t use “I was just a child” as a defense with Lyanna.
Sansa sees that Arya is too angry to listen to reason – she is better at reading people than Arya is. She tells her that sometimes anger makes people do unfortunate things. And then Arya mirrors her with sometimes fear makes people do unfortunate things – basically calling Sansa a coward. Arya insists that she’ll rely on anger and walks off.
Back beyond the Wall, we get what might be my favorite scene in the entire series – Tormund tries to befriend the Hound, and the Hound has no idea what to do with that. It’s not all fun and games with Tormund. He also knows they’re going into battle and he’s taking the Hound’s measure – as he did with Gendry in the first scene. What sets the Hound off? What does he do – will he stay cool-headed in battle. The Hound’s first answer to Tormund is “Fuck off.” But of course, he doesn’t. They’d told him the Hound was mean – but is he always that way or does he just hate Wildlings – will he have Tormund’s back in a fight – and boy, does he! The Hound insists he doesn’t hate Wildlings – just Gingers! And Tormund finds this a source of commonality – Gingers are beautiful because they are touched by fire – just like the Hound! But of course, that’s something that the Hound never wants to speak of – and he’s terrified of fire. Tormund is only encouraged by the Hound’s irritation – I loved Hivju’s expressions throughout these scenes. It’s clear he’s enjoying himself – but it’s not mean-spirited. He really does see the Hound as an outside, like himself, and as a potential friend.
Tormund continues to tease him – was he a clumsy child who fell into the fire? The Hound tells him he was pushed – but not by whom. Tormund cleverly surmises that ever since, the Hound has been mean. The Hound continues to tell him to “fuck off” – to no avail. Tormund proves he’s an astute judge of character when he says he doesn’t think the Hound is truly mean – he has sad eyes. And we’ve seen glimpses of this other side to the Hound. The Hound’s reaction proves Tormund has hit a nerve – or a crack in the Hound’s emotional armor. He wheels on Tormund and asks him if he wants to suck his dick – and it’s a term Tormund isn’t familiar with. He’s clearly tickled to learn a new word for cock!
When Tormund says “I like it” meaning the word, the Hound gleefully says, “I bet you do” insinuating that he was right about Tormund wanting to suck it. Tormund, however, without judgment declares himself a pussy-man and then, he declares he has a “beauty” waiting for him at Winterfell!!! Ok. If you’ve been following my reviews, you know how hard I ship Tormund and Brienne…. Can you imagine Brienne’s reaction to being called a “beauty?”
I loved the Hound wheeling on Tormund as he describes his beauty – blond, blue eyes, almost as tall as you – and declaring Brienne of Tarth! Tormund is excited that the Hound knows her! The Hound declares, “You’re with Brienne of fucking Tarth!” And Tormund – kudos again to Hivju who is suddenly a 12 year old boy – “Well… not WITH her yet…but I see the way she looks at me…” And the Hound describes it “Like she wants to carve you up and eat your liver?” And Tormund’s “you DO know her!” And it’s clear that he loves Brienne for her spirit and her beauty.
The Hound doesn’t go into any detail – that would be awkward! He just says they’ve met. Tormund goes on to say that he wants to make babies with her – Brienne might have something to say about that! But I agree – what wonderful babies they would have! “Great big monsters! They’d conquer the world!” But of course, they’d be loyal and true and conquer it for someone else. The Hound wonders how Tormund has survived for so long, and Tormund mentions he’s very good at killing people!
Beric and Jon share a moment and we get another indication of Jon’s birth when Beric says that Jon doesn’t look much like Ned – he must favor his mother! Beric tells him that he knew Ned when he was the Hand and that he sent him off to look for the Mountain. Tormund has told Beric that Melisandre brought Jon back from the dead. Beric shares that Thoros has brought him back 6 times. He feels a bond with Jon that they both serve the same Lord, but Jon insists he serves the North. The Lord of Light never spoke to him. Beric doesn’t know why the Lord brought him back. Jon is frustrated that no one can tell him why. Beric tells him that he doesn’t think it’s their purpose to understand anything but that they are soldiers and what they’re fighting for.
Beric isn’t fighting for some man or woman he barely knows. He fighting for life. “Death is the enemy. The first enemy and the last.” Jon points out that they all die. And Beric smiles as he says “the enemy always wins! But we still need to fight him. That’s all I know.” Beric goes on somewhat ominously, “You and I won’t find much joy while we’re here, but we can keep others alive. And defend those who can’t defend themselves.” Jon responds “I am the shield that guard the realms of men,” quoting the Nights Watch oath. And they agree that maybe that’s enough.
I love how everything becomes relevant. They are following the Hound’s vision of a mountain. It’s like he is their tracking dog – is this the real significance to his name? And he saw a vision of a “mountain” that signals the coming of the Army of the Dead – I’m hoping that that isn’t a significant foreshadowing of the fight between the Clegane brothers that we’re all waiting for.
We also get a wonderful shift back from the ice of the north to the fire of Dragonstone. Daenerys is telling Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) that she likes him because he’s not a hero – it’s a bit of a back-handed compliment. He does point out that he has acted heroically on occasion. But Daenerys doesn’t want him to be a hero – they do stupid things and they die. And she telling lumps Jon in with the other men she’s loved – Drogo, Daarius, Jorah. And Tyrion picks up on it.
Daenerys denies that Jon loves her – but is she acting the coy girl here? She’s clearly pleased when Tyrion points out that Jon has been looking at her longingly. But then she declares he’s too little for her! Poor Kit Harington! He’s really been taking it for his height! More importantly, Daenerys realizes what she’s said – who she’s talking to – as soon as she’s disparaged him for his height. She immediately back tracks and tells Tyrion that she knows he’s brave.
The talk turns to Daenerys’ impending meeting with Cersei. Tyrion points out that Cersei would torture Daenerys first before murdering her. Tyrion declares they will only go to King’s Landing with two armies and three dragons. The two discuss the possibility of traps. Tyrion again points out that if they are trying to begin a new world order, they shouldn’t start with deceit and mass murder. Tyrion agrees that they need to be ruthless, but they can’t let fear be all they have – like Cersei and Tywin. “It makes their power brittle because everyone beneath them wants to see them dead.”
Daenerys points out that Aegon got quite far on fear, and Tyrion points out that she’s said she wants to break the wheel that Aegon built. She needs to be different from the tyrants who’ve come before. Tyrion promises that Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) will honor her safety – and he mentions that he promised Jaime that Daenerys would do anything “impulsive.” Daenerys takes offence at that, but Tyrion points out that Daenerys has been known to lose her temper from time to time – and Cersei will certainly say something (many things?) provocative.
Daenerys wants an example of when she’d lost her temper. It’s the opportunity that Tyrion has been looking for to re-visit the fate of the Tarlys. She insists their deaths were necessary, but Tyrion insists that she shouldn’t have acted so quickly. She should have given them time to re-consider, especially the son. Tyrion explains that you need to take your enemies’ sides if you are going to understand them enough to anticipate their reactions and actions in order to ultimately beat them. Tyrion tells her that he believes in her and the world she wants to build – but he also points out that it will take time – likely longer than a single lifetime.
And it seems that this might be the thing that Varys (Conleth Hill) was urging Tyrion to get her to listen to. Tyrion uses this to bring up the matter of the succession. They have to make sure the wheel stays broken. Daenerys has told him that she can’t have children – but Tyrion points out that there are other ways to choose a successor. Daenerys refuses to discuss it until the war is well. She is disturbed that he’s been thinking about her death. He insists they have to consider the long term – and she berates him for their recent losses – he should focus on the short term. Of course, the solution to her succession is right under her nose – and we repeatedly hear about HIS children in this episode…
The action shifts back beyond the wall, and we get our first casualties as the group is set upon by a giant undead bear. They form a circle waiting for the bear to appear out of the snow storm. I loved Thoros and Beric’s flaming swords – which ultimately set the bear on fire – and cause the Hound to freeze, which leads to Thoros saving him, only to be mortally wounded himself. It’s Jorah who runs in and kills the bear by stabbing it in the head with a dagger – presumably made of dragonglass.
They discuss taking Thoros back, but Beric cauterizes his wound with his flaming sword – much to the Hound’s continuing horror. Beric asks Thoros if he’s ok, and Thoros points out he just got bit by a dead bear! “Funny old life.” Ultimately they press on.
Back at Winterfell, Sansa is taking Littlefinger’s counsel – just as he’s set her up to do. Sansa tells Littlefinger that she’s worried the Lords will leave because their loyalty is to Jon – and she hasn’t heard from him in weeks. But Littlefinger compliments her on how well she has proven herself as a leader – some of the Lords even prefer her to Jon. But that doesn’t reassure her – it simply proves how fickle the Lords are.
Littlefinger suggests that Arya is not like them. She wouldn’t betray her family, but Sansa thinks she would if Arya thought she was going to betray Jon. Sansa admits to Littlefinger that she doesn’t know Arya anymore, she doesn’t know what she’ll do. Littlefinger also suggests that maybe Brienne could help – she’s sworn to protect both. He’s clearly intimating that if one of the sisters was planning to hurt the other, she’d be honor-bound to intercede. Sansa is clearly considering his words carefully. Does she fear that Arya will harm her? Is she willing to kill her to protect herself? Littlefinger has set all this in motion, so it seems clear that his intention is to have Brienne take care of Arya.
Back beyond the Wall, Jorah catches up with Thoros, who was so drunk when taking the Pike that he remembers nothing of it! Jorah thought he was the bravest man he’d ever seen, but Thoros insists just the drunkest.
The group discover a small group of the undead. Jon wonders where the rest of them are, and Tormund points out if they wait long enough, they’ll find out. Clearly, they need to strike this small group quickly. They set a trap and engage. Things are going badly until Jon shatters the leader, luckily leaving them with one Wight alive. Tormund knocks him down and the Hound proves he’s not afraid of the undead by jumping on him. I loved the Hound’s disgust when he pulls off half the Wight’s face in trying to get it to stop screaming.
The screaming brings the rest of the army. Jon sends Gendry to run for Eastwatch and send a raven to Daenerys. Gendry doesn’t want to leave them, but Jon rightly points out he’s their only hope. And here begins one of the biggest time plot holes. So yes. It would appear that Gendry is the fastest runner ever. But I’m not going to unsuspend my disbelief long enough to determine the air/land speed of a laden raven either. The group also run – and end up surrounded with a moat of open water – that then had to freeze solidly enough for the army to get over – that also had to take some time – so I’m handwaving it…
I have to say that when Tormund took Gendry’s hammer, I thought that was going to be a big mistake. The cracking ice was also a nice heart-stopper. And filming going into that water could not have been fun. But I also have to wonder – what happens to the undead underwater? A question that is answered later…
We get beautiful shots of the group in a circle on their little island riding out the long night as Gendry makes it back to Davos – barely. Davos sends the raven immediately.
The group wake in the morning to find that Thoros has died in the night. Beric covers his face, and it’s the Hound he kneels beside him and offers the comfort that “they say it’s one of the better ways to go.” He then takes and drinks from Thoros’ flask – really a tribute of a kind – while Beric prays to the Lord of Light over the body. Jon takes the flask from the Hound and pours it on the body. Beric lights his sword and finishes “Lord of Light come to us in our darkness. The night is dark and full of terrors.”
Jorah and Jon walk apart and Jorah points out that they’ll all freeze soon – and so will the water. He points out that the dead all dropped when Jon killed the Walker. Jon, however, insists that they have to take the Wight back. Daenerys is their only hope. Beric, however, wants to go after the Night King because he turned them all. Beric thinks that this is their purpose. This is why the Lord of Light brought them back. The Hound urges caution – Beric has lost his Priest. He’s on his last life.
Sansa receives an invitation to King’s Landing. She sends Brienne to represent her in King’s Landing at a “gathering.” Brienne tells her it’s not safe. Sansa foolishly thinks Brienne is worried about her own safety, but Brienne doesn’t think Sansa is safe from Littlefinger – and how right she is! Sansa insists that she has many guards who would happily imprison or behead him for her. But Brienne wants to know if she’s sure that Littlefinger hasn’t been speaking to her guards behind her back – and Sansa looks unsure. Brienne knows exactly how Littlefinger operates. She tries to leave Pod, but Sansa insists – angrily – that she doesn’t need to be watched over.
Sansa insists that she’s home and nowhere is safer for her. Brienne points out that she can’t fulfill her oath to protect Sansa and Arya if she’s not with them. Sansa coldly cuts her off and dismisses her. Brienne, like a good soldier, knows when the time for discussion is over, and leaves to follow her orders. Sansa looks thoughtful as she leaves. What is Sansa’s strategy here?
Back at Dragonstone, Daenerys has received the raven and is leaving with all three dragons. Tyrion urges her to do nothing because “the most important person in the world can’t fly off to the most dangerous place in the world.” Tyrion points out that if she dies “We’re all lost. Everyone! Everything!” But Daenerys is determined not to do nothing again – and flies for the North! This is another beautifully shot scene.
Back beyond the Wall, the Hound peevishly throws stones at one of the un-dead, which then tips them off that the water has refrozen. The Hound realizes what he’s done – “oh fuck.” A few of the un-dead start across – and the fight begins.
I loved the way the entire episode is built towards these sequences. The wonderful scenes of dialogue and the slow pacing, building toward these scenes that had me on the edge of my seat – and I’ll admit it – screaming at my television set, especially when it looked like Tormund was about to die – and then the Hound saves him before the undead can pull him into the water!
We get a beautiful reminder of the Battle of the Bastards as Jon and his men are surrounded and formed into a small circle. The action shifts to slow motion. It seems all is lost and Tormund and Jon bump into each other. And then the music crescendos and Daenerys is there with the dragons. It’s truly a display of fire and ice. Daenerys lands, and Jon is about to take her hand, but of course there’s no way he’s going to be first of his men to safety.
Meanwhile, we see the Night King prepare his ice lance and watch Daenerys’ horror as Viserion, her child, is killed and sinks slowly under the ice. Her horror and sadness is beautifully mirrored in all the faces sitting behind her.
Jon is looking directly at the Night King and sees him preparing another lance, he turns and runs, screaming at Daenerys to go, and then he falls through the ice. Daenerys waits to see if Jon will come out of the ice, but sees the Night King preparing to throw another lance – clearly at Drogon this time. She takes off. And Cersei and Qyburn actually did her a favor – Drogon knows to look out for and dodge giant spears coming his way! Jorah is almost thrown off, but the Hound saves him too!
There is a beautiful shot of the ice from the air as Daenerys looks back – and is it just me or do the scars on the ice look vaguely like the scars on Jon’s body? Regardless, the Night King also doesn’t see Jon pull himself from the ice and reclaim Longclaw. It’s a nice fakeout actually that Jon, frozen, walks like the un-dead – and it’s not until we see that his eyes aren’t blue that we realize he is still alive – and the un-dead know it too.
But there is still one person left beyond the Wall who can save Jon, and it’s Uncle Benjen (Joseph Mawle) to the rescue one last time. He makes Jon take his horse and stays to hold off the un-dead.
Beric and the Hound part ways. Beric is sure they will meet again, but the Hound isn’t too enthusiastic. The Hound is clearly returning with the others with the Wight – curious that he’s not sticking with the Brotherhood now. Meanwhile, Daenerys is waiting on the wall as the dragons cry for their fallen brother – and Jon does return.
Daenerys watches as Jon is undressed, clearly impressed by the evidence of what he has suffered.
The action shifts again to Winterfell. I have to admit that I’d been hoping that Sansa and Arya had been playing an elaborate con on Littlefinger. However, when Sansa searches Arya’s chamber and the two are now alone, it’s clear that Littlefinger is the one with the upper hand. Sansa finds Arya’s masks. And Arya arrives, and this time is clearly in control of the entire meeting. Williams and Turner are both again brilliant in this scene.
Sansa is clearly afraid and tells her that she has hundreds of men, loyal to her – and Arya completely negates it – they’re not here now. Arya tells her about training to be a faceless man in Braavos – but of course, doesn’t explain when Sansa wants to know what that is. Arya tries to get Sansa to play the game of faces, but Sansa doesn’t want to play.
Arya goes on to ask if Sansa is happy for Jon to be King or if Sansa thinks someone else should be. Sansa asks a question in return – she wants to know what the faces are. Arya chillingly says – you want to ask the questions? It didn’t turn out so well for the last person who asked me questions. But Sansa insists.
Arya tells her that they both wanted to be different people when they were younger. She mentions that Sansa wanted to be Queen – to sit next to a handsome young King on the Iron Throne and she wanted to be a Knight. Arya points out that the world doesn’t just let girls decide what they want to be. Arya tells her that the faces allow her to become someone else – she could even become Sansa! Alll she’d need would be her face – and she pulls out the dagger – and hands it to Sansa, leaving Sansa utterly confused.
Jon wakes on the ship – and of course – because he’s perfect – the first words out of his mouth are that he’s sorry! He knows how much the dragons – her children mean to her. She takes his hand. He wishes that they’d never gone, but Daenerys says she’s glad they did. She had to see it to believe it. She also tells him that the dragons are the only children that she’ll ever have – and asks him if he understands. He nods that he does.
Daenerys tells him that they are going to destroy the Night King and his army together. He calls her Dany as he thanks her, but she doesn’t want that nickname from him. So he says, “How about my Queen.” She asks about those he swore allegiance to, and he tells her that they’ll come to see her for what she is – and tells her that she deserves it.
She pulls her hand away as the emotion between them skyrockets. So. Much. Chemistry! But Daenerys knows that she must find a successor – and I think she’s seeing one here. Jon can have children after all – but then, they both also have to make it through the war to come.
The final scene is chilling in every way. The Night King’s army pulls Viserion from the icy water, and his eye opens blue! Will he breathe ice? That would be my guess. Will they convince Cersei to join them and use her giant crossbow to fashion a spear of dragonglass? Will Daenerys have to kill one of her own children? I’m betting the next time we see the Night King, he will be riding a dragon…
What did you think of the episode? Will Arya and Sansa be able to see that Littlefinger is the enemy? Will Tormund and Brienne be reunited in King’s Landing? What are you hoping for in the finale to the season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
