Well, last night was the big penultimate episode that brought Neil Marshall back to Game of Thrones and things certainly were epic, weren’t they?
As such, today I’ll approach the recap a bit different. I’ll still lightly talk about things related to the book (for this sequence only), but for the most part I think there’s more than enough in the episode to not go much farther beyond that. That said, I will not police the comments. If people want to talk about book spoilers in the comments, they’re welcome too — though I don’t imagine there will be much to talk about.
(Also, not sure how official the image is as I couldn’t find it anywhere HBO related, but I saw it on Reddit and thought it was too good not to use).
1. Wow
Wow. Wow? Wow.
Wow wow, wow wow wow wow. Wow, wow wow wow wow, wow wow; wow wow wow, wow wow wow wow wow. Wow!
That was pretty cool. I’ll never understand why people say they don’t like fantasy.
2. The Biggest Fire the North has Ever Seen
So, if anything, tonight’s episode is one of the times having a show is pretty cool over a book. There are certainly times when the visuals in the book are described in epic ways, and sometimes the book sounds more epic than what the show delivers (Blackwater comes to mind, if only because they just did the one wildfire explosion and there were supposed to be, like, a zillion million), but I think this episode delivered in spades. In terms of direction Neil Marshall did an excellent job with the episode — which isn’t a big surprise if you’ve seen Centurion, because that movie is pretty wild. And, yeah, a few changes from the book, a line or two I would’ve liked to hear, but all in all it was a pretty damn epic adaptation of a single chapter’s worth of story.
I have to say, by the way: the show seemed much more comfortable with this episode’s full-length battle than Blackwater. Blackwater was great, but its main fault was too much filler to take care of the first half. This episode pretty much just kicked into high gear 10-15 minutes, and there was a new surprise every minute of how far they actually went. I am pleased as punch. I mean, did you see those mammoths? Damn.
Oh, and when they dropped the scythe. Jesus. Wow.
3. Sam the Slayer
So, one of the biggest surprises of the episode was certainly Sam getting basically the entire time to shine. Motivating the troops, helping out Gilly, taking out a Thenn — if anyone was this episode’s MVP, it was Sam the Slayer. Which is, you know, a surprise because he is kind of the show/book’s biggest weakling, right? Which isn’t to say he doesn’t get better over time, sure; a character has to evolve. But even when Sam gets a larger focus in the books, he always kind of remains that meek character that you first meet way back when.
It’s interesting: last night, for the first time this season, I had people over to watch the episode with me. I mean, it was a big event in the show; only makes sense other people might want to congregate and cheer it on together, right? And one thing my friend said after the episode was was that he expected Sam to die, especially because Sam promised he wouldn’t. So with Sam stepping up and really striking a chord, I’ve gotta say, it makes me really curious about how that will translate to his future storylines now that he’s leveled up.
4. “You Know Nothing, Jon Snow”
That was a bit rough.
One of those things that you sort of know is coming is the death of Ygritte. At a certain point, it begins to feel unavoidable — this is a lose/lose scenario when two of your protagonists come up against one another. It’s different than, say, with Tormund/Alliser fighting; I was kind of on the edge of my seat to see which one of these two characters I enjoy would bite the dust (neither die in the book, but it was intense, and you never know). But Ygritte… well, we all kind of knew. When they started building that storyline with the kid earlier in the season, there was no other way it would go.
Continued belowStill, it was a bit hard to actually watch. The show built this relationship up tenfold over what the book did; there was so much more there in the show, with the chemistry between Kit Harington and Rose Leslie. And that she still had time to remind him that he was an idiot? Certainly a set of strings in the heart were appropriately plucked.
I guess, if I had to talk about the book, I would say this: I’m really glad that they spent the time to make you care about Ygritte more in the show, and then actually give some sort of semblance to her death. They fell into that wonky trope of making the Battle basically All The Wildlings Plus Ygritte (what, they couldn’t get some extras to be spearwives or something?) and of course her death is slowed down and more gratuitous (not in terms of death to gore ratio, obviously), but in the book it’s almost inconsequential. The battle ends, and Jon simply finds her dying. I imagine that was the point in the book, but I also felt a bit cheated given some of the epic, emotionally gut-wrenching deaths the book had (like Catelyn, for example). Ygritte was sort of tossed aside.
So I honestly believe the show’s version works a bit better, but I have to relent that the show basically treated her death like a fridging. It was pretty textbook, not a lot of denying that — ie, in the book, Jon heading out to see Mance is because he was ordered to as part of a parlay; the show makes it pretty clear that his actions are now motivated by Ygritte’s death. Kinda dropped the ball at the last second there, Weiss/Benioff.
I actually had her death spoiled for me before I had read the books. Perhaps that effects my opinion of her death scene in the book and how I read Jon finding her body, but even so.
5. Next Week on Game of Thrones
So. Next week. The finale! Where is everyone?
Well, at the Wall Jon is heading out to talk to Mance. Surely they have a lot to discuss, considering that the show found the budget to include Ciarán Hinds in one whole episode this season.
Out in the middle of who knows where, Arya and the Hound appear to see someone in the preview for next week’s episode. I honestly don’t know who they might meet; I know where they’re “supposed to” go, but that means very little, now doesn’t it?
Over in King’s Landing, Cersei and Tywin have lots to celebrate, Jamie and Tyrion less so. Surely the show wouldn’t leave this storyline hanging; not when we’re so close to the end of the book. Perhaps we’ll even get to see the Tyrells again! Remember them? They’re a thing.
Across the narrow sea, the preview for next week’s episode appears to show the dragons — and rumor has it that something in next week’s episode was so tricky to render properly that the show/HBO had to admit that they’d be down to the wire to get it done. We’ve had a lot of dragons this season; think we’ll have time for a little bit more?
Bran, Hodor and the Reeds seem to have reached their destination of a particular Weirwood. Hope that pays off for them!
Theon and Ramsay, Sansa and Littlefinger, Jorah and his horse — their stories seem done. The show might check in on them, but I doubt it.
Oberyn is still dead.
Did I miss anyone? Hmm. Hmm.
Friends, beware those book spoilers in the comments below — I’m sure someone will want to say something.
