*NOTE: The review contains spoilers for the episode and light references to the books.
As I said last week, Winter has officially come, you guys. And that shit looks brutal. As a quick aside before we break down this awesome episode, my wife and I were talking before starting the episode about the fact that Game of Thrones tends to be kind of unique in that it’s actually the penultimate episode nine that features the climax of the season, rather than saving the big stuff for the finale. Season five just kind of broke its own rule, because I can’t imagine anything topping the final 15 minutes of Hardhome. Let’s go ahead and start with the end.
It’s worth mentioning right off the bat that it’s a little weird how the wights (the zombie dudes, not the actual White Walkers) have gone from being slow-moving types to running around, able to wield swords types. This is a great change, it definitely makes them feel a little less like generic zombies. I’m honestly surprised the show didn’t just start with this interpretation back in season one. It’s also worth mentioning that this scene doesn’t exist in the books. Jon goes north of The Wall to head to Hardhome, but it all happens “off camera,” as it were. We never actually see the place, we just hear the second hand tale of Jon showing up and only finding dead people and wights. This was definitely a more dramatic interpretation. I loved Jon’s conversation with the Wildlings beforehand, as well. It was clear that teaming up was best for everyone, and most of the Wildlings even seemed to know it, but the history there was just too much for some to get over.
The fight itself felt a lot like the battle with the Wildlings at Castle Black, oddly enough. Except, you know, with zombies and skeletons and shit. There was a ton of movement, a ton of death, and Jon had to make quick decisions. Seeing him rally the Night’s Watch to head to the front to protect the young and elderly Wildlings was quite touching, and I loved that all of Jon’s men followed without hesitation. It’s clear that people really believe that the only way to stand a chance is to work together. Can’t say I’m surprised Mr. Thenn didn’t work with Jon, the Thenns have always been the worst, most messed up clan among the Wildlings. And that poor lady Wildling, she just didn’t stand a chance. A character we’d never seen before, with basically no name given, sharing a sad moment with her children? She was destined to die before the end of the episode, and it happened to be in the most brutal way possible for her.
I’m incredibly curious to see more on the White Walkers themselves, especially after that tease at the end of last season where the leader touched a baby and turned his eyes blue. Book readers know very little about the White Walkers; we’ve certainly seen more of them on the show than we have in the books. But they don’t speak and they don’t seem to have any real motivation other than “build our zombie army,” but there must be something else going on that we just don’t understand yet. Considering that Bran is north of The Wall, “learning to fly,” don’t be surprised if we see him at the end of this season with some more information on the magical side of what’s happening.
Even though the final scene is the one everyone is talking about, there were other things that happened this week. Dany and Tyrion got to have two little verbal sparring sessions, one where she asked his advice on what to do with Ser Jorah, and one where she asked what she should do about Westeros in general. You guys, Tyrion is so super smart. He always knows just what to say at just the right time, even if it seems at the time like it’ll get him in trouble. With him at Dany’s side, they could definitely be a forced to be reckoned with in Westeros, and the world in general. But Tyrion brought up a great point, who the hell would support Dany’s claim? Every major family either hates hers, or just wants the throne for themselves. Dany’s attitude of “but the common people will support me” is nice and all, but the reality is that she’ll need people with money and armies and power. Meereen is proof of that. It’s a disappointing, but important lesson that Dany needs to learn, and sooner rather than later.
Sansa also got some time with Reek this episode, and I really think that dynamic is going to be important. The big question is, will she ever be able to get through to him as Theon so he can help her escape (or at least go out swinging)? Reek dropped the bomb that Bran and Rickon are still alive, or at least were when Theon searched for them. I’m not sure what Sansa will do with that information, but hopefully she’ll be able to track them down if she ever gets away from the Boltons. And things aren’t looking very good for Stannis. Things presumably haven’t changed for him since last episode, but it was heavily implied that Ramsay will be leading a strike force to take him unawares, and if there’s anything that Ramsay is good at, it’s being duplicitous and brutal.
As for the final two episodes, if we do in fact get some sort of climax for episode nine, I think it’ll focus heavily on the trials for Cersei, Margaery, and Loras. But we also have Arya preparing to commit her first assassination, the fallout from Jon’s trip to Hardhome, Jaime and Bronn still stuck in Dorne, Jorah entering the fighting pits (not to mention Dany’s impending wedding and the continued absence of Drogon), and Ramsay heading to take on Stannis. Plus, we’ve got Brienne waiting patiently for a signal from Sansa, and I can’t imagine she’ll stay out of sight for the rest of the season. There’s still some big stuff coming, you guys. I just wish the season had started off as strong as it has been for the past three episodes.
And now for some speculation! Don’t read on if you don’t want some theorizing and potential spoilers for season six. From some recent casting notices, it looks like they’re casting Euron, Victarion, and Aeron Greyjoy, so I’m guessing the fight for the Iron Islands will be a major plot point for season six. It also looks like they might be casting for Aegon Targaryen and Jon Connington, which is a storyline that I assumed had been dropped completely considering Tyrion’s time frame for interacting with them had passed. But maybe, just maybe, that story line will end up having an impact on the show/books. It’s one of the more frustrating things about having to wait so long for the books, the show is quickly passing them in the time line, and making certain book story lines and characters seem like they don’t matter since they haven’t been mentioned on the show. But if these casting rumors are true, season six is already shaping up to be an awesome game-changer.