Salutations, Watchers! Time for another trip down Memory Lane with Geoffery as your host! This time I’ll be revisiting Season Four, Episode Nine of Game of Thrones: “The Watchers on the Wall,” written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and directed by Neil Marshall. Hmm, Watchers on the Wall…sounds like a good name for an amazing website, that does.
We open with a gloriously bleak shot across the wall, as my two favourite Night’s Watchmen have one of their patented awkward conversations about women. Sam wants to know how big Ygritte’s feet were while Jon is more keen to demonstrate his lack of poetic ability.
It’s moments like these that make this episode one of my favourites. Even though the focus is on the colossal and epic battle sequences, there’s still time made for little character interactions that remind us who we’re rooting for in this big ol’ wintry war. Plus I love it when an episode breaks from the Thrones’ tradition of jumping about from storyline to storyline, and concentrates on one area or group of characters. It’s one of only three episodes that doesn’t feature King’s Landing, statistics fans! (The other two are “The Kingsroad” and “The Rains of Castamere.”)
Meanwhile, Tormund Giantsbane is proving to be even less poetic than Jon, as he regales the wildlings with his inventive sexual fantasies. Ygritte is having none of this, as she uses her pre-battle time more wisely, sharpening up her arrows for crows. After being mocked by Styr, she proclaims her intent to kill Jon, if he’s still alive, and leave nothing but his ‘fun bits’ to hang around her neck. Charming!
We next see Sam, employed in his favourite non-Gilly related pastime: reading. Maester Aemon played as adorably as ever by Peter Vaughan, finds him to dish out some sound relationship advice.
Sudden Gilly arrival and Sam has to get sassy with Pyp.
Open the FUCKING gate
Word. It’s fair to say Sam spends the entirety of this episode being badass.
Sadly his loving reunion with Gilly is all too brief as the horns are sounded and the battle preparations begin in earnest. There’s an impressive turn from Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne as he lectures Jon Snow on the meaning of command.
Do you know what leadership means, Lord Snow? It means that the person in charge gets second guessed by every clever little twat with a mouth. But if he starts second guessing himself, that’s the end. For him, for the clever little twats, for everyone. This is not the end. Not for us. Not if you lot do your duty for however long it takes to beat them back. And then you get to go on hating me, and I get to go on wishing your wildling whore had finished the job.
Sam stashes Gilly safely away and they share a kiss. I absolutely adore this whole scene. Even though I can be a bit of a book!wanker when it comes to the order of storylines, I don’t mind their relationship developing here in the slightest. It makes sense in the context of the show and the two of them are adorable together.
Sam ‘The Coolest Guy in Westeros’ Tarly then comforts a terrified Pyp about what’s to come. Bonus Randyll Tarly reference! Season Six: Get Tarly Hype.
The wildling march begins in earnest, with giants and mammoths galore! Game of Thrones certainly had its work cut out compositing the various green screen and physical effects together for these scenes, but they look wonderful.
Alliser Thorne gives the Night’s Watchmen a brief lesson in etymology
Does “nock” mean “draw”? Does fucking “hold” mean fucking “drop”?
Unfortunately he also gives command of the Wall’s defenses to Janos Slynt, which is the worst idea. Slynt is the worst. Luckily, Awesome Grenn (that’s his full title, I checked on Wikipedia) steps in and tells Janos he’s needed down below, so Jon can take charge. Sneaky lot, them Night’s Watch. I’m particularly fond of the scene where the giant shoots through the bunker so powerfully his arrow takes the black brother clear over the Wall, and and of Hobb’s brief moment of glory cutting up wildlings with his meat cleaver.
Sadly, my joy is short-lived, as is poor old Pypar. I’ll take a little solace from the fact he’s still alive and kicking it in the novels, but his end scene with Sam is truly tragic.
Jon orders Awesome Grenn to hold the inner gate and although Grenn seems certain he can do it, it’s sadly obvious what fate will befall him and his brothers. I think the show did brilliantly with the secondary Night’s Watch characters like Grenn and Pyp, eschewing a couple of others from the novel so that they could be more fleshed out, resulting in ultimately their deaths having real resonance. Grenn’s recitation of his oath just before the giant gets them is particularly effective and heart-wrenching.
Sam continues to be the King of Everything by killing a warg, before having a really poorly judged conversation with Olly. This kid is gonna kill, like, your best friend. And your best friend’s girl-friend. Don’t stop to learn his name- shiv him in the back! Oh, why do I bother…
Jon finally gets down to some proper sword fighting and engages Styr in single combat. He manages to gain the upper hand by spitting blood in Styr’s face, giving Jon the moment he needed to grab a hammer. This is more or less the same move Karl Tanner used against Jon when they fought at Craster’s Keep. Like I said, sneaky lot those Night’s Watch. Whatever doesn’t kill you, and all that. Although Styr is very much dead. And speaking of which:
OLLY YOU LITTLE BASTARD. I have some satisfaction though- I totally called Olly killing Ygritte before this episode aired. But even so, Ygritte’s death is a real kicker. Lovely, restrained use of slo-mo and the rising score throughout the scene compliment the sad moment. They really should have stayed in that cave.
You know nothing, Jon Snow
A moment to appreciate Dolorous Edd and his MASSIVE SCYTHE. It’s not a moment from the books but nonetheless, it’s cool.
Sam returns to Gilly, only to find Janos Slynt cowering in a corner. I hate finding a Slynt in the corner of the room. Jon heads off to find Mance because who doesn’t want to spend time with Ciarán Hinds?
The battle is over, for now, but you can’t keep a good wildling army down.
Introductions: The giant Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg and Night’s Watchmen Cooper, Hill, and Hobb
Departures: Giants Dongo and Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg; a Thenn Warg and Styr; Night’s Watchmen Cooper, Hill, Grenn and Pypar; and, of course, Ygritte, immortalised in this episode’s Beautiful Death
The post Game of Thrones Memory Lane 409: The Watchers on the Wall appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
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