What a fantastic episode. From the sweeping, heroic
long takes, the dozens of well-earned character moments, and the lasting images rich with metaphorical resonance. And no, I'm not just talking about Jon giving Sam the Birds And Bees talk while walking through the vaginal tunnels of Castle Black. But that was certainly something. So: as many predicted, we are at Castle Black from start to finish. (In honor of the show's meta-gesture, and also because there wasn't much to joke about, today's post is presented as a single, impenetrable block of text.) It’s an echo of the Blackwater Bay episode from season 2, except with like, five million extra dollars this time around. The Wildlings attack from above and below, and the men of the Night’s Watch hold them back at great cost. That’s all that happens! End of episode summary! But let’s talk about some characters. Obviously the most satisfying arc was the arc of that giant’s arrow as it send a random Night’s Watchman into the air (!!!), but there were other satisfying arcs, too. Jon Snow is officially our show’s most obvious and clear hero, now. There was no moral ambiguity or melancholy about him putting that hammer through Styr's head; it was uncut badassery. And now he even has a tragic anchor to his hero’s journey, with Ygritte getting
Kenarded right in front of him. But if it wasn’t clear enough, his crossing a threshold into literal pure white at the end should clue you in. Hero status! Meanwhile, Sam is tougher than ever (nerds might say “Stout of heart.” I might steal their lunch money if they did). He is resolute when Gilly tries to Bella Swan him into sitting out the battle, and never wavers in the face of all those gorgeously rendered fire arrows etc. His delightful trash-talk (“Oh, is the battle over? No? I guess you should keep shooting then!”) was undercut a little by the fact that he gets Pip killed, but a guy named Pip is going to get killed every time out no matter what. (I was the most bummed out about Grenn, who nonetheless goes out in probably the most baller way ever on the show. That scene! The reciting of the vows! It was so simple that it shouldn’t have even worked, but it SO DID.) And I love the moment where, triumphant and battle-flushed, Sam finds Slynt hiding in the castle. It would have been funnier if Sam had literally handed him a torch, right? “There can only be one lowlander, and now it is you, my child.” Speaking of Slynt—he and Thorne finally distinguish themselves from each other. They might both be assholes, but one is a distinctly more respectable asshole than the other. Thorne is Bill O’Reilly, and Slynt is Glenn Beck. (Slynt’s Fox Newsiest moment is when he denies the existence of giants while
looking directly at them.) After admitting to Jon Snow that he should have listened to him, Thorne makes (arguably too many) motivational speeches to his troops before finally valiantly (probably) dying in a battle against Big Red. When those two faced off, and I knew Thorne was going to bite it, I was honestly a little sad. Respect. There is no death too bloody for that Slynt motherfucker, though. How about that grand long take around the battle? I’m only going to dock it two points because Jon Snow and Big Red both appear to be too obviously waiting for their cues to start moving as the camera pans over to them (Jon Snow almost looks right at the camera, while Big Red is just shuffling in place like a Mortal Kombat character waiting to be selected). But it’s obvious realness still qualifies it to rank OVER the similar, digitally-stitched shot in
The Avengers. (So on the overall power rankings, it is second only to
True Detective’s still utterly-brain-rattling
six minute shot from earlier this year. And before you ask:
Gravity disqualified Alfonso Cuaron from the contest forever.) I’m also really happy to see random battle deaths more creative than the usual “back tap” you see in most of Game Of Thrones. (Pour one out for the Wildling who gets stomped by the mammoth. That’s gotta hurt!) And just generally, it was kind of amazing and beautiful to see something so refreshingly straightforward on this show, which so often muddles and twists its own lessons into meaninglessness. This was an episode about duty, and battle, and how people react in the face of adversity, and about the transcendent, all-consuming and all-important power of love. I would imagine that we’re done with the story of the men of the Night’s Watch for this season, if only because I don’t think there’s enough money left in the coffee can to bring in Ciaran Hinds this season. But I can’t wait to see more.
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