Martin, the TV series was adapted by David Benioff and D.B. Based on the "Song of Ice and Fire" novels by George R.R. Game of Thrones' fourth season finale, "The Children," airs next Sunday at 9 p.m. And now Jon must find a way to lead his brothers to a lasting victory. But they only won the battle, not the war. Lots of great action beats as well as emotional moments. Or just the giants (and their mammoths) in general. So was the giant's arrow taking out a brother atop the Wall. Edd dropping oil and fire on the giants at the gate or the scythe on the climbers. Tormund killing everything before beating Thorne and finally ending up in chains. I enjoyed all of the separate rampages and showdowns. Thorne's death (it was unclear if he actually died or was just too wounded to continue) was not so sad even though this was him at his most likeable. Those two characters have been around since early Season 1 and their deaths may not cause a stir but it was sad to see them go all the same. The shot with him beside the slain Giant wasn't bad either. Grenn was unexpected and his act of heroism in the tunnels was an emotional highlight. Poor Pyp, I had a feeling he wouldn't make it out of the battle alive. Sam's sadness leads him down to the library to have the aforementioned discussion of duty before Gilly returns and suddenly makes our self-proclaimed coward into quite the hero. Or at least thought lost in the latter's case. I suppose we should get to a quick run through of the actual events and other 'holy shit!' moments that went down during "TWotW." The installment started with a few scenes representing the calm before storm with Jon and Sam able to talk about their lost loves. We’ve never fallen before, she will not fall tonight.” ”100 generations have defended this castle. Although not quite as tragic as when his brother Robb chose love over duty.
And the big one, Ygritte’s talk about how she was going to kill Jon versus the latter choosing duty over love. Vows are easy to keep when times are easy, it's when they are tested that matters. Maester Aemon's stories for Sam seems to touch on this theme, especially how love can be the death of duty. Alliser Thorne, despite being a huge prick, also shows the power of words where Janos Slynt is the poster boy for how talk is cheap. There are many instances of this idea running through "TWotW," with events like Grenn using the Night's Watch's words to persuade the other five of his brothers to keep their vows (and promise to Jon) that they would defend the Wall, in this case the gate.
”I am a man of the Night’s Watch, I made a promise to defend the Wall.” Their final exchange reinforcing the episode’s theme, ‘talk is cheap but words have power.’ A nice moment to breathe and wipe any tears. The slow pan out from Jon saying goodbye to a dying Ygritte in his arms, with sounds of the fighting muffled behind them, was also gorgeous. It started south of the huge structure with Ygritte's band of wildlings (a fire being snuffed out casts her face in darkness) only to climb up and fly over the Crows on the Wall before finally reveal Mance's greatest fire the North has ever seen on the other side. To Marshall's credit, there were several terrific shots and sequences in the well directed and choreographed "The Watchers on the Wall." One wonderful aerial shot comes to mind. ”Nothing makes the past a sweeter place to visit than the prospect of imminent death.” The writers even managed to sneak in a Tormund ‘har!’ mid-battle. The sweeping, (surely CGI assisted) unbroken shot that went from one recognizable character fighting to the next was spectacular. Like all of the extended trenches on top, apparently modelled after Kubrick's Paths of Glory, or the much more detailed courtyard set which would house some of the episode's best action. That may seem contradictory yet having everything take place in one spot doesn't only allow for a deeper exploration of the characters involved but you also have the time (and budget) to explore the Wall as never before. For the most part, the risk paid off, as many of Dan Weiss and David Benioff's tend to do, with the focus on one location allowing for an expanded scope.
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