Game of Thrones goes ‘Beyond the Wall’ for a big showdown with the Night King
Reviewing the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones Season 7, ‘Beyond the Wall’
It’s almost surprising we haven’t had a Game of Thrones episode titled ‘Beyond the Wall’ before this, considering how frequently the characters go up into the wilderness of the north. But this episode is still probably the coldest and most consequential instalment set in the far north on the show so far, and it’s one that hints at a bleak future for the world of men. It’s the rare episode that feels like a game-changer too. Even if most of the main characters make it out alive, it feels like the dynamic of the show is changing each time the Night King makes a display of power.
‘Beyond the Wall’ is a long episode at 71 minutes, and it feels like a mini-movie within the show (although next week’s finale will add a further ten minutes onto that running time). It’s a largely successful and gripping action spectacle, and it does have its share of watercooler moments, but it is also weakened by a couple of narrative inconsistencies as the show speeds through plot even with the extra time it has. Don’t get me wrong, like many fans I love the sight of dragons fighting White Walkers and wights for the first time ever, but I also can’t help but feel like the show needs to be setting up these moments much more effectively.
We finally get a snow bear
Like showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, I’ve been wanting to see a snow bear on Game of Thrones for a long time. These enormous polar bears (one mentioned in the book series is 13 feet tall) are largely the stuff of legend but do first show up in the books during the Battle of the Fist of the First Men. There, a giant snow bear reanimated by the White Walkers tore through the brothers of the Night’s Watch and decapitated Thoren Smallwood. Here, Jon and his gang encounter and ultimately defeat a snow bear who manages to kill off some redshirts and provide some much-anticipated spectacle early in the episode. It’s also here that Thoros takes some serious damage, which leads to him eventually becoming the only one of the significant human characters to die in this episode.
Before the team gets interrupted by a bear, though, there’s a good amount of small talk between many of these key characters who’ve often never met before and have many reasons to be unfriendly to each other. Nobody should be surprised that The Hound and Tormund don’t get along, or that The Hound doesn’t think much to Gendry’s troubles. One of the most resonant moments is when Jon attempts to return the Mormont family sword to Jorah and is rebuffed. This is an interaction that relies on what we know about these characters and their values, and it works surprisingly well.
Daenerys and Tyrion discuss leadership
For much of the episode, Daenerys is stuck in her strategy room back on Dragonstone discussing her plans with Tyrion. Their relationship almost seems worryingly adversarial here, and it’s worth noting that Dany either routinely ignores Tyrion’s advice or his counsel turns out to be poor. This isn’t quite a character assassination for Tyrion because he’ll probably a better advisor when she’s ruling than he is when she’s at war, but it is odd that so many of Tyrion’s plans have been unconvincing.
Much of this conversation isn’t about immediate plans, though, but about what kind of ruler Daenerys intends to be once she sits on the Iron Throne. Tyrion is likely still worried that she’ll end up like her father (without much cause, in my opinion), and he’s concerned that she’s unable to have children as that’s pretty essential for creating a legacy and securing the throne for a family in a more long term way. She tires of this line of questioning quickly, and she soon receives a raven calling her to go beyond the wall anyway.
White Walkers v Westeros A-Team
This crazy plan was never going to go smoothly. Even the basic concept of going north to take a single wight from the army of the dead is almost ridiculously silly. The show treats it utterly seriously though, and this suicide mission ends up going surprisingly well for almost all involved, all things considered. After the kerfuffle with the snow bear, Jon and company stumble upon a small group of wights and one White Walker. They ambush them, killing all but the one wight they need (conveniently, when you kill a White Walker you also kill all the wights it has turned). It’s only after they succeed that things go south. They end up cornered by the army, with Jon sending Gendry back to Eastwatch to send a raven to Daenerys. The rest of the group flee to temporary safety on a solitary rock within a frozen lake. It’s here that Thoros unfortunately succumbs to the injuries received earlier in the episode.
They’re on thin ice, but it’s thin ice that helps to get rid of a great number of the wights as they fall through the cracking surface and into the freezing water! Set amid jaw-dropping Icelandic landscapes, magnificent visual effects and captivating cinematography make this another iconic and gripping clash for the show, as the dead surround the lake and we wait for the water to inevitably freeze over. In this time, Gendry is somehow able to dash back to Eastwatch, tell Davos what to write in a letter to Daenerys and get a raven to her in the space of less than a day. This is yet another example of everything happening far more quickly than it ever has on the show, and it all feels awfully convenient.
Enter the dragon(s)
Daenerys essentially saves everyone at the most crucial moment, flying in on the back of Drogon with Viserion and Rhaegal in tow. All three dragons breathe fire all over the hordes of wights and Dany lands to pick up everyone on the back Drogon so they’ll be able to fly away to safety. It’s a spectacular moment showing off more exceptional visual effects and practical stunt work on Game of Thrones. Unsurprisingly, Jon can’t stop himself from being a hero and goes back out to fight off the army so that Dany and the dragon will be able to take off.
Just as this is happening, the Night King decides to get invovled. He clearly sees the arrival of the dragons as an opportunity he can’t afford to miss. He throws a spear with pinpoint accuracy to hit Viserion straight out of the sky, killing the dragon and leaving it to sink below the ice. This is a devastating loss for Dany and a game-changing moment for the show. As we’re often reminded, the dragons are her children, and it’s heartbreaking to see her shock as she suffers this loss. Jon gets pulled below the ice by wights too, and the team has to fly away. At the end of the episode, the Night King returns to resurrect Viserion, as he’ll be sure to now want to use his own dragon against the world of men. The whole turn of events just adds an extra layer of sadness onto what Dany has just experienced.
The Stark rift intensifies in Winterfell
This conflict in Winterfell between the two Stark sisters is one element of the season that comes off as not just contrived, but also poorly written. It feels like they’ve had to make significant changes to the characters of Sansa and Arya (especially Arya) to get to this point in their relationship. While their reunion seemed to honour the past of their characters, this just isn’t making as much sense. And we know it’s all somewhat artificial too, Littlefinger is pulling the strings and the Starks should eventually be able to work out he’s the manipulatior here.
This week, Arya confronts Sansa about the letter Cersei had forced her to write and Sansa explains herself. Arya isn’t having it, though, and still thinks Sansa is the same girl she once knew who was in love with Joffery. She can’t see how much she’s clearly changed and grown, and similarly Sansa is finding it difficult to relate to or get through to her sister. Arya seems like a completely different person. Which is odd considering she was the one who decided to head home to Winterfell just to be with her family again – and now she’s just being impossible to deal with. Sansa makes some mistakes and some snide remarks, but Arya is failing to understand her sister. I can tell where this is building to, and it may be worth it in the end, but I don’t think this story has been anything like as convincing as the writers intended it to be.
The stage is set for the finale
Ultimately, this episode is basically a mini-movie, and one that’s a game-changer for the story of the show. You could probably even watch it without having seen the rest of the series and it’d still be almost as effective as an intense adventure. And what it accomplishes for the remainder of the story that is left is definitely significant. Now, the role of the White Walkers as the main villains of the narrative is finally evident to far more characters than just Jon, and we should expect everyone to act on that next week and next season.
Speaking of Jon, after he pulls himself out of the icy water he still has to get free from more wights. That’s where Coldhands/Benjen comes in, riding in on his horse (still not an elk, like Coldhands rides in the books) to rescue Jon and send him on his way. It’s odd that Benjen chooses to stay behind and fight when he could certainly fit on the horse too, but it may have slowed them down and he seems like a character who has been looking for a way to nobly sacrifice himself. He is still half dead, though, so I won’t be surprised if we see him again! Once Jon is safely back on the boat, he and Dany have a chance to connect (he even calls her “Dany” in a moment that plays as surprising sweet) and they’re realising the bond they’ve developed together. Romance is in the air, but they don’t have all the facts and it’s almost certain that they’re probably related. Awkward.
“Death is the enemy. The first enemy and the last. The enemy always wins, and we still need to fight him.” — Beric Dondarion
Best scene of the episode
Much of the episode is taken up by the incredible spectacle of the conflict on the ice that sees our heroes battle the army of the dead. Game of Thrones is dubbing this the “Frozen Lake Battle”, and it really lives up to all our expectations of what another clash with the undead would look like. Throw in all three of Dany’s dragons, and this becomes one of the most impressive scenes in the history of Thrones. It’s not without emotion too, and it keeps you thinking that key characters aren’t going to make it out alive. Only one of them does truly meet their end, but the show tries hard to make you think Tormund or Beric might be just as doomed as Thoros.
Queen of the episode
Picking up a thing or two from Jon, Daenerys also clearly can’t stop being heroic. Tyrion cautions her against rushing to the aid of those in the north, but she goes there anyway and suffers a great loss. This is a strong episode for Emilia Clarke, who plays the emotion of seeing Viserion struck down highly convincingly. She looks shellshocked, and while she summons her resolve to go on, it’s clear to us that she is a mother who has just seen her child die. Her stunned reaction to the White Walkers and the army of the dead shows that, even if she thought she believed Jon before, there’s nothing quite like seeing dead men walking and evil ice men who are working to destroy Westeros.
MVP of the episode
I’m going to go with Tormund this week, not only for his heroic fighting and survival when it almost seemed certain he would die, but for all of his fantastic lines when he talks with the rest of the members of the Westeros A-Team. Everything Kristofer Hivju says works like gangbusters, whether it’s explaining to Gendry how he keeps warm up north, telling the Hound that “gingers are beautiful”, or going on in that same conversation to express his adoration for Brienne. Tormund Giantsbane deserves to be praised for getting most of this week’s best lines and a bunch of the episode’s best action scenes too. And, when he’s really in danger, and yells “help me!” to the Hound, it feels like a big moment to remind us how terrifying the threat is. It’s scary to us to realise that even Tormund is frightened, and he knows the lands beyond the wall better than anyone!
What’s next
Game of Thrones will close out Season 7 with a big meeting of numerous characters including Cersei, Jon, Dany, and Brienne in the Dragonpit at King’s Landing, to discuss the oncoming threat of the White Walkers. Sansa and Arya’s conflict will likely reach its breaking point, Jon will grow closer to Dany, and we’re almost certain to see the White Walkers again. This is a long one at 81 minutes, perfect as a huge season conclusion to watch on Bank Holiday Monday next week. Check out the preview below:
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