Something I Loved About Watchers On The Wall

So, last week's Game of Thrones was particularly awesome. It might be one of the most well made episodes of the show. I would put it as a close second to Blackwater. I mean, this is evidence of why any one episode of this show stands toe to toe with virtually any feature length film of its genre.

Spoilers after the jump....


I mean, there's so much to fawn over and nerd all over yourself about in this episode. Ygritte's farewell scene (really ALL of the Ygritte scenes), the shot of the Wildlings charging the Wall, the crows chanting the Night's Watch oath as they hold the inner gate, that scene with Kit Harrington standing atop the Wall gazing out at the destruction of the villages with his cape flowing in the fucking wind. It's no secret that this season's primary purpose has basically been to turn Jon Snow into a goddamned superhero (Mission Accomplished, by the way). But I think my absolute favorite scene is the exchange with Pip and Samwell Tarly where Pip wonders how the hell Sam managed to kill a White Walker.

Sam: I wasn't Samwell Tarly anymore. I wasn't a steward of the Night's Watch or the son of Randall Tarly....any of that. I was nothing at all. When you're nothing at all, there's no more reason to be afraid.

Pip: But you're afraid now?

Sam: Well....I'm not nothing anymore.

This is easily one of the most resonant lines in the season, possibly the entire show. First of all, this is pitch perfect explanation of the evolution of Sam. It's a very realistic characterization that transcends common tropes where a character's mindset is to ascend to some destined greatness in times of distress. I mean, how many of us would genuinely see an immortal ice zombie thing coming at us and think "Avengers Assemble"? Very few. Otherwise, EVERYONE would be a hero. Sam wasn't fighting as the sword in the darkness or any of that shit. He was just thinking, "OhMyGodWeAreGoingToFuckingDie!"

Allegedly, the showrunners have claimed they don't listen to the fans at all in anyway, but I call shenanigans because they've veered off from the source material in places throughout the show (this season especially) seemingly in the name of fan service (the "what do the white walkers do with the babies" scene). I also think the "nothing at all" scene was them acknowledging George R. R. Martin's (just my own personal guess) approach to storytelling: Once a character starts mattering, they're immediately on the chopping block.

Then again, it's very possible that George R. R. Martin just plain likes to fuck with the fans. I dunno.