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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
Game of Thrones
Season 7, Episode 6
By Garrett Yoshitomi
For the past week,
everybody’s had their fill coming up with “clever” nicknames for the “Beyond
the Wall” group comprised of Jon Snow, Tormund, Jorah Mormont, The Hound, Beric
Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, and Gendry. They ranged from the simple, yet classic-
Magnificent Seven and Suicide Squad- to the incredibly cheesy…“Snowcean’s 7,” anyone?
(C’mon, The Ringer). But, regardless of what early 2000’s Clooney movie-Game of
Thrones pun you like best, I think we can all safely agree that the team-up of
these seven characters is likely one of the most badass hype moments this show
has ever given us. And, thank God because the actual plot line that brought
these characters together (trying to capture a wight to present to Cersei) is
so contrived and illogical that only a collection of the most dynamic and
entertaining warriors, in all of Westeros, could save it.
“Beyond the Wall” is
a lot of fun. It’s probably my favorite episode of the season, even more so
than “The Spoils of War.” The action is a little bit different- more character
focused and intimate, rather than just a horde of Dothraki slaughtering Lannister’s
(although, we do still get some comparable dragon action). And, there’s this
strong sense of adventure that’s really been missing from Game of Thrones in
recent seasons. The stakes are high for our ragtag group, and their fates are
mostly, with the exception of Jon, unknown. The banter between the different
character pairings, within the group, bring a juxtaposed sense of levity, while
also increasing our investment in these characters that we already love so
much. There are some amazing character moments, this week, but I think my
favorites all belong to The Hound, who stole the show with his stone skipping
and interactions with Tormund.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
Ultimately, all of
these elements blend together to create an episode where it’s just so much fun
to root for the good guys. This feeling of hard-earned triumph was largely
absent from the earlier seasons of Thrones, when the protagonists were cut
down faster than zombies in a Walking
Dead episode. Sure, this sense of “no main character is safe” that early Thrones instilled, shaped the show into
what it is today. And, there are certainly moments in "Beyond the
Wall" where the plot armor runs a little too thick, and the deus ex
machina fix things a little too easily. But, episodes where the good guys do
what good guys do- kick some ass and make it out alive, are a lot of fun, and "Beyond
the Wall” is certainly no exception. Plus, when it's all said and done, things
don't end all that cleanly for our boys in fur. They do suffer losses, with one
in particular that is sure to haunt them in the episodes to come.
So, Tyrion's been
having a pretty rough season so far, as he's currently 0-2 on his
recommendations to Daenerys. His Casterly Rock gambit failed in episode three,
and he makes the wrong call this week, when he tells Dany to ignore Jon’s plea for
help. Granted, all of his ideas seem reasonable at the time- Casterly Rock was
the Lannister seat of power, and easily could have been a crushing blow to
Cersei had Jaime not moved the bulk of his forces to Highgarden. And, Dany could
have risked her and her dragons’ lives for nothing if Jon’s party had been
wiped out before she got there, which by all accounts should have been the
case. Hindsight has certainly been no friend to Tyrion, as this Hand seems to
have lost his queen’s faith and ear, at least for the time being. If anything,
I think this episode highlights the fundamental differences between these two
characters. Dany has basically always established her rule through conquest,
either by design, or out of necessity. While, Tyrion, lacking a warrior nature
and a useful set of dragons, tends to rely more on diplomacy to make ends meet.
Alas, no matter how well-thought out Tyrion’s plans had been, they were never
going to be a match for the all-mighty power of red hot Targaryen love.
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Things are heating
up pretty quickly for the aunt-nephew power couple of Daenerys and Jon. (Insert
awkward family reunion joke here.) Despite never stepping foot in the same continent
before this season, the two have already had their fair share of longing glances,
and tender moments, sprinkled throughout the last few episodes. You could argue
that these feelings have developed a little too fast, given their limited
interactions; but for the most part, this isn’t a huge issue in my eyes. Emilia
Clarke and Kit Harrington have a pretty believable chemistry, and the idea that
these two long lost Targaryen’s shate an innate bond seems to fit right in with
the importance house ties carry in Game
of Thrones. If anything, Jon and Dany’s quickly budding romance speaks to
how fast this season feels.
Season seven’s
shortened episode order leaves absolutely no wiggle room, and “Beyond the Wall”
takes some hard to overlook liberties with the physical limitations of Game of Thrones’ fictional universe-
namely, the vast distance characters are able to travel in way less time than
they should realistically be able to do so, given the geography of Westeros. It’s
disappointing because Thrones has always
been a show that still feels very real, despite the dragons and magic. Events
unfold, and characters develop, in a logical fashion, adhering to realistic
outcomes, rather than typical fantasy tropes. If you look back, things clearly
started to shift back in season five when original content started to creep in,
as the show outpaced the books. Now, we’re at a point where everything is
original content, and while the episode to episode quality is mostly still very
high, there are still some head scratching storylines that manage to sneak
their way in.
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| (Photo Credit: HBO) |
I don’t even really
want to get into the Arya-Sansa nonsense. (You can get a good idea of my
thoughts from my
review last week.) But, it’s hard to avoid, since it was the only other
storyline in this episode that did not intersect with the main Eastwatch group
plot. This recent development is so incredibly frustrating because it really is
going nowhere. Is Arya going to kill Sansa? No. Is Sansa going to have Brienne,
or one of her bannermen, kill Arya? No. Even if Arya were to show the letter to
the northern lords, they’re not going to remove Sansa from power just to name…who?
Arya, the little sociopath, as Lady of Winterfell? Arya’s endgame makes no
sense, other than to torment her always favored older sister- a dynamic that could
have been worth exploring earlier on, but now feels irrelevant when so many
series molding events are taking, or are about to take, place.
This is it. Next
week is the season seven finale, and after that there are just six episodes
left of Game of Thrones. I think it
will be hard for the finale to compete with how purely entertaining “Beyond the
Wall” is. With so much left to wrap up in the final season, I feel like next
week’s episode will need to serve as more of an expository table setter for season
eight, rather than an action-packed, standalone thriller. But, table setting is
important, especially with the literal end of Game of Thrones right around the corner.
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