Game of Thrones Episode 4.09: “The Watchers on the Wall”

[chavalah.livejournal.com]

In a way, this is the worst time to transition to an episode that only takes place in one location, somewhere where the action has been only peripheral up until now, too. I mean, what the hell is going on with the Stark sisters?? Lysa might be dead, but Arya’s been outed as her niece and she’s literally a pathway away from her sister, Sansa.

Ok, ok, I assume more fans were concerned with whether Tyrion would go the way of Ned Stark now. :P Either way, I kind of worried at first whether this episode would be able to hold my attention, or if I’d constantly be brought back to those other cliffhangers. Fortunately, this hour proved powerful and enticing enough on its own.

I’m not really into this series due to the action and battle scenes, but I recognized enough of the technical aspects to be impressed by. There’s definitely a more visceral feel here than to “Blackwater” two seasons ago. That fight centered more on wildfire, with less hand to hand combat between recognizable characters, and we also got more cutaways to Cersei and Sansa discussing the more long term implications of this war.

Here, for the first 15 minutes, characters get their mental ducks in a row, about facing down death and the rest of it. Maester Aemon carts out his season one “love vs duty” speech, something Jon and Sam contend with in various ways. And on the southern side of the wall, Ygritte grouses about Westerosi elitism and cruelty to decide that this land now belonged to them, and the wildlings weren’t worthy of any safe haven. Despite all the horrible acts we’ve seen them take part in this season, there is a broader sympathetic aim to their campaign—to escape the White Walkers and live—than there is to any of the ego-stroking that stoked the fires of the War of the Five Kings.

So yeah, definite strong episode, with both well-executed action sequences and emotional gravitas, too.

( Episode Summary and Spoilers )