There is a point in this episode, several in fact, where one inevitably thinks, “Surely this is as bad as it gets”.  And then the situation just gets dramatically worse.  Purists are already gnashing their teeth at an installment that is about 95% altered from the source material; I am not one of them.  The Battle of Hardhome, something only hinted at in the books through a few cryptic references in letters, is a stunning payoff of a warning that has been repeated since the very first episode.  And it comes after the rest of the episode was moving methodically along in a state of excellence already. 

But I won’t start there.  I’ll begin instead with the continuation of Cersei’s downfall, because it is pretty harsh.  The seeds are planted for matters to proceed more or less as originally written when Qyburn visits and provides not only the most obvious route to survival but also a reminder of a long-fermenting plot point.  However, that’s for the future, and likely not even this season; in the meantime, Cersei continues to resist acknowledgment that she is, in fact, going to have to face the consequences of her decisions.



This makes perfect sense.  Having Cersei confess too quickly, even as a political strategy, would undercut the depth of Cersei’s sense of betrayal.  Everyone she thinks will come to her defense and deliver her from her bondage has turned their back on her, and time is needed for both Cersei and the audience to recognize that it’s her own fault.  She’s not quite there yet, but I doubt it will take very long.  And we’ve already gotten a taste of what might befall her before the season is over.

There wasn’t a lot of time for Sansa to follow up on her calculated actions in the previous episode, since she didn’t have any scenes with Ramsey (perhaps a blessing), yet she had the opportunity to take Theon/Reek to task for betraying her.  Sansa brings an edge to her accusations and loathing for a former “brother” that typically has been masked by petulance in earlier seasons.  She’s a far cry from the strength of her mother Catelyn, but the seeds are finally starting to bear fruit.  I still hold out hope that Sansa will end up undermining the Bolton cause from within.



Meanwhile, this is also the writers/producers doubling (tripling?) down on the very important plot shift of having an actual Stark back in Winterfell.  Having Sansa learn about the survival of Bran and Rickon is huge.  Granted, I had conjectured that Sansa would learn about this via Bran and his connections to the godswoods by next season anyway, but if Sansa needed any more incentive to step up, this is probably it.  Finding a way to survive as the only remaining Stark is one thing; realizing that she’s the eldest, and therefore responsible for more than just herself, is a very different dynamic.







Meanwhile, Arya continues to grow in some much-appreciated ways.  This is probably the most faithful element of the season thus far, and yet familiarity does nothing to take away from how awesome it truly is.  Arya continues to be a powerful contrast to Sansa; as much as Arya is taking instruction, she’s still a willing and active participant in her life.  She’s learning when to stand her ground and when to bend to apparent authority.



At the same time, she’s also facing the reality of a long-held fantasy, and it’s not as “fun” as she might have imagined.  It would have been a cheat, not unlike with Cersei, if Arya came to an easy acceptance of taking the life of another human being out of “justice” vs. compassion.  Arya’s sense of agency is so strong that she has to have the opportunity to make the choice to become an assassin of her own accord.  Jaqen actually reinforces this repeatedly, even to the point of overselling, perhaps, his detachment over her fate.  Even so, is there any doubt that Arya will continue on this path?







The same sense of inevitability permeates the discussions between Tyrion and Daenerys, because who didn’t predict that he would become her advisor?  The source material is lagging in this regard, yet has also underscored time and again that Tyrion has the best grasp of the Big Picture out of the entire extended cast of characters.  He cuts to the quick when it comes to Dany’s assumptions about the “people of Westeros” rising to her defense, and also puts Dany’s entire extended experience in Slaver’s Bay in perfect perspective.  I have no doubt that Tyrion is going to be a very important catalyst (though not the only one) in transforming Dany’s subplot in the next season or so.



Meanwhile, things just continue to be terrible for Jorah.  His complete lack of reaction makes me wonder if he was too stunned by how his “gift” was received to speak for his own defense.  Or maybe he realized that keeping his mouth shut might be the only means of survival.  That said, his single-minded desire to demonstrate his love for Dany is going far beyond driven; if he’s really looking to die in front of Dany, just to get her to acknowledge some emotion for him, he’s mental.  But then, I always saw him sacrificing himself for Dany in some fashion before long anyway, so his character’s inability to grasp the notion of Dany’s agency wasn’t going to end well, regardless. 







Up at the Wall, Sam and Gilly are of course closer than ever, but the real point of importance is the conversation Sam has with Olly.  Now, Sam makes a very good point about Jon’s intentions when he explains that hard choices sometimes have to be made, and Olly seems to get it.  However, I suggest that one consider how “good men must make hard choices that nobody else might understand for the greater good” might be interpreted, by an ugly young man, in a way that could have disastrous consequences.  I wager Olly has certain notions that he could justify in exactly that manner.



Which, of course, brings us to the capstone of the episode, and one of the most unexpected turn of events yet.  All of the conversations in Hardhome between Jon and the Free Folk play out as one would imagine.  And given the way the rest of the episode was going, more or less a number of great scenes stitched together in often discordant fashion, it made sense that those conversations would simply be the touchstone on a subplot that they appeared to be.  And then the dogs started whining.







As I mentioned earlier, Jon never went to Hardhome in the books, and he only received some reports regarding the grim fate of those sent there.  Having Jon go to Hardhome was a major change from the source material, but it also gave the writers/producers an excuse to put the Battle of Hardhome to film.  It was not something that anyone saw coming, and it paid off all those warnings about the dead and the coming of Winter in droves.  Literally, droves of the undead. 



If the zombies of The Walking Dead are meant to represent the slow, inexorable threat of existential doom and the ever-present threat of environmental calamity, then the undead of the White Walkers represent the unstoppable force of the avalanche.  The Battle of Hardhome establishes the rules quickly and never holds back from there, making the mad rush to escape utter slaughter a palpable anxiety.  In the mix of it, we learn what might have been suspected: Valyrian steel can kill White Walkers.  But that’s countered by that final moment of the Night King raising the thousands of newly dead as Jon watches in horror.  The Battle of Hardhome wasn’t just lost; it swelled the armies of the enemy tremendously.  Winter has come, and just like that, the threat beyond the Wall eclipses just about anything else happening in the game of thrones.