We stopped having scenes alone with Arya instead, we only see her through Sansa’s eyes. What in the world is the point of it? Why would Arya ever want to blow up the coalition of support in the North? There is virtually no build up or character motivation in any of this storyline. I’m baffled by the strife between Arya and Sansa. Unfortunately, even the story south of The Wall had major issues. How long does it take a raven to get from The Wall to Dragonstone? How long has the team been on this expedition? How long did it take Gendry to run back to the wall? An hour? A day? How long were they on that island in frozen lake? Just the one night? So Gendry ran back to The Wall, got a raven to Dragonstone, Daenerys got the message, commissioned a bomb winter coat for herself, and flew north of The Wall in under a day? At this point, the less you think about it, the easier it all is. The problem is that we have no scope of time in a time-sensitive episode. But the timeline has gotten too absurd to hand wave away at this point. The breakneck speed of this season has had some benefits that left me willing to deal with the “teleporting†that everyone seems to be doing this season. It just highlights how empty the threat of danger is.
That’s fine! But bringing on non-characters just to kill them off, as in this episode, is cheap and unnecessary. The thing is, I don’t care if everyone survives. I incorrectly thought we were going to lose multiple main characters in “Beyond the Wall†and was bracing for something that never came. And so they came further and further apart, until now, where it seems a deus ex machina can save just about anyone. However, once we knew the rules, the audience was just waiting for the next death. And the show followed this method for quite some time, killing off main characters and introducing new ones at the same speed. But above all else, Game of Thrones is falling into fan-service traps and lazy writing that risks any sort of worthy pay off when this show comes to an end.įor years, Game of Thrones was known as the show where no character was “safe.†Since that moment when Ned Stark, our alleged lead, got beheaded, we knew this was going to be a bumpy ride. And sadly, it has had to trade much of what made it the cerebral, complex, gut-wrenching, nail-biting show that it still exists as in my head to get there.
Game of thrones beyond the wall spoiler full#
Game of Thrones has turned into a TV version of a summer blockbuster — easily digestible, full of explosions, a certified turn-your-brain-off guilty pleasure. In terms of action and pure entertainment value, there was a lot to like in “Beyond the Wall.†But we know how good Game of Thrones can be. And I shower it with praise when it shines.
Even at its worst, Game of Thrones is fantastic, entertaining television. I’m reiterating this because although I have a lot of issues with this episode, I want to hold to the fact that I’m not cynical about the show. From the first encounter with a handful of wights, to the thousands that ended up attacking, it was constant, perfect, palpable tension. I want to make it clear how much I enjoyed portions of this episode. And conversations aside, on a wider scale, “Beyond the Wall†was a pleasure to actually watch — it was visually stunning as Game of Thrones frequently is not just because of the frigid Icelandic backdrop, but with the overhead shots establishing the hordes of the dead surrounding our protagonists, and the obvious special attention devoted creating an atmosphere of dread. Jorah and Jon’s scene is probably the most attention that has ever been given to Jorah’s background or personality, and it was a welcome change considering that otherwise his most notable trait is his school-boy crush on Daenerys. I will happily admit that I appreciated the levity of Tormund and The Hound, as well as what felt like the most words I’ve ever heard Jorah string together this entire series. I’ve commented on how valuable traveling scenes are for fleshing out relationships and developing characters in Game of Thrones, and “Beyond the Wall†clearly makes an effort to do just that, focusing on an array of conversations between those in the caravan in search for a wight. But in many ways, “Beyond the Wall†was one step forward and two steps back in terms of quality. An episode fully devoted to the real threat to the north is as promising as any concept in the Game of Thrones world. It’s disappointing to see a premise with so much potential fall apart in execution.
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