‘Game of Thrones’ Season 5, Episode 8 Recap: ‘Hardhome’

Hardhome ran the full gamut of Game of Thrones’ storytelling range – from The West Wing to The Walking Dead – in an hour that will stand aside Blackwater and The Watchers on the Wall for sheer breathtaking spectacle as season five finally kicked into high gear. Tyrion and Daenerys talk realpolitik In the first of two distinct halves, the primary focus is on the long-awaited meeting of Tyrion and Daenerys. It doesn’t disappoint. In what amounts to a two-part job interview with his life on the line, Tyrion establishes first trust and then rapport with the Mother of Dragons. First he overcomes the small matter of his family being responsible for usurping the Targaryens from the Iron Throne and driving Daenerys into nomadic exile. By pointing out that he killed both his parents and recommending that Jorah be exiled again, he gains her trust. Later, he notes that they are ‘two terrible children of two terrible fathers’ as Dany agrees to take him on as her advisor.

The pair share only two scenes but they crackle with sharp dialogue and establish the beginnings of a mutually beneficial relationship. Daenerys needs Tyrion’s political astuteness and willingness to challenge. In return she gives him a purpose in life. Note that in the first scene, Daenerys presides over Tyrion from on high, emphasising the inequality in power. But subsequently they sit together across a table, underlining Tyrion’s more equal and valued position. A nice touch.

Spinning plates

Before heading north of the Wall, we’re given a quick update on several of the other key storylines. An imprisoned Cersei is reduced to licking water off her cell floor and issuing hollow threats. Qyburn visits and suggests confessing to her crimes – she vehemently refuses – informing her that Tommen has effectively sent himself to his room without dinner, with Kevan Lannister brought back to serve as Hand, and mentioning that his ‘work’ is progressing.

Sansa challenges Reek, who lets slip that Bran and Rickon aren’t dead. It’s valuable information, but not anything that will help her escape her current predicament. Instead of following his father’s plan to wait out a siege, Ramsay suggests a pre-emptive strike against Stannis’s forces, asking only for 20 good men to execute his plan. In Braavos, Arya’s training continues as she adopts the persona of oyster-seller Lana and observes an unscrupulous ‘gambler’ operating an insurance scam on a ship captain. Jaqen H’ghar provides her with a vial of poison. Thrown out of Meereen again and with his Greyscale spreading, Jorah sells himself for the opportunity to fight for Daenerys at the Great Pit. And at Castle Black, Sam explains to Olly why Jon had to pursue an alliance with the same Free Folk who slaughtered his village. Olly still looks confused, but have Sam’s words inadvertently set Olly on a path to acting against Jon?

White Walkers, Wights and war

This brings us to Jon’s mission to Hardhome to convince the Free Folk to join him to save humanity from the White Walkers. His impassioned attempt to forge a common bond of survival rather than friendship divides them. The Wildling Varis supports alliance, while the Thenn Loboda refuses. But as half the Free Folk decamp to Jon’s fleet, Hardhome is attacked by an army of wights. Varis is killed when she hesitates when confronted by wights who were formerly human children. Loboda gives his life to aid Jon when they face off against a White Walker. Jon finally kills the Walker when he discovers they are vulnerable to his Valyrian steel sword as well as dragonglass. Jon and the remainder of the Free Folk beat a hasty retreat and watch helplessly as the White Walkers’ leader, the Night’s King, raises their fallen comrades from the dead as new wights. The Battle of Hardhome is captured beautifully and, as the first of the series’s major battles to take place in daytime, has a distinct look and feel to it, with its bleak white and grey colour palette. Extensive CGI which brings the White Walkers and their undead army to life with a chilling realism that will no doubt give many viewers nightmares, sweeping cinematography and an atmospheric musical score which utilises silence to great effect all contribute to a 20-minute scene that compares well alongside its nearest cinematic equivalent, Helm’s Deep from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The battle marks a key turning point in the series. Since the opening episode, we have been eagerly awaiting the White Walkers to provide a tangible threat, and this episode does not disappoint. All of a sudden, the political squabbles and power struggles within the Seven Kingdoms seem petty by comparison. Winter has arrived. And war is coming, with the future of all humanity at stake. Bring on the last two episodes!