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Monday, June 1, 2015

The Night's King raised all the dead in Hardhome and delivered the most chilling episode of Game of Thrones yet


Game of Thrones just had its obligatory "White Walker" episode, and I actually wasn't expecting it. Jon Snow arrived at Hardhome, the place where the wildlings decided to hole up to see if they could survive while someone, somewhere came up with a real plan? Even with circumstances as desperate as they were, many of the wildlings still threw Jon Snow's offer of safe harbor south of the wall back into his teeth.

That (of course) was what happened before the White Walkers showed up. I have to say, the howl of the winds raised goose pimples on my arms (I have a decent surround sound system). Preceded by a ghostly blizzard that kind of dropped off the bluffs and cliffs surrounding the bay in which thousands of people had gathered, a zombie army that was worthy of a season finale for The Walking Dead assaulted the wildlings desperately trying to escape into the bay where ships waited to take them south.

Oh and one of my theories about Valyrian steel came true tonight. I'd hypothesized that valyrian steel could kill a white walker the same as dragon glass in a blog post I made some time ago. We haven't seen this in the books, but that little plot detail was revealed when Jon Snow became the second man on earth to end a White Walker.
To those of you who watched last night's episode, did it seem to you that there was some kind of weird connection between Jon Snow and the Night's King (the White Walker that raised all of the dead in Hardhome at once)? I don't know what's going on with that, but it almost seemed like the Night's King was staring him down as if it were showing Jon that he belonged with them.

Maybe I'm reading too much into the show, but I don't think any of that was coincidence. Given the Night's King's dubious background (he was probably a former "Commander of the Night's Watch") I'm tempted to think that Jon Snow may be destined to join the side of evil at some point. Good lord would that be awful.
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13 comments:

  1. PT DillowayJune 1, 2015 at 12:24 AM

    That was an epic ending. Between that and Tyrion finally meeting with the Mother of Dragons it gave me the sense that finally something is going to happen. Maybe though the zombie king is a Targarian and senses Jon is his descendant?

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  2. dolorahJune 1, 2015 at 1:48 AM

    Ah hell, it was Sunday? And the final episode. Guess I'll have to catch it on Demand. Bad time to rend videos for the hubby's visit. Thanks for the questions though, gives me something to think about.

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  3. Ted CrossJune 1, 2015 at 2:52 AM

    My weird theory is that when Jon gets stabbed, he dies and rises back up as a white walker himself, but he retains a sense of righteousness and leads the white walker army in order to do good for the realms. Probably won't happen that way, but I like the idea.

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    1. Michael Offutt, Phantom ReaderJune 1, 2015 at 4:05 PM

      I think that kind of ending sucks for Jon Snow. I hope you are wrong. He deserves better than to be an ice thing.

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  4. Alex J. CavanaughJune 1, 2015 at 3:47 AM

    Will be watching it today, so trying to avoid spoilers. But looking forward to it!

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    1. Alex J. CavanaughJune 1, 2015 at 3:31 PM

      All right, that was batcrap crazy! These season has been all right, but the finale sent it out with a bang. All those dead jumping to what looks like their death. The giant and the flaming tree trunk. Awesome stuff. No idea what will happen next season.

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    2. Michael Offutt, Phantom ReaderJune 1, 2015 at 4:05 PM

      It's not a finale. It's only episode 8. I was merely comparing it to a season finale of the Walking Dead.

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    3. Alex J. CavanaughJune 3, 2015 at 6:51 AM

      I really have no idea what they'll do in the next episode.

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  5. Julie FlandersJune 1, 2015 at 5:46 PM

    I just watched the episode. OMG that was amazing. I had the opposite thought about Jon and the Whitewalker staring him down. I thought it was related to the fact that Jon will be the one who can stop them. I am a big believer of the R+L=J stuff. But now I'm thinking your idea is plausible too and it would give me a heart attack for sure if that happens LOL. Not my Jon Snow! :D
    I've honestly been kind of lukewarm on this season but all that changed last night. Holy crap.

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  6. Liz A.June 1, 2015 at 8:20 PM

    That's the worst, when a character goes all dark. Or the best. Depends on your perspective, I expect.

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  7. HelenaJune 1, 2015 at 11:48 PM

    Clearly Game of Thrones is even more complex and fantastical than I thought. And brilliant. And beautifully filmed. And I am as usual way behind the curve. So much excellent TV to catch up on. Sigh.

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  8. AdamJune 14, 2015 at 9:28 PM

    I saw the episode today, and it was quite well done. Especially for something that wasn't actually in the books from what I hear. The only fault I could think of it is that the timing was too convenient. Everyone would of been saved if they arrived a few hours beforehand.

    Now that the death of Jon Snow is now knowledge to the show watchers (my wife was shocked) I had accidentally learned of his fate in the books. And like the books from what I hear, they leave his true fate unknown.

    I'm really hoping that the Red Woman revives him from the dead, especially since the reality of what happened/who was his birth mother was never resolved. I don't want him to be a White Walker.

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