We’ve reached the end of a very long road in the Watchers on the Wall Awards- the initial suggestions, the preliminary rounds of voting, and now weeks of finals. Thousands of votes have been cast in order to arrive at this point, along with plenty of discussion and debate. It’s safe to say that the fans are passionate in their opinions when it comes to Game of Thrones and season 5.
But we’re here, at the very last category for voting: Best Episode!
All episodes go into the final round of voting. We’ve included episode summaries in order to help refresh your memories and making deciding your vote easier. Let’s take a walk down Season 5 memory lane…
Season 5 Episode 1: “The Wars to Come.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by Michael Slovis
A flashback shows us young Cersei and her glimpse of the future. Tywin’s death shakes up King’s Landing and the Lannisters, and Lancel and Kevan return. In Pentos, Varys reveals a new path to Tyrion. Loras spends more time with Olyvar, and Margaery cautions him to be more careful. Daenerys struggles with a new threat in Meereen that attacks her soldiers, and sees again that she cannot control her dragons. Sansa and Littlefinger leave Robin behind in the Vale and journey onward. Jon Snow is unable to convince Mance to bend the knee, and the King-Beyond-the-Wall is executed.
Season 5 Episode 2: “The House of Black and White.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by Michael Slovis
Arya arrives in Braavos and finds difficulty gaining entry into the House of Black and White. Tyrion drinks his ways to Volantis, conversing with Varys in their comfortable box. Brienne and Pod encounter Sansa and Littlefinger, and the meeting doesn’t go well. Cersei receives a threat to Myrcella and Jaime vows to handle the situation, inviting Bronn along for the journey. Ellaria demands vengeance but Doran Martell remains resolute. Shireen teaches Gilly how to read and the wildling girl reminisces about her sisters’ greyscale. Cersei heads the Small Council; Kevan denounces her and leaves the city. Daenerys is conflicted when a Son of the Harpy is captured, and even more so when her adviser Mossador turns vigilante on the offender. Stannis offers to legitimize Jon and make him Lord of Winterfell, but the Night’s Watch election happens, and Jon is named Lord Commander.
Season 5 Episode 3: “High Sparrow.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by Mark Mylod
Arya plays the game of faces, but cannot bring herself to say goodbye to Needle. Tommen and Margaery are wed, and the queen encourages her husband to send his mother away. Cersei challenges Margaery after learning of the idea. Tyrion and Varys visit the Long Bridge of Volantis and in a brothel, Tyrion is kidnapped by Jorah. The High Septon is humiliated publicly, and demands that the High Sparrow be punished. Cersei visits this new player on the scene and is surprised by his humble demeanor. Littlefinger reveals his plans of marriage to Sansa, encourages her to avenge her family, and the Boltons welcome them to Winterfell. Jon turns down Stannis’s offer, and receives some advice from Davos Seaworth. For refusing his new assignment, Janos Slynt is executed by Jon Snow.
Season 5 Episode 4: “Sons of the Harpy.” Written by Dave Hill, Directed by Mark Mylod
Tyrion learns Jorah is bringing him to Daenerys. Cersei permits the High Sparrow to reestablish the Faith Militant, who then arrest Loras Tyrell and tear up Littlefinger’s brothel. With Margaery’s encouragement, Tommen approaches the Great Sept to demand Loras’s release but backs down. Jaime and Bronn fight a Dornish patrol, and the Sand Snakes hold the ship captain who brought the men to Dorne. Jon adjusts to his new role and is approached by Melisandre. Stannis shares with Shireen his memory of how she caught greyscale. Littlefinger relates to Sansa the story of the Harrrenhal tourney. Barristan reminisces about Dany’s brother Rhaegar. The Sons of the Harpy attack the Unsullied, and Barristan dies saving Grey Worm.
Season 5 Episode 5: “Kill the Boy.” Written by Bryan Cogman, Directed by Jeremy Podeswa
Daenerys mourns Barristan and feeds a master to her dragons. Grey Worm survives the Harpies attack and sharing a touching moment with Missandei. After talking it over with Missandei, Daenerys decides to marry Hizdahr and open the pits to unite Meereen. Maester Aemon counsels Jon in his position, and Jon decides to go north to Hardhome with Tormund to retrieve other wildlings. Stannis encourages Sam to keep researching how to defeat the White Walkers, and the king leaves Castle Black with his family and his army. Brienne attempts to get a message through to Sansa via a servant. Myranda leads Sansa to the kennels to meet “Reek.” Later, the Boltons have a tense family dinner, and afterward when they meet alone, Roose tells his son about his birth. Jorah and Tyrion travel through the ruins of Valyria and are attacked by Stone Men. Tyrion nearly drowns but is saved by Jorah…who we see has developed a patch of greyscale on his wrist.
Season 5 Episode 6: “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken.” Written by Bryan Cogman, Directed by Jeremy Podeswa
Cersei and Littlefinger make a deal for the North. Loras goes on trial, and Margaery is caught lying for him. Arya practices her skills at lying, and eases a dying girl’s pain, which earns Arya entry into the Hall of Faces. Jorah and Tyrion continue their travels on foot and Jorah learns his father has died. The men run into slavers, and after a close call, Tyrion talks them into bringing him and Jorah to Meereen. Bronn and Jaime sneak into the Water Gardens, but their rescue of Myrcella is interrupted by the Sand Snakes and Areo Hotah. Myranda tries to intimidate Sansa with hints of Ramsay’s past but fails. Sansa and Ramsay marry in the godswood, and Ramsay rapes Sansa on their wedding night, forcing Reek to watch.
Season 5 Episode 7: “The Gift.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Sansa asks Reek for help, telling him about the plan to light a candle for aid. Reek agrees, but instead tells Ramsay about it and the servant woman is flayed. Jon leaves for Hardhome, and Sam and Gilly look after the dying Maester Aemon. The maester dies, and Sam gives his eulogy. That night, Gilly is attacked by two Night’s Watchmen, and is saved by Sam and Ghost. Afterward, Sam and Gilly have sex. Stannis’s march fares poorly in the snow but he refuses to retreat. Melisandre tells him a blood sacrifice is needed. In prison, Bronn sings and nearly dies from slow-acting poison as Tyene Sand toys with him. Olenna challenges the High Sparrow and meets with Littlefinger. Cersei gloats at Margaery’s cell, but then has her own fall when she is arrested afterward. Jorah and Tyrion are sold to a master of pit fighters, and Jorah fights before Daenerys. When he shows himself, she is angry, but he offers a gift, and Tyrion reveals himself as the gift.
Season 5 Episode 8: “Hardhome.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Daenerys decides to spare Tyrion and takes his advice to exile Jorah again. Later the two meet in private to decide his fate in her city. Imprisoned Cersei refuses to confess, and Qyburn updates her on the state of matters in a visit. Arya’s new identity as a clam-seller is a success and she receives her first killing assignment. Reek admits to Sansa that he didn’t kill Rickon and Bran, and Ramsay proposes a plan for defeating Stannis’s army without a siege. Sam reassures a concerned Olly about making right choices and that Jon will return. Jon has a difficult time convincing the people of Hardhome to go south; some are open to it, some refusing to accept the offer. The White Walkers and their wight army massacre the people of Hardhome, with the Night’s King showing terrifying powers as Jon and the survivors escape.
Season 5 Episode 9: “The Dance of Dragons.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by David Nutter
In Dorne, the Lannisters and the Martells come to an agreement, much to Ellaria’s displeasure. Arya approaches the Thin Man to complete her assassination but spies Meryn Trant, and follows him to a brothel. Jon and the wildlings return to the Wall, greeted coldly by the Night’s Watch. Ramsay’s covert raid on Stannis’s camp cripples the march, and Stannis asks Davos to carry a message to the Wall for aid. Davos bids farewell to Shireen, as she reads The Dance of the Dragons. Stannis visits with his daughter too, before having her brought outside where a stake is waiting for her. Shireen is burned, as her father watches and her mother breaks down. Daznak’s Pit opens, and Jorah enters the ring. He survives his fights and takes down a Son of the Harpy about to kill Daenerys. Chaos break out in the audience, as masked Sons materialize everywhere attacking. Hizdahr dies, and Tyrion saves Missandei. Daenerys’s allies are surrounded in the arena when Drogon arrives, slaughtering and setting fire to anything in his path. Daenerys mounts her dragon and escapes the pit.
Season 5 Episode 10: “Mother’s Mercy” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by David Nutter
Myrcella receives a poisonous farewell kiss from Ellaria Sand and dies in her father’s arms. Stannis is ready to march, but finds that half his army has deserted and Selyse has hanged herself after Shireen’s death. Melisandre abandons camp. Stannis leads his men to Winterfell, where they are destroyed by the Boltons. Stannis survives, only to be found by Brienne of Tarth, who sentences him to death. Myranda blocks Sansa’s escape and theatens her; Theon pushes Myranda over the railing to her death, and Sansa and Theon jump from the walls of Winterfell. Arya finally crosses Meryn Trant off her list, but pays for it when she’s blinded at the House of Black and White. Daenerys’s advisers are lost without her; Daario and Jorah leave to find her. Somewhere in the Dothraki Sea, Daenerys runs into a khalasar. Cersei completes a walk of atonement, nude through King’s Landing, in order to be freed from prison. Sam and Gilly depart for Oldtown, and Davos learns of the Baratheons’ ill fates. Jon is led into a trap and stabbed by the men of the Night’s Watch.
In the finals, unlike the preliminaries, fans have one vote to cast in each category, and 48 hours to make their decision and vote.
Best Episode poll:
Thanks again to Greatjon of Slumber for his help throughout this process and to everyone for their dedicated voting and discussion!
The poll will be open for 48 hours: Best Episode beginning now and running until 10/6/15 at 10AM EDT. The results will be revealed at the Watchers On The Wall Awards ceremony soon!
We’re working out the final details of the ceremony at the moment, and will reveal the date of it shortly. The award party will most certainly be a fun event for all!
hodor!
I’m torn between “Hardhome” and “Mother’s Mercy”. In a way, “Mother’s Mercy” is more complete and has better scenes throughout all its storylines, while Hardhome is more limited, and its highlights for me are Tyrion and Dany and the whole Hardhome sequence, while the other stuff is only secondary. That said, both of those sequences together are more than half the episode, so it’s nothing to sneeze at. Buuut “Mother’s Mercy” has Jaime’s beautiful and tragic scene with Myrcella’s; Stannis’ poetic end; Arya brutally killing Meryn and beind blinded for it in an amazing cliffhanger (for non-readers, anyway); Daenerys’s funny scene with Drogon followed by another cliffhanger, with the Dothraki; Dany’s council scene in Meereen, which is hilarious and uplifting, thanks to Daario and Varys; Cersei’s walk of atonement; Sam and Gilly departing for Oldtown after a heartfelt conversation with Jon; Davos being heart-broken by Melisandre’s news; and of course, the betrayal of the Night’s Watch and Jon’s death, the ultimate cliffhanger.
So… in the end, though the Hardhome sequence may well be the best 30 minutes of the whole show, and the scene with Tyrion and Dany was marvellous, I think I just have to vote for “Mother’s Mercy”. It just has it all!
Hardhome FTW.
Season 5 Episode 9: “The Dance of Dragons.” Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Directed by David Nutter
I was torn between “Hardhome” and “Mother’s Mercy”, but I had go to for the latter. “Mother’s Mercy” left me wanting to know what happens next, whereas “Hardhome”, amazing as it was, just left me feeling like everyone’s going to die.
Mother’s Mercy is the best episode of the entire show, Hardhome is a close second
Hardhome, hands down.
Season 5 Episode 9
“In Dorne…”
and I can’t keep reading so I can’t vote for it. 🙂
Nah… the best episode? Really Hard to choose. Best sequences? Hardhome escape, Tyrion and Jorah and the Stone Men, the Pit, the Walk…. but an entire episode?
Episode 9 Dance of Dragons. 🙂
Let’s be realistic, everyone knows which episode’s going to win.
Mother’s Mercy.
The Tattered Prince,
Honestly, I thought I was going to vote for Hardhome as well. But when it came to it, I ended up choosing something else. According to the comments, others have gone through the same thought process.
I honestly think that, overall, “High Sparrow” was the best episode of the season.
But my standard for “best” is based more on “every subplot got to do something interesting” — I go for balanced episodes, and I’m hesitant for episodes that focus only on a small group of plotlines (even when they’re done very well).
“High Sparrow” had:
*Margaery & Tommen and Margaery vs Cersei
*Introduction of the High Sparrow and more intro on the Sparrows in general
*Tyrion in Volantis
*Jon Snow executes Janos Slynt
This was a tough choice between this and episode 2, frankly, which had great Small Council stuff.
Problem is that the second half of the season had all of the Bolton/Sansa storyline stuff which really didn’t work.
“Mother’s Mercy” was not that good, it had bad Stannis and Dorne parts, and the plot holes surrounding Jon Snow’s death in the TV version.
“Hardhome” was great, but focused only on one group of characters (for the most part)
“The Dance of Dragons” was a bit more inclusive of different character sets.
Again, this really wasn’t an easy choice. I mean, in Season 3 my favorite was “Kissed by Fire” (Cogman episode) which balanced most of the major subplots (Robb & Karstark, Arya & B&B & Hound, King’s Landing (Sansa, Tyrells, Tywin & children), Jon Snow & Ygritte, even Stannis & Shireen. Season 4 it was probably a tossup between “The Lion and the Rose” and “Mockingbird”.
Hardhome !
The Gift. It was the only episode with good written dialoques and storylines that made sense. Which was very rare this season. Two other good episodes (8,9) relied more on action and CGI.
Hardhome.
Hardhome
You don’t know what a plot hole is.
Luka Nieto,
Linda said it’s a ”plot-hole”, so naturally he also thinks the same.
Hardhome
Hardhome. Mother’s Mercy closely behind because of Jon’s death scene. Pretty much the only scene I didn’t like in the finale and not for sentimental reasons.
Arya’s first mission in Braavos, Dany’s very enjoyable conversation with Tyrion. Boy and how much she needs him right now. Tearful reunion between Dany and Jorah. Cersei’s struggle, Theon’s confession to Sansa, Jon’s adventure in Hardhome was best action sequence that I’ve seen in a very long time. It was not just that last part that is praised by the fans, but the whole episode stood out among them all.
I realize which two just about everyone will be voting for, but “The Gift” is my favorite because the confrontation between the High Sparrow and Cersei to me at least is the singularly most powerful scene in the series. The build up, the way the HS maneuvers her, the dialogue between them is D&D at their finest, the sudden realization by Cersei and her confusion. I had thought the powerful Walk would be the ultimate climax, but that one scene and the way it was written, acted and directed as well as shot, left me with a sense of satisfaction not felt in the series up to that point.
Then there was the Bronn/Tyene dungeon scene, the best nude scene yet, that actually served a purpose, the long tease of seduction to get his heart pumping, their expressions and body language and of course the tune.
Aemon’s passing and Tyrion’s gift to Dany were both sad and epic bonus moments.
tyjon,
I didn’t say it, but “The Gift” is my third favorite of the season, for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned. The second half of this season was truly amazing.
Luka Nieto,
When something is different from the books, it’s a plot hole. It is known.
Hardhome (the acting, action scenes… Amazing episode)
tyjon,
Absolutly loved the way the HS jailed Cersei. It was just perfect: The HS speach, the acting,…etc.
This was one of those scenes where I absolutly love the show version more.
Hardhome, without a doubt. Even the non-battle sequences were interesting and served to move the plot along: Dany finally talking to Tyrion in a priceless scene and deciding she would allow him to advise her. Arya, out and about. Sansa learning about her brothers! I mean, Sansa finally having spirit enough to questiion someone who had betrayed her, dressed and ready to read Reek the riot act and learning something useful in the process. Jon and Tormund, Karsi, Loboda WUN WUN and the amazing shattering of a White Walker. It was the fastest hour of television I’ve ever watched.
Hard…home… ^^
Easy choice for me! Loved everything about that episode!
episode 9
a dance with dragons!
have been watching that scene when drogon scatters those sons of harpy like smelly irritant flies and dany mounts him. I keep getting goose bumps. epic scene it is
What purpose did it serve?
EP9 is on 2nd place for me, just after EP10.
Loved everything: Dany flying on Drogo, Shireen’s sacrifice,..just loved the scenes in EP10 more 🙂
P.S. I do want to mention that the entire HH battle, is the best 30 min of TV I have ever seen. And really liked Dany taking with Tyrion, thank god he got to her, I just think EP10 is better overall.
I had to choose between “Hardhome” and “Mother’s Mercy”… but “Hardhome” won in the end <3
The Tattered Prince,
None you will ever understand. Because you don’t want to understand it.
The Tattered Prince,
Myrcella’s death.
Even though “Mother’s Mercy” was huge in scope and storytelling, I voted for “Kill the Boy” because I simply love that metaphor and how it viciously applies to the entire season. I could have voted for HH as well but I’ll stick with the underdog. Plus, KtB didn’t have Dorne in it. Yay!
Hardhome, no competition there.
Hardhome
Though I am reminded now of how good “High Sparrow” was.
Time to start the series re-watch for season 6.
mau,
Imagine the season finale without the striptease. Ellaria kisses Myrcella, Myrcella starts to bleed by the nose and passes out. Ellaria’s nose starts to bleed, so she takes something that makes it stop. Yeah, it could be done.
So it didn’t serve a purpose other than showing Tyene’s knockers. Not that I’m complaining ?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Hardhome got like 50% of the votes. So yeah, definitely Hardhome.
Hardhome and it’s shocking that there are so many people that don’t choose it as the best episode. I remember 1 month and half a ago was a similar article and people chose hardhome in proportion of 90 percent+. Right now it seems that there are a lot more people that choose something else.
In fact, it’s a fact that hardhome is the best Got’s episode ever.
Episode 7
Voted Hardhome ! It’s gonna be a though one between Hardhome and Mother’s Mercy judging by the comments !
Mihnea,
Totally agree with you, and its the reason Im not voting for HH.. The top episode should be one that carries several arcs and moves the story to its peak. EP 10 is that for me
Remembering how I felt after the first three episodes, I realized how pleasantly surprised I was for the season as a whole. I was a little worried at first, and while I disagree with some choices that were made, think it really was a goodseason! Not the best of the five perhaps, but still a memorable one.
Hardhome. Though I wish I could vote for the last 3 episodes as a whole. They were amazing.
ash,
I fully agree with you that this was not the best season.
This is how I rate the seasons:
1. Season 4, simply liked every episode. While some people say S5 was slow, I think they are a bit wrong, for me it had the same pace as S1-S3, I think S4 is the odd one out, with a vary fast paceing.
2. Season 1, loved seeing every piece of story falling into place.
3. Season 5. I have made enough posts on this site, where I went in detail what and why I liked it.
4. Season 3, loved Dany’s story in this one, but everything in Westeros felt…uneventfull. Like they where delaing the RW just to have it in EP9.
5. Season 2, same as with S3 just with BW instead of the RW, and this one did not had a good Dany story, or anything happening in Robbs camp, especially that it was right after Ned’s execution, the viewer expected to see a bit more action from Rob.
But to me every season is good. There are scenes in every season that I loved. Like Arya/Tywin in S2. Rob killing Karstark in S3,..etc.
For me every season is a joy to wach…and I don’t want to think what I will do once its done. 🙁
On first watch, Hardhome, but I’ve rewatched E9 the most so I gave it to E9.
The Dragon Demands,
Yes!! Some love for High Sparrow! But it’s funny, you didn’t even mention my two favorite moments from the episode! (Arya and Needle, Brienne opens up to Podrick.)
It was very hard for me to decide, but ultimately I chose Hardhome. Tyrion/Dany and Hardhomd sequence were flat out some of my favorite moments from the entire series. Other scenes, such as Sansa getting the truth from Theon and Cersei adapting to life in prison were both spectacular as well. And Arya in Braavos getup selling cockles was flat out fun.
I also like that you praised episode 2. Doesn’t get much love, but I thought it was an awesome episode.
There’s only one episode I can choose here, and that is Hardhome. The last 20 minutes or so are a fantastic advert for GoT, and the massacre will surely go down in TV history as being a fantastic advert for what television can produce.
Honourable mentions must go to High Sparrow, and Mother’s Mercy with both being among my favourite episodes. They were really good, and if not for Hardhome I would’ve struggled to pick between them. Some people may say that there were some very weak episodes this season. I’m not too bothered though, particularly when there are episodes as good as the ones I’ve stated.
Voted for The Gift, but could have been any of the next episodes. The dialogue in Cersei’s arrest is just amazing.
Kill the Boy
The best script of the season. The thematic unity was amazing, especially since not a lot of logic had to be stretched for that to work. The performances were astounding and the cinematography was breathtaking. And the Valyrian poem just stole my heart.
Hardhome, though E9 and E10 were also great.
Hardhome, no contest.
Hmm, seams like the fight will be betwean the last 3 episodes.
Mihnea,
Like every season.
mau,
That’s true..
Hardhome. That hour’s worth of TV was better than all the movies that hit the box office this year and I’ve never been able to say that in my life. Tyrion and Jorah before Dany was fantastic! Then the discussion between Tyrion and Dany in her quarters, “So here we sit, two terrible children, of two terrible fathers…” The look on Sansa’s face when she finds out Bran and Rickon are still alive! Hope for her at last! Oysters clams and cockles! Cersei at her lowest, drinking water from a dungeon cell floor. Sam’s epic foreshadowing line “I’ve been worrying about Jon for years. He always comes back.” All that AND the best, most intense 30 minutes of TV I’ve ever seen at the Battle of Hardhome. Simply unbeatable. Wins by a mile.
I generally enjoy good dialogue more than good action scenes, but even then Hardhome wins this season hands down for me.
If I could vote for every episode I would. I absolutely loved season 5. But.
HARDHOME!!!!!!!!!!
Edit: Not just for the action scenes and for the craziness that was the massacre and how Jon was awesome in that episode, but for the Dany & Tyrion scenes and Sansa finding out about her brothers (gave me chills)
1. Hardhome
2. High Sparrow
3. Kill The Boy
4. The Gift
5. Mother’s Mercy
6. The Dance Of Dragons
7. The House Of Black And White
8. Unbowed,Unbent,Unbroken
9. Sons Of The Harpy
10. The Wars To Come
Geralt of Rivia,
I’ve voted for Hardhome, with similar reasons as the stated by Geralt, no doubts about it.
Hardhome
Hardhome.
Seems like the competition is between Hardhome and Mother’s Mercy.
Mother’s Mercy has some of the best scenes of the season: the Walk of Shame, For the Watch, and everything involved in Stannis’ poetic downfall. However, it also has some weaker moments. I personally thought that the Jaime/Myrcella scene didn’t ring very true. Myrcella’s very positive and uncomplicated reaction to her world being turned upside down felt rushed so that her death could be more damaging to Jaime. The timing of all that was really manipulative. And I viscerally hate the Arya-going-blind cliffhanger, which robs one of the season’s least entertaining storylines of a proper ending. So while Mother’s Mercy has some of my favorite scenes from the season, it also the two most frustrating sequences of the season thrown in there too.
Then there’s Hardhome. First of all, the best sequence of the episode (Tyrion/Dany and the Hardhome massacre) measure up pretty well against Mother’s Mercy’s best scenes. But all the other scenes were pretty strong too. I didn’t like Arya’s storyline this year, but seeing her get some fresh air in Braavos was pretty good; Cersei in the cell showed a great transformation and a great performance by Heady; and I really, really liked the scene in which Sansa angrily confronts Theon.
If you weigh just the best sequences of these two episodes together, it’s pretty close. But when you compare the frustrating material in Mother’s Mercy to the more-than-decent material in Hardhome, it’s clear to me which is the stronger episode. Hardhome for me.
“Mother’s Mercy” was very eventful and tragic, but “Hardhome” wins for its sheer spectacle, scope and ambition.
1. Hardhome
2. The Gift
3. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken
4. Mother’s Mercy
5. House of Black and White
6. Dance of Dragons
7. Sons of the Harpy
8. Wars to Come
9. High Sparrow
10. Kill the Boy
The Dance of Dragons for me wins on Stannis/Drogon scenes.
The final three episodes of the season are all supreme, but I have go with Hardhome. It’s full of brilliant moments, including the heavy tableside chat between Tyrion and Dany (which is probably one of the best scenes in the show), Sansa’s chat with Theon where he reveals that Bran and Rickon are still alive, Sam’s great foreshadowing with his “He always comes back” line, and of course every single scene starting from Jon reaching Hardhome to the ending staredown between Jon and the Night’s King, and particularly the meeting with the elders, Jon vs. the White Walker, and the bone-chilling scene of the Night’s King slowly raising his hands in the air and bringing all of the massacred Wildlings back as wights.
It really doesn’t get much better than that and I think I can safely rank the episode up with all-time classics like Blackwater and Kissed by Fire. Even if you disliked the season overall, I’d hope you could at least agree that Hardhome was top grade.
Hardhome,hands down 🙂
I think that High Sparrow was the most balanced ep of the season script wise. The best acted too by everyone except the same scene that didn’t convinced me in writing, the: ” Sansa agrees in less than 1 min to marry the Bolton Bastard”. It is the only flaw for me in what has been the best ep where just everything comes together.
However, and this is why I’m just a fan vs a reviewer, I voted for Hardhome. Some things just feel good instinctively, I don’t even feel like putting in words why. Probably because it would sound like:
“OH SHIT! Omg! Yeah, you know it… That’s Valyrian Steel, bitch!”, “NOOOOO, NOT KARSI!!!!” (which I just met 15 min ago btw), “well, SOMEBODY has a hard-on on Jon Snow…” “Is THAT a “to be continued” eye-sex promise?!””
Hardhome will win and it’s too mainstream. My vote goes for Mother’s Mercy.
Hardhome, no competition. Reek/Theon is forced to reveal the truth about Rickon and Bran. Daenerys shares one of the very few really good Tyrion dialogues. The fate of Jon is sealed when Sam believes Olly is afraid for Jon. (Yeah, I know, sadly, Jon seems to keep on going.) Lena Headey shines in Cersei’s imprisoned scenes.
And of course, the whole Hardhome sequence.
I just couldn’t vote for anything else.
Almost went with High Sparrow, but Hardhome.
HARDHOME..All Day long!
Ok maybe this is unconventional but I voted for episode 3, High Sparrow.
I just loved all the development in this episode, with Arya, Jon, Sansa and Littlefinger, meeting the High Sparrow, the Marg vs Cersei catfight, it’s full of gems although little action. Beautiful directoin by Mark Mylod again.
But I must say the pairing of Cogman writing and Podeswa direction (eps 5 & 6) had some of my favorites of the season! (ahem apart from the sand snake fight).
Mother’s Mercy was outstanding and will probably win 🙂 Best season finale so far, I think!
Great summary. ‘Hardhome’ for me, as well. I want to add that ‘Hardhome’ managed to introduce me to my new favorite character, Karsi, and kill her off, in record time. Well played, Game of Thrones. Well and cruelly played.
Without seccond thoughts.. HARDHOME .. Jon Bloody Snow was so badass the wall exploded .. definitely the best Action Sequence I’ve ever seen in my whole life ..
No, I missed voting…
Chinoiserie,
Shouldn’t have closed this early… weird.
Going to rank because it’s fun:
1. The Gift – Extremely strong dialogue, a perfect final scene, this episode basically has no flaws.
2. Hardhome – The battle was mindblowing, Tyrion and Dany was great, although the other storylines weren’t as terrific as the rest of the episode.
3. Kill the Boy – Loved the Stone Men sequence and the strong Bolton scenes in this episode.
4. High Sparrow – The High Sparrow’s introduction was well done, as was Janos Slynt’s execution.
5. The Wars to Come – Mance’s death scene was extremely well done, and this was all-around a very strong season opener.
6. The Dance of Dragons – The Shireen scene was the best, most emotional scene in the whole season, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the fighting pits, unfortunately.
7. Mother’s Mercy – A strong season finale, but a little too heavy on the shocks and cliffhangers and Stannis’s demise was a bit rushed.
8. The House of Black and White – A good episode throughout, but the Dany sequence at the end threw the pacing off, as the Jaqen reveal would’ve made for a better cliffhanger and felt as an episode-ender by itself.
9. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken – The ending scene and Hall of Faces reveal were very strong moments, but the rest of the episode was average (by GoT standards) or even mediocre (looking at the Teenage Dornish Ninja Sand Snakes here).
10. Sons of the Harpy – This was the only episode of the season that I didn’t like, mostly due to Barristan’s illogical demise and the fact that we were bombarded by R+L-hints all of a sudden.
Not alot of great episodes this season, But probably would have voted for Gift or Hardhome. Dance with Dragons and Mothers Mercy are the two worst episodes of the series IMO.
Xanth,
I spotted one! 😀
I choose Hardhome. Hoping they show it at IMAX next year, like they did with Season 4, Episodes 9 & 10. That was just spectacular!!
Hardhome.
For a show that’s killed off its main character, killed the guy trying to avenge him, and done all manner of other great, surprising things, it’s very hard to keep one-upping yourself and surprising your audience.
But Hardhome was a truly new experience. The sequence was a wonderful mixture of horror and action and was the first real evidence that the show can do pure fantasy just as well as it does the ‘gritty, realistic’ stuff. It was special. And the Night’s King raising his arms was just summat else.
Had to be Hardhome.
Ok…I thought it was just me. I’m guessing it’s a glitch, since it says voting will be open until October 6th. I’m having a tough time deciding, so not being able to vote at the moment isn’t the worst thing in the world (as long as the voting gets reopened…not that it would be the worst thing in the world if it doesn’t, but it would suck.)
Don’t feel bad, for best quote I loved Jorah and Tyrion’s Valyria sequence, with poetry and philosophy. It seemed like everyone who commented loved it too. The darned thing didn’t even make it into the final five. For this post, I loved and voted for Hardhome; it seems like a lot of others loved it, too. We’ll see this time how it goes.
Hey! how come the poll is closed if it was posted today and it was supposed to be open for 48 hours??
It seems to have glitched and closed at some point this afternoon. I reopened it.
Had to go with Hardhome.
The finale was also great but after Hardhome I remember me and the people in the room just all looking at each other like “holy shit…” lol.
Kill The Boy.
Sue the Fury,
Thanks! 🙂
Hardhome.
im so disappointed i didnt get to vote. got home from work a couple of hrs ago & it was too late 🙁
did poll close early this time?
i did get to vote all tge other categories & even prelims though so its all good.
i would have voted for kill the boy. the tyrion/jorah scene when tyrion sees drogon for the 1st time & the stone men drop down, still gives me the chills-best scene ever.
the rest of the plots were balanced enough & were of high quality too, so that makes it #1 for me.
SCRATCH MOST OF ABOVE. just got vote!? so happy!! thnx WotW 🙂
unable to update last post
i got to vote afterall 🙂 so HAPPY!! thnx WotW!!
hail mary for kill the boy!!
has best scene ever ! of any tv show ever!
God bless peter dinklage!
I really liked the episodes ‘Kill the Boy’ and ‘Mother’s Mercy’, but the my best episode vote goes to Hardhome, no question about that.
I know hardhome’s gonna win but…The Gift. Loved Cersei’s downfall + Aemon’s farewell. Good dialogue and well-written scenes (maybe that’s redundant though).
re,
Could definitely make a case.. Not sure what I think the “best” episode is overall, but after seeing “Watchers on the Wall” on the big screen, it became my favorite episode of the show. Not sure it constitutes as the best though as it’s only one storyline.
Xanth,
As in final two episodes? I can probably think of 10 that were worse overall, with another 15 that are similar. They weren’t my favorite, especially for the final 2 episodes of the season, but they had their moments. Ithink season 5, much like season 2, would have benefited from 12 episodes, more so than the other 3 seasons. The Northern storylines, particularly Stannis’ downfall, felt rushed.
This one was so, so, so hard. So this is how my thinking went: For sheer cinematography, definitely Dance of Dragons. For utter drama, there is for me a tie between Hardhome and The Gift. In terms of acting — Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken as well as Mother’s Mercy. So I went with “Kill the Boy”, this episode perfectly set up all of the sequences that followed with respect to all of the story lines. And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
This one was so, so, so hard. So this is how my thinking went: For sheer cinematography, definitely Dance of Dragons. For utter drama, there is for me a tie between Hardhome and The Gift. In terms of acting — Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken as well as Mother’s Mercy. So I went with “Kill the Boy”, this episode perfectly set up all of the sequences that followed with respect to all of the story lines. And that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Hodor’s Bastard,
Aryamad,
Aryamad,
Aryamad,
Sue the Fury,
Thank you, Sue!!
Sounds like a good story. Yay for the underdog! Long live Aemon! 🙂
Voted for Hardhome. It was brilliant, it was unexpected (with all the spoilers flying around last season, most of us didn’t see it coming), it was intense (left me gasping for air at the edge of my seat with my heart racing at a million beats per minute), it was terrifying (in a chilling “Oh, shit, we’re doomed” kind of way.). I deeply empathized with a character I met for just a few minutes, bit my nails for my “old pals” Tormund, Dolorous Edd and my favorite character Jon Snow, as well as for my new pal Wun Wun. My heart shrunk when I saw Jon in deep trouble against the WW, and fist-pumped when his Valyrian steel destroyed him.
Technically this episode set a very high standard, but what I liked the most about it was living the experience. I could not take my eyes off the screen, I could not talk, eat, or pay attention to anything else. Took me to incredible highs and deep, deep lows in a matter of minutes.
Seriously I don’t remember any episode of a TV show ever or since to engulf me in such a way, and I’ve seen a share of excellent shows in my life.
It just changed the gear of the season. It was so satisfactory after all the whinning about the season being too slow and bla, bla, bla… You wanted speed?… BOOOM! you got it! Sapochnick for president!
Actually, that scene had an enormous plot hole: What would the conspirators have done if Jon had said ‘Bring the wildling here to me at once!’ instead of jumping up and following Olly out the door? What guarantee did they have that he would leave his office? I have raised this question numerous times and no one has had a persuasive answer for it.
Firannion,
Well Olly could just have brought all the mutineers to his office, made sure they blocked the exit and killed Jon.
There are some illogicalities in the Jon scene, but I don’t really see them as important as I can’t really think of any right now; so that means that they weren’t obvious or something.
That presumes that they didn’t care about witnesses or leaving evidence behind about who killed him. Don’t you think they’re going to try to pin it on the Wildlings or something? I can’t imagine mutiny against the LC not having prescribed consequences.
Hardhome, hands down, is a masterpiece and quite possibly the best episode of the series. It was chock full of great stuff, and that last sequence was truly masterful work.
Mother’s Mercy is also full of good stuff but it didn’t leave me breathless and searching for reviews about it for days. I would also like to give a shout out to High Sparrow, Jonathan Pryce’s subtle work is really outstanding. And another bit of love for The Wars to Come. The Cersei flashback frames the whole season, and the execution of Mance Rayder was really handled well. Oh, and watching Varys and Tyrion is priceless.
I went for Hardhome because it was just ace!
However 9 made me cry; the handling of Jon’s stabbing felt kinda rushed for me and had plot holes but overall 10 was a strong ending for shock value; and 4 was a great ep all round. But despite these, Hardhome just had a total “Am I really watching a TV series??” feeling and blew me away.
This is no contest.
Mother’s Mercy. Ep. 510.
Firannion,
The same reason Robert died in the hunt, before Ned could tell him off his children.
The same reason why Jofrey ordered Neds execution, when Cersei wanted a pardon.
etc.
Jon not ordering the wildling brought to him, is not a ”plot-hole”, it is a decision he makes.
And now you will say, that the entire plot relies on him going outside.
Everything relies on some character doing a certain decision. Ned not acting against Cersei. Robert going on a hunt the exact time Ned finds the truth.
Karstark deciding to kill those Lannister, wich leads to Rob loosing his men. Rob not honoring his promise to marry the Frey girl, wich leads to his death.
You need to have this things, so you can have a story.
But I forgot I talk with purists, you guys are unable to view a story in a different way. You are stuck in your theories/speculation, and when those do not happen or happen in a different way, you yell ”plot-holes!!”.
These scenes are not at all pertinent to my issue, because they are not analogous to the implausibility of the plot to kill Jon as rewritten. None of the other incidents that you cite are implausible in terms of characters’ motivations. The problem is not what Jon did or did not choose to do, but what his enemies apparently failed to consider. Not having it occur to the plotters that he might not rise to the bait the way they wanted him to simply makes no logical sense to me. Alliser Thorne may be a lot of things that we don’t like, but I don’t think that he has demonstrated that he is stupid, and to rely so heavily on Jon reacting a certain way with no guarantee that he will do so seems to me to imply an improbably stupid lack of planning. I didn’t buy it.
And since the structure of the show version of Jon’s death scene had little or nothing to do with how the book version was structured, I find it absurd that you are blaming my skepticism about the writing of the scene on being “stuck in theories/speculation.” Viewed solely within the context of the show, without comparison to the books, it does not adhere to its own internal logic. Had I never read the books, I still wouldn’t buy it.
Your knee-jerk “book purist” rants have grown very old and tired. Time to give them a rest.
Firannion,
They don’t write the Show for you to buy it. Nor will they write it for any other book purist motive. Hell they don’t even write this show for the book-readers.
And I’m glad they don’t. And never will.
And what illogical action? That Thorne assumes Jon will come outside? What is illogicall in that?
Thorne assumed on will come out, he did. Thus his plan worked. It isn’t illogical, there is a probability that Jon will come out, that is what Thorne hoped/planned/wanted, it worked.
And no, this scene being different is your main complaint. There is nothing else there. Just book purism, go to Westeros.org, they will gladly approve you there.
You know, it really isn’t necessary for you to act so angry and hostile anytime somebody finds fault with some aspect of the show.
Firannion,
Are the wildlings his bodyguards, now? Anyway, that’s not what The Dragon Demands was talking about. He finds issue with Thorne mutining against Jon in that specific moment, as he let Jon and the wildlings through the Wall the previous episode, probably weeks ago. Of course, TDD’s totally unwilling to consider that they have just received the news of Stannis’ demise, because of which Jon has now no protection, or the fact that Thorne has been loyal until now, however begrudingly, so killing his Lord Commander must be difficult for him, even if he believes Jon will have them all killed.
As for what you call a plot hole, you should revisit the scene in “The Dance of Dragons” in which the wildlings pass through the Wall. I have no idea how you could have possibly missed it, but the wildlings are not residing inside the Castle. They were let through the Wall and out of Castle Black, presumably to settle the Gift. I assume Tormund is still there, maybe (we’ll see in season six), but the point is that Jon didn’t have a wildling army at hand.
Firannion,
They could have told him “The wildling refuses. Says he’ll only talk to you if you come up to him.” And Jon, knowing how proud and stubborn the Free Folk is, and not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill, comes out.
Stannis is a good character. Would love to see him rule. Some stern and fair leadership.
There were some amazing scenes with the bastard Jon
Firannion,
I’m not angry. People who look for ”plot-holes” everywhere, even where there are none, just to bash a show for going in a different direction then they wanted, are. On a fan-site of all places.
There is no fault here. You simply present your opinion as fact, that is what I argue against. Having complaints is fine, I have quite a few of them, but presenting them as facts is not fine.
I do not go to a Walking Dead fan-site, to tell people how much I dislike something they wach and enjoy.
Same with AFFC/ADWD, I have more complaints about those books then you have about S5. But I do not go to westeros.org to tell people that what they read and enjoy is bad, because I know that is a fan-site for the books, so it’s implied people go there to disscuss something they enjoy.
This is what you do, by saying those scenes are ”illogical” you insult everyone who liked it, or tought it was fine, by saying they like ”illogical”stories, or by saying they are not smart enough to ”realize” that what they wach and like is bad.
Tywin of the Hill,
By all that is holly, I agree with you on something!
Lets leave it at that.
Firannion,
Luka Nieto,
I misunderstood your comment. You mean the non-existent wildling with information of Benjen. I read “wildlings”, and assumed you meant he wanted them for protection. Sorry about that.
I don’t see what’s the plot hole, anyway. Let’s say Jon calmly tells Olly to bring the wildling to his office (though it would be extremely unlikely, considering it’s his uncle we’re talking about here.) So… What’s the problem, exactly? Olly goes back to his co-conspirators, and then they all go to Jon’s office. They kill him in the snow or they kill him in his office; what’s the difference? Literally the only difference is they have to give up on their theatrics —the “Traitor” sign. A big loss for whoever happens to be the resident drama queen who thought that up among the Night’s Watch officers, I’m sure, but not a plot hole.
Not sure what you mean with that question. I said nothing about the wildlings being anybody’s bodyguards. I only brought them up in the context of speculating that the assassins would likely try to deflect blame for Jon’s murder onto them, capitalizing on the longstanding prejudice against them among most of the NW.
that’s not what The Dragon Demands was talking about.
I wasn’t trying to support or contradict his particular ideas of what constituted a plot hole in that scene – merely asserting that what appears to me as a very glaring plot hole does exist.
I have no idea how you could have possibly missed it, but the wildlings are not residing inside the Castle. They were let through the Wall and out of Castle Black, presumably to settle the Gift. I assume Tormund is still there, maybe (we’ll see in season six), but the point is that Jon didn’t have a wildling army at hand.
When did I say that they were residing inside Castle Black? Or that Jon would be calling up a wildling army?
Olly came to Jon saying that a wildling had been overheard claiming that he had seen Benjen. Now, presumably the LC of the NW is a busy man with a lot of responsibilities. It seems like quite a stretch to me for men under his command to presume that he would go tearing off after any rumor that he hears when he has other work to do. Commanders delegate, as a rule. So I think it’s fair to say there was at least a 50/50 chance that Jon would’ve told Olly or some other brothers to find the wildling in question – within or without the castle, wherever he might be – and bring him back as soon as he’s located. It might take days. Meanwhile he could have worked through some more of the pile of paperwork on his desk.
Jon may be a man of action by nature, but it seems very chancy to me for the conspirators to bank on him flying out the door. Plots require thinking through before they are executed. For Thorne to do something that risky seems, to me, out of character; and having characters act implausibly out-of-character without a compelling explanation just to move the plot forward, to my mind, falls under the heading of plot holes.
Firannion,
Read my next post, please. I misread you completely, sorry about that. I explained how it’s still not a plot hole, though.
Firannion,
Ahhh! You are one of those who belive characters decisions are ”plot-holes”.
OK. that clears out allot.
Won’t see me replying to you again. Have a nice day!
Well, this is the best possible explanation that I have heard so far. It still makes more sense to me that they would simply try to waylay him at some time when he is not in a building with other NW brothers going about their business nearby.
Hahahahahaha! Riiiight, except for when you change your mind and decide that you want to, like you repeatedly do with Sean C.
I am one of those who believe that characters suddenly acting out-of-character, in terms of what we already know about them, without a compelling explanation, just for the convenience of moving the action forward, constitute plot holes.
Firannion,
It was him who replied to a comment of mine that was not a reply to him, or adressed towards him.
Perhaps I need to be a bit more clear, I will no longer disscuss story related things with you, because we have 2 very different ways of waching and understanding TV shows/movies.
But non story topics? sure why not, I’m certain you are a decent person, who just happens to have a very, very different way of thinking when the TV show is concerned.
Who knows, if we talked about other things, we could easly find some things/opinions we have in common.
No. There is a big difference in terms of evidence and potential witnesses. Unless you believe that Thorne & Co. feel so sure of themselves that they are not the least bit worried about there being any consequences to the very serious action of mutiny and assassination of the LC, then one must, I think, conclude that they would want to do the deed where they would not be directly implicated. My guess would be that Thorne would point the finger at those “savage, unpredictable wildlings.”
Firannion,
And I disagree.
I think human being always make decisions, or actions that are out of character.
We humans are impulsive beings, we act more often then less, on emotion, wich many times makes us do things we our self realize where illogical, or not smart to do.
That is why no metter what a character does I will never consider it a ”plot-hole”.
But there is little point of disscussing this, your arguments are not valid for me, my arguments are not valid for you.
This just a difference that we can reach no mutual accord, as we look at the same notion, but we see 2 very, very different things.
This is what psychologists call “projection.” Stop looking for bogeymen who are out to insult you, and you will stop finding them.
Firannion,
Killing Jon in his tower (where he is the only resident) in the middle of the night may actually be more inconspicuous than killing him in the very public and visible yard of the castle, to be honest. Also, you may be forgetting that ALL the Night’s Watch officers were involved in the show. They have no real opposition. And I’m sure they’ll blame the wildlings anyway, yes.
You’re just finding faults where there are none, I’m afraid.
Firannion,
I will, just like I did until this disscussion, when you will stop presenting your opinions as fact.
Luka Nieto,
very well said. killing Jon in the tower would make the NW seam more gulty, killing him outside, they can easly blame the wildlings.
“Mother’s Mercy”
Mihnea,
I did not say that. I pretty much said the opposite! This is not a high tech facility. A wildling can access the tower as easily as anyone else. The office is private. The yard is public. But it is night, so everything is pretty much private. My point was they could’ve killed Jon wherever they wanted, and they chose that location because of the theatrics. However, if forced to kill him in his office, I don’t see the problem! They can blame the wildlings all the same. Or don’t bother with explanations; ALL the officers were involved. Who is going to speak up against literally all the high ranking officers, exactly?
Luka Nieto,
Dammit, I misunderstood the meaning of ”inconspicuous”!!
Still agree tough.
There are 50 men of the Night’s Watch left by the time of the assassination of Jon. A quarter of them were participants in the assassination. Out of the rest, given the votes for Ser Alliser, and the sort of Watchmen who nearly raped Gilly and beat Sam to within an inch of his life without consequence, I doubt they’d feel to compelled to hide their crime. Jon lost MANY supporters with his acceptance of the Wildlings.
In the matter of the Wildlings doing something about Jon’s murder, did you imagine them all sleeping inside Castle Black? Likely outside and their only true ally is dead. Not a good position to be in to mete out vengence.
As for Jon sitting calmly behind his desk when receiving news of his long lost Uncle, after having lost his entire family. No, just no. It’s not his character, and Olly leads the way. Even had he stayed behind the desk, murdering him there and disposing of the body or pinning it on someone else is not even the slightest bit harder than doing the foul deed out-of-doors.
Well, this one “nonexistent” fault jumped out at me while I was watching the episode. And contrary to what some people seem to want to believe around here, I don’t go looking for things to dislike or find implausible on the show; I want to enjoy myself while watching like anybody else. But like anybody else, some elements work for me better than others. I don’t contest anybody else’s right to enjoy the bits that I don’t particularly, but I think that talking about what works or doesn’t for each of us is an essential and stimulating component of appreciating any artform.
Since part of my journalism job involves writing a weekly movie review, I do habitually exercise my critical and analytical faculties anytime I watch something onscreen, but I have actually been known to overlook or not be bothered by faults that bother a lot of other film critics. In fact, just yesterday my editor chose the word “kind” to describe my approach to reviewing (she was much tougher on the film we’d both just seen than I was!). But it seems to me that there is a very wide middle ground between thinking GoT is perfect and thinking that it’s never any good because you’re a “book purist.” I am repeatedly assured that the latter exist, but I have never actually met one and don’t appreciate it when that term gets flung around here so casually as the catchall insult. (Not saying that you do this, just annoyed that some do.)
Where are people getting this from what I’ve written? I said no such thing. I said that the conspirators would probably try to blame them for the deed.
J Lee,
Thank you! You explained it better than I did. Ironically, Firannion’s explanation of the supposed plot holes is full of plot holes.
Firannion,
So… you’re not gonna adresss the rest of his points, which completely destroy your argument?
Luka Nieto,
Why would he adress them if they destroy his arguments? 🙂
As it happens, it is 7:15 a.m. here and I have been up all night working and have a bit more to get done before I can catch a few hours of sleep. I have already diverted enough time and effort to this foolery for one night. Let’s just say for now that I don’t consider my arguments “destroyed,” but respect yours and J. Lee’s right to see the situation and the characters differently.
Mihnea,
Because I’m sure she’s a reasonable fellow, and I’m not being facetious. Let’s not be aggresive. I’m sure we can have a calm, coherent discussion.
she/her
Firannion,
Did not know. Will correct it in the future.
Perhaps I mistakenly compiled your points of contention with another’s regarding the Wildling’s possible revenge. My apologies. I stand firm on my points to the contrary however. Respectfully of course, madame.
Firannion,
Expecting Jon to behave the way he usually does is a plot hole? How come?
Jon matured a lot as LC, but he is still a young, impulsive, kind-hearted, trusting and a hands-on guy. Thorne knows this very well. He was his “teacher”. He has been observing Jon closely since he got to the Wall. He knows what buttons to push and he has done so several times throughout the whole series.
Jon’s the guy who tried to put a knife to Thorne’s throat when he called him a bastard son of a traitor; Jon’s the guy who took off from Castle Black to go aid his brother as soon as he heard Robb was marching South to rescue their father and then was brought back by his friends and his honor; Jon’s the guy who spends lots of time training the new recruits himself; Jon’s the guy who in a split second decided to put an arrow through Mance’s heart to spare him the agony and the dishonor; he’s the guy who instead of running away, ran towards the wights at Hardhome; he’s the one who rushed down the Wall when he detected Benjen’s horse coming back alone.
Do you seriously think if Olly (a young lad he cares for) walks into his office excitedly saying something along the lines of “you’ve got to come and hear the news about your Uncle Benjen, he’s alive!!!!”, he would sit back and order Olly to bring the wildling to his office?????
If we talk about possibilities, yeah, that is a possibility, but trully an uncharacteristic one. I would expect that from Stannis or Davos, not from Jon.
Hardhome
Mothers Mercy is great of course but Hardhome had me quite literally on the edge of my seat for about 20 mins and just flowed so fantastically
But also just the way the dogs barking signalled the switch from a rugged Medieval Fantasy drama into some kind of brilliant Horror genre show, which IMO showed just how “out of this world” the White Walker and Others are etc
Hardhome. The entire episode is good but once those dogs start barking … Whew.
Logical human reaction. Everyone on internet reacted the same way like Jon when “previously on” leaked. Everyone was talking only about how Benjen will appear in the E10, and maybe 1% of fandom thought that that was some kind of lie to trap or whatever.
So, everyone reacted like Jon.
I went with Hardhome, but it’s tough to choose between the last three episodes.
My Own Personal Ranking:
1. Hardhome: The other scenes are good, but what I adore about this episode is the Jon part. It’s full of good scenes, both dramatic (Jon exiting the burning hut, “Now we’re 2 fools together”), comedic (Rattleshirt’s death, “Fuck’em, they’re dead.”) and action-wise (White Walker fight, Wun Wun.) The best episode of the season by far, if not the whole show.
2. Mother’s Mercy: It provided us with fitting endings for the characters, while teasing the next season.
3. Kill the Boy: Good acting. The Boltons were the highlight.
4. The Wars to Come: Ciaran Winds gives an award winning final performance. Varys, Tyrion, and the “fucking crate.”
5. The Gift: “Egg…I dreamed…that I was old.” Though the “slaves in Meereen” thing bothered me a little
6. The House of Black and White: The Jaqen reveal would’ve been a better cliffhanger. Rushed Jon election.
7. High Sparrow: Cringeworthy wedding night. Boring episode overall.
8. Dance of the Dragons: Ridiculous Ramsay incursion is ridiculous. Hardhome return… by land. Assasination of Stannis character.
9. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken: So much has been said about that episode that I don’t wanna sound repetitive.
10. Sons of the Harpy: Nazi Sparrows (sounds like a Thrash Metal Band, BTW). Biker Snakes. Barristan’s death, while good choreographed, seemed unnecesary.
Can I suggest there is a “best score” category as well
Just listening to the OST on Youtube now
Have to say the music is so fantastic, sets the mood so well
Particularly the Wall/Night’s Watch music
Ghost’s Lunch,
Oh that would be nice! The soundtrack, is amazing!
If there isn’t one, could be there is but I missed it (wasn’t even aware of preliminary rounds)
Yeah i was just going through some of the OST on Youtube, just from the first season
A bit like 1982 Conan the Barbarian hearing it disconnected from the scene makes you realise how great it is and just how much of a role it plays in setting the tone of the entire series
Perhaps the same can be said of Michelle Claptons costume style design work, another category there perhaps?
Hardhome. The finale is a close second.
5×08>5×10>5×03>5×05>5×07>5×04>5×06>5×01>5×02>5×09
It’s safe to say that hardhome will be last in the ranks……. ;p
Definitely Hardhome. The Gift is 2nd, it may be better. But the fight scene with the White Walker and Jon is just too good.
Hardhome! It was like watching a movie!
Luka Nieto,
Are you my long lost twin brother/sister 🙂 ?
It’s (at least) the second time when I don’t have to write a comment, because you have already posted exactly my thoughts!
Shy Lady Dragon,
🙂