The episode’s title refers to the mysterious race of a creature Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and his companions discover when they suddenly run afoul of some sword-toting living skeletons who look as though they came from Ray Harryhausen’s Jason and the Argonauts on ski holiday.
Instead of any feast or celebration, however, the Battle for the Wall officially closes with a few words said for the dead and torches promptly taken to corpses to prevent the resurrections brought on by White Walkers. Having successfully organized a defense of the Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) rides out to meet with Wildling king Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds) and finds desperately suing for peace unnecessary when Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) shows up with reinforcements. This fatalistic view of military triumph similarly characterizes the follow-up with the Night’s Watch.
Dany never gets a break this season, but the finale, “The Children,” threatens a whole new level of conflict when a peasant tearfully brings the dragon-charred bones of his daughter to her feet. Her story tears apart the sense of victory that fantasy usually ascribes to conquest, and if her narrative seems stagnant, that’s crucial to its intended effect. After liberating the slave city Meereen early in the season, Daenerys has spent the rest of her screen time dealing with the pressures of maintaining the city as slaves struggle to adjust to freedom and their deposed masters organize bloody resistance.
This season, the arc that foregrounds this ambition most plainly is Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke). Martin’s books: to dispel the orthodox narratives and tone of fantasy to consider how magic and dragons might impact something closer to medieval history and anthropology. This structure fits with the mission statement of George R. They take stock of the dead, consider the implications of arc climaxes, and anticipate how characters will move forward in the subsequent season. Contrary to the structure of most serial television, Game of Thrones tends to peak with its penultimate episode, leaving finales open to operate as a form of self-summary.
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