"The Watchers on the Wall" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the fourth season of HBO's

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

television series '' Game of Thrones''. The 39th episode overall, it was written by series co-creators

David Benioff David Friedman (; born September 25, 1970), known professionally as David Benioff (), is an American writer, director and producer. Along with his collaborator D. B. Weiss, he is best known as co-creator and showrunner of '' Game of Thrones'' (2 ...

and

D. B. Weiss Daniel Brett Weiss (; born April 23, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer. Along with his collaborator David Benioff, he is best-known as co-creator of ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), the HBO adaptation of George R. ...

, and directed by

Neil Marshall Neil Marshall (born 25 May 1970) is an English film and television director, editor, producer, and screenwriter. He directed the horror films ''Dog Soldiers'' (2002) and '' The Descent'' (2005), the science fiction action film '' Doomsday'' (2 ...

. It first aired on HBO on June 8, 2014. Like season two's " Blackwater" (also directed by Marshall), the episode focuses exclusively on one storyline: the wildling assault on Castle Black at the Wall, and the Night's Watch defense, led by Ser Alliser Thorne and Jon Snow. In the episode,

Mance Rayder George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' saga features a large cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others bey ...

's army attacks Castle Black from both sides as the undermanned Night's Watch struggle to fight them off; Ygritte is eager for revenge against Jon; and Gilly hides from the battle. The episode achieved a viewership of 6.95 million during its initial airing in the United States, and received positive reviews from critics and audiences. For the episode,

was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...

Plot

As they keep watch on the Wall, Jon and Samwell discuss his relationship with Ygritte during his time with the wildlings. In the library of Castle Black, Sam and Maester Aemon discuss Gilly, who later arrives at the castle with her baby. With a massive forest fire to the north, the brothers continue preparations for battle. Sam finds Gilly shelter in the kitchen and promises her not to die. Their reunion is cut short by horns signaling that

's army has arrived. At a nearby camp, a Thenn warg scouts the Wall using an owl, while Ygritte declares that Jon is hers to kill. Ygritte reports that the castle's entrance is undermanned, and Styr orders the attack. As Thorne readies the archers, another alarm informs him the castle is being attacked from both sides. Thorne leaves Slynt in charge and heads down but Slynt proves incapable and Grenn tricks him into also going to the castle. Two giants and a

woolly mammoth The woolly mammoth (''Mammuthus primigenius'') is an extinct species of mammoth that lived during the Pleistocene until its extinction in the Holocene epoch. It was one of the last in a line of mammoth species, beginning with '' Mammuthus s ...

then attempt to open the outer gate and Jon sends Grenn and others to defend the inner gate. At the castle, Thorne is wounded by Tormund. Pyp shoots at the wildlings with crossbows while Sam reloads for him, but Pyp is killed by Ygritte. Sam ascends the Wall and informs Jon that the courtyard is overrun, and Jon leaves Edd in charge. Descending, he leads the remaining Night's Watch, and has his direwolf released. Jon kills Styr and is confronted by Ygritte. She hesitates and Olly shoots her in the back and as she dies in his arms, they reminisce. Tormund, hit by several arrows, is captured on Jon's orders. Above, Edd leads a successful defense and the wildling army withdraws. In the morning, Jon tells Sam that he will go north to kill Mance. They find Grenn and his men have died killing a giant, and Jon tells Sam to have their bodies burned. Jon tells Sam to mind his sword before departing.

Production

This episode adapts content from the ''A Storm of Swords'' chapters Jon VII, Jon VIII and Jon IX. "The Watchers on the Wall" marks the return of director

, whose previous episode for the show as director was " Blackwater". Marshall also makes a cameo appearance in the episode as an archer on the Wall.

Reception

Ratings

The episode achieved a viewership of 6.95 million people during its initial airing in the United States. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 1.75 million viewers during its broadcast on

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...

, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week. The episode also received 0.07 million

timeshift Time shift or Timeshift may refer to: * ''Timeshift'' (TV series), a BBC documentary series * '' TimeShift'', a video game released in 2007 * Time shifting, a form of personal consumer media recording * Timeshift channel, used in the time-delayed ...

viewers.

Critical reception

The episode received positive reviews from critics and audiences. James Hibberd of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' wrote, " he episodewas an intense rousing hour of heroism and heartbreak that set a new bar for what this show – and TV – can do." Another positive review came from Terri Schwartz of Zap2it.com, who wrote, "As the most expensive episode of the series, the Battle at Castle Black felt like an equivalent of '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers''

Battle of Helm's Deep The Battle of Helm's Deep, also called the Battle of the Hornburg, is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' that saw the total destruction of the forces of the Wizard Saruman by the army of Rohan, assisted by a fore ...

." David Malitz of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' was more negative about the episode, writing, "Aside from the major moment with Jon Snow and Ygritte it was hard to feel too emotionally invested in anything that happened. And as visually exciting as it was to watch everything unfold, the ending was surprisingly unfulfilling."

Accolades

References

External links

* at

HBO.com Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television, premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office busi ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watchers on the Wall, The 2014 American television episodes Game of Thrones (season 4) episodes Television episodes written by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss