This weeks episode was really action heavy, and took place entirely at The Wall and Castle Black. If you’re one of the people that only watches Lord of the Rings for the battle scenes you should find a lot to enjoy in The Watchers on the Wall. 

This episode has been built towards for four seasons and, the payoff was great, many fans of the show, myself included feel like the wall storyline is pretty disconnected from the rest of Westeros but this episode managed to really get me reinvested in what was going on in The North and that was the greatest strength of this episode by far.

There were also some pretty jaw dropping action moments in this episode that were incredibly satisfying. The director, who also directed the season 2 episode Blackwater, also did a really good job of depicting the scale of the conflict especially during a particularly cool 360 degree shot of everyone fighting in the courtyard of Castle Black.

The other big development this week was Sam finally becoming more assertive and less helpless, and the main catalyst for this change came in the form of his feelings for Gilly. 

Another really cool moment was Grenn rallying his Night’s Watch brothers to defend the gate by reciting the Oath of The Night’s Watch.

The Watchers on The Wall is definitely one of the highlights of this season and the show as a whole, it was also one the largest scale set pieces (if not the largest) that we have seen on the show. But most importantly it made me want to see more of The Wall and the conflict there which I haven’t really felt in awhile.

4.75/5