# Game of Thrones 4.09 "The Watchers on the Wall" 6/8/14 \[no spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 8, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348 "2014-06-08T20:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/161 "2014-06-11T17:20:28Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Of course he can. How else would he be able to do…ANYTHING with a group of 100,000. > > Having them man the wall doesn’t mean having them join the Nights Watch. He makes a deal with Jon to let 98000 through to settle south of the wall and leaves 2000 fighters to support the wall. Nobody WANTS to be on the Wall - Wildling or not. However if Mance and Jon really do conquer the north, they would definitely man the wall and man it better than the Southerners since the Wildings have a much healthier respect for the WhiteWalker threat. Plus, as mentioned many times over, the 100k isn’t the army population. The “civilians” as they were would be free to settle - Giants and all. ---
**Author:** ![Vashbul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/162 "2014-06-11T17:23:56Z")
I think it’s a brilliant plan. At least from a storytelling perspective, because otherwise I don’t see how Jon and Sam and Gilly and the rest can survive without Mance calling off the multitude. Yes, I know the show has set us up to think doom for any character is possible, but I’d be uber-astonished if Jon at least doesn’t live to fight another day. There could be other escape hatches for the Watch, but I like this one. Pragmatic. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/163 "2014-06-11T18:25:51Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > The Black Fort is obviously vulnerable to being flanked. How so? The only way the advance group was able to do that was to first climb up and over the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/164 "2014-06-11T19:17:19Z")
> [@BlackKnight](#): > > From the sticky: > > Seems pretty clear to me. I mean, apparently I’m in the minority - if everyone else wants the rules to be different then it makes sense to allow it. But in that case, someone needs to change the sticky to reflect that. Yes, it is quite clear. The rules haven’t changed. If you think you see a post that violates the rules then click the report button and report it. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/165 "2014-06-11T19:30:56Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I suspect that Ned was the last person alive who knew the answer. If the identity of Jon’s mother isn’t important to the story and isn’t intended to ever be revealed, why make it a mystery at all? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/166 "2014-06-11T19:35:14Z")
Most likely, she is an anonymous non-noble woman and if they said her name, we wouldn’t recognize it at all. That’s the reason to make it a mystery. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/167 "2014-06-11T20:35:21Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Not that the free folk care about the current inhabitants of the continent, more along the lines of if nobody makes a stand there won’t be anywhere left to run to. Other than Essos? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/168 "2014-06-12T01:42:39Z")
Pretty good episode. Loved the big Wall-clearing scythe. Sorry to have Grenn die in the tunnel, but he was true to his oath, did his duty and died nobly. Sorry to see Ygritte die, but it had to happen. And Sam had some of the best lines of the episode. Thanks, **LawMonkey** , for the FB summary. Good stuff! > [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > …I get the feeling that Martin is just not happy unless any character that he has built up is destroyed in great mayhem and ma[l]evolence. Martin is basically, a prick! No, he’s not. Lots of unpleasant things happen to lots of people in a kingdom-wide dynastic struggle. Martin just wants to keep us on our toes and remind us that anyone can die, at any time, and that the story can go in any direction. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/169 "2014-06-12T08:07:46Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I think based on the comments on how long the war was and how long Jaime was captured, we’re right around 2 years. The people making the show have said that a season equals about a year, so that the aging of the child actors doesn’t become a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/170 "2014-06-12T17:30:47Z")
Simulpost with another thread: And now for something completely different: [The GAME OF THRONES theme played as Dixieland Jazz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itn8highTRo#t=14). ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/171 "2014-06-12T18:04:16Z")
As long as we’re doing mash-ups: [Game of Zelda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBZQ0ffNnWc) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348/172 "2014-06-12T19:25:08Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Simulpost with another thread: > > And now for something completely different: > > [The GAME OF THRONES theme played as Dixieland Jazz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itn8highTRo#t=14). That. Was. Awesome. OK, philosophical digression: what is it about that clip that makes one smile? It’s music…how can music be funny? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-4-09-the-watchers-on-the-wall-6-8-14-no-spoilers/690348.md?page=8)