# Game of Thrones 5.08 "Hardhome" 5/31/15 \[Show discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309 "2015-06-01T02:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/101 "2015-06-01T20:34:03Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I got the faint impression that white walkers suppress fire by their very presence, in that the one walking through the flaming tent seemed to be passively suppressing the fire near him. Did anyone else notice something similar, or was that just me? I definitely think that’s what happened. The showrunners mention the name Night’s King in one of their short videos. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/102 "2015-06-01T21:11:46Z")
Is there any evidence it’s Valyrian steel that kills them, rather than the particular sword Jon Snow is wielding (I didn’t even know it was made of Valyrian steel)? ---
**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 1, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/103 "2015-06-01T21:20:14Z")
My theory is that the White Walkers are empowered by winter. There are plenty of places it seems to me that don’t experience winter, like where Daenerys has been hanging out. So my guess is that there’s a limit to how far the White Walkers can extend their power. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/104 "2015-06-01T21:20:17Z")
Jon’s sword is _Longclaw_. Formerly the sword of House Mormont for five centuries. Made of Valyrian steel. ---
**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 1, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/105 "2015-06-01T21:23:21Z")
Was it explained in-show how Jon acquired that sword? Was it given to him at the Wall? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/106 "2015-06-01T21:24:15Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Is there any evidence it’s Valyrian steel that kills them, rather than the particular sword Jon Snow is wielding (I didn’t even know it was made of Valyrian steel)? Jon’s sword is called Longclaw, ancestral sword of House Mormont. Lord Commander Jeor Mormont gave it to him for saving him from a wight, since his son Jorah the Explorer brought shame upon the House by selling slaves. White Walkers do [this](https://youtu.be/ps5iGu7-b4E?t=372) to blades made from ordinary steel. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/107 "2015-06-01T21:24:57Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Was it explained in-show how Jon acquired that sword? Was it given to him at the Wall? Yup, the former Lord Commander, Jeor Mormont, gave it to Jon after Jon saved him from a zombie. They showed it on the “previously on” at the beginning of the episode. If Jorah wasn’t a slaver it would have gone to him. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/108 "2015-06-01T21:30:20Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Is there any evidence it’s Valyrian steel that kills them, rather than the particular sword Jon Snow is wielding (I didn’t even know it was made of Valyrian steel)? On the “previously on…” part before the show started, they made a point to reshow Jon getting his sword, with the dialogue of (basically), “Oh boy, it’s Valyrian steel!” ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/109 "2015-06-01T21:30:57Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > My problem with that scene is that if the widow does not get paid off, she just has to let the other ships captains know that Kenny Rogers does not pay off and they will stop using him. So he can pay off the widow or lose his business. Presumably there are terms and conditions of the contract, just like insurance here. We only heard her side of the story, and secondhand at that. Perhaps the Gambler has reason to believe that the captain scuttled his own (worn-out and empty) ship for the insurance money, collecting payment for his cargo twice, and is refusing to pay out for that reason? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/110 "2015-06-01T21:36:05Z")
Just gotta say I love the nickname for Jon Snow - King Crow ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/111 "2015-06-01T21:42:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > My theory is that the White Walkers are empowered by winter. There are plenty of places it seems to me that don’t experience winter, like where Daenerys has been hanging out. So my guess is that there’s a limit to how far the White Walkers can extend their power. Except we don’t know how far south Winter can extend, once it comes! I’m getting the feeling that this is not your grandfather’s Winter… ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/112 "2015-06-01T21:42:31Z")
I was seriously thinking the night king would freeze the sea nearby and the zombies would start heading out… Or would that just be too cool, and things ending rather suddenly for the rowers… ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/113 "2015-06-01T21:43:44Z")
amazing the WWs just showed up when Snow and the other guys from the watch were visiting. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/114 "2015-06-01T21:56:59Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Nice fantasy, but given that White Walkers explode on contact with dragon glass, I’m thinking that actual dragons are going to be even more lethal to them. I kind of assumed that at some point Danerys and her dragon kids are going to wind up fire-hosing the White Walkers and their army in a big way. I imagined the finale battle at the wall and one of the smaller dragons sweeping low by the wall torching wights, then a horde of them leap off the wall onto the dragon’s back and take it down. A dragon riding Dany tearfully commands Drogon to torch the remains before it can reanimate. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/115 "2015-06-01T23:06:02Z")
So does that mean Jon Snow is now daddy/uncle/ward/carer for two young orphans? ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/116 "2015-06-01T23:07:36Z")
and why are the Free Folk wearing Operation Desert Storm surplus kit? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/117 "2015-06-01T23:22:01Z")
The two Wilding kids? Why would Jon become their caretaker when there are thousands of other Wildlings who can look after them, probably including some who already know them? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/118 "2015-06-01T23:30:17Z")
Give them to Sam. He doesn’t mind rearing wildling children. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/119 "2015-06-02T01:18:44Z")
Ok…not much more to add. That was a totally bad-ass episode. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2015, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309/120 "2015-06-02T01:26:34Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > There seems to be very little point in a turning a baby that was just born into a zombie, the zombie army is for fighting. That was clearly meant to be a white walker like them. Aren’t we saying the same thing? They’re both undead aren’t they? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-5-08-hardhome-5-31-15-show-discussion/721309.md?page=7)