# Game of Thrones 7.06 "Beyond The Wall" 8/20/17 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2017, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223 "2017-08-20T22:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/221 "2017-08-22T17:38:23Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > You might wanna take a _reeeeeeeal_ close look at Longclaw here: [Game of Thrones season 7 episode 6: Did you spot the Longclaw sword eye Easter egg? | The Independent | The Independent](http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/game-of-thrones-season-7-episode-6-jon-snow-sword-longclaw-eye-opens-easter-egg-a7905431.html) The eye gem is transparent/translucent, and it gets darker when his glove hits the ground, because of the reflection. There is no deeper meaning in that. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/222 "2017-08-22T17:57:57Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I’d be fine with this. > My favorite line was by The Hound. > > “This one’s been killed 6 times. You don’t hear him bitching about it.” He should have pointed out that one of those times was by him, that would really drill home the “quit taking it personal” point. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/223 "2017-08-22T17:59:40Z")
I was thinking that too. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/224 "2017-08-22T18:40:34Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Jaqen took Arya’s face. Yeah, but Jaqen H’ghar’s a badass. He can do things that would make Chuck Norris jealous. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Not necessarily, but it might be best if [Littlefinger] took a fatal “accidental” tumble off a tall Winterfell tower. Sansa can still wrap wee Robin around her little finger and keep the Vale on her side. Now there’s an idea for the final shot of the season, Littlefinger taking a tumble from the broken tower in the exact same manner as Bran in the first episode. Note that the show made a point of Arya giving the Valyrian dagger back to Sansa. Perhaps in the next episode she’ll finally figure out its significance, or Bran will tell her whose dagger it really is. (Bran really needs to start fessing up about what he knows; he still hasn’t told anyone the truth of Jon’s parentage yet.) In any case, the dagger has been getting way too much screen time to be just a meaningless prop – it must be leading to some kind of reveal down the line. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/225 "2017-08-22T18:59:39Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Benjen’s horse returned to Castle Black in one of the earlier seasons, sans Uncle Benjen. It made Jon sad. That was after the two wights were reanimated, I believe. > I think that was Jon’s plan. To kill the Night King and end the war right then. That’s why he ignored the dragon getaway. It was a nice parallel with Jaime trying to end his war against Daenerys with a lance a few episodes ago. Or for that matter Robert v. Rhaegar on the Trident. > > It’s an interesting fantasy trope, that with a single sword stroke, one guy killing another guy (or gal, or ancient ice wizard) could immediately end a massive years-long war that thousands have fought and died for. It usually doesn’t happen that way in real life, unless you kill Richard III. Is the Robert vs Rhaegar thing in the show? There was a video on Reddit about the battle of the Trident a couple weeks ago and I didn’t watch because it had a spoiler warning. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/226 "2017-08-22T19:01:46Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Is the Robert vs Rhaegar thing in the show? There was a video on Reddit about the battle of the Trident a couple weeks ago and I didn’t watch because it had a spoiler warning. It was discussed, but we’ve never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/227 "2017-08-22T19:05:03Z")
It was definitely mentioned. Like the rest of Robert’s Rebellion (except for Ned’s little clean up expedition after the war was over), it wasn’t shown on screen, just discussed. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/228 "2017-08-22T19:15:38Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > (Bran really needs to start fessing up about what he knows; he still hasn’t told anyone the truth of Jon’s parentage yet). I’m not sure there’s a good reason for Bran to tell Jon (or anyone) this. What good would it do? For all that it might - _might_ help Jon out with Dany, it surely wouldn’t help him even the tiniest bit with the North. I actually think the trope-busting thing to do here would be simply to _never have anyone find out the truth at all._ Jon lives, fights, dies, lives, fights, rules, and dies again as Ned Stark’s bastard, and no one (except for us, the viewers) is ever the wiser. That’s the kind of tricking of expectations that I like. In the real world, not every story gets told. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/229 "2017-08-22T19:18:28Z")
[Here](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/arts/television/alan-taylor-director-game-of-thrones.html) is a Q&A with Alan Taylor, who directed this episode. Among other things, he talks about the controversy over the speed at which a raven can fly, “I’ve only looked at one review online, and it was very much concerned with the speed of the ravens. I thought, that’s funny — you don’t seem troubled by the lizard as big as a 747, but you’re really concerned about the speed of a raven.” He also talks about the whole Daenerys + Jon Snow thing. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/230 "2017-08-22T19:19:29Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/arts/television/alan-taylor-director-game-of-thrones.html) is a Q&A with Alan Taylor, who directed this episode. Among other things, he talks about the controversy over the speed at which a raven can fly, “I’ve only looked at one review online, and it was very much concerned with the speed of the ravens. I thought, that’s funny — you don’t seem troubled by the lizard as big as a 747, but you’re really concerned about the speed of a raven.” That’s a horribly lame copout. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/231 "2017-08-22T19:34:10Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > That’s a horribly lame copout. More than a copout, it’s an insult to story telling and the world that Martin created. If the rules of the universe have no meaning, there are no stakes involved in anything. Another reason why the seige on the ice rock was so dull. There was never any doubt that Dany would come, the entire time spent trying to establish drama was a giant waste. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/232 "2017-08-22T19:39:32Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > That’s a horribly lame copout. Yup. It’s also a good clue to the rest of us that we should stop trying to discern meaning from every tiny little thing that we think is a connection to make - the showrunners don’t give a shit about obvious things like the ravens, why the hell do we think they’re going to care about the other stuff? ---
**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:** [August 22, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/233 "2017-08-22T19:42:47Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > [Here](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/arts/television/alan-taylor-director-game-of-thrones.html) is a Q&A with Alan Taylor, who directed this episode. Among other things, he talks about the controversy over the speed at which a raven can fly, “I’ve only looked at one review online, and it was very much concerned with the speed of the ravens. I thought, that’s funny — you don’t seem troubled by the lizard as big as a 747, but you’re really concerned about the speed of a raven.” > > He also talks about the whole Daenerys + Jon Snow thing. Well, I’m kinda tweaked about how the dragons can take one tiny leap into the air and suddenly be flying. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/234 "2017-08-22T19:47:57Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > If the rules of the universe have no meaning, Has it been established that GoT ravens can only fly as fast real world ravens? If not then I have no problem with, and see no rules being broken with, ravens in GoT being able to fly faster than their real world counterparts. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/235 "2017-08-22T19:53:55Z")
Re: Arya and Sansa. It’s either one of two things: 1. Arya is playing a con on Littlefinger and keeping her cards close to her chest to the point where Sansa doesn’t even know. 2. She is so blinded by her hatred for the Lannisters and the fact that she can’t see past the spoiled girl Sansa was when they last were together to the point that it is a dramatic flaw tat might be their undoing. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/236 "2017-08-22T19:56:00Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > 1. She is so blinded by her hatred for the Lannisters and the fact that she can’t see past the spoiled girl Sansa was when they last were together to the point that it is a dramatic flaw tat might be their undoing. I think that’s it. I also think she’s blinded by the fact that yes, Sansa would like to be in charge and she thinks she can do a better job than Jon, but that doesn’t mean she’s actually going to betray him. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/237 "2017-08-22T19:59:06Z")
The more I think about it the more the army of the dead seems like a complete bluff. The wights are completely useless as fighters. They are slow, tactically inept and seemingly incapable of ranged combat. Any half-decent army in Westeros would crush them. While the white walkers are more formidable, they seem tiny in number and of course if you kill one, a whole bunch of wights will also die. And if you kill the night king, apparently the whole army collapses. In any kind of serious battle the night king would be immensely vulnerable both to long-range archers and elite cavalry whose sole task would be to attack him and finish the war. Of course they now have a dragon which makes them massively more dangerous than they were before. But if Jon Snow had just sat tight behind the wall, they would never have acquired a dragon. Even if they had breached the wall they would have been crushed by the Northerners alone in open combat, let alone all the other forces in Westeros. I don’t think it was the intention of the writers, but if you take the events of the last episode at face value, Jon Snow was wrong and everyone else who downplayed the whitewalker threat was right. ---
**Author:** ![bbonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecb155/32.png) [@bbonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbonden)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/238 "2017-08-22T20:02:33Z")
The episode reminded me of _The Hobbit_ movies, and especially the last two. A strong underlying fantasy narrative with a couple of "whoa"s with narrative impact, all undermined by unnecessarily inserted tropes and facile attempts to make fanboy moments. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/239 "2017-08-22T20:09:41Z")
Don’t worry, Lantern - I’m sure when they pull the wight out of the bag in front of Cersei, someone will exclaim, “by the Seven Gods, it has the strength of 5 men - how will we ever defeat a whole army of them!” to exposition that away. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2017, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223/240 "2017-08-22T20:17:06Z")
And it wasn’t just the raven, it was Gendry running to the wall, the raven flying all the way to Dragonstone and Dany flying all the way back. It would NOT have been hard to change the story so they had a few days instead of one night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-7-06-beyond-the-wall-8-20-17/794223.md?page=13)