Hardhome (episode)

"Hardhome" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of Game of Thrones. It is the forty-eighth episode of the series overall. It premiered on May 31, 2015. It was written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

In Braavos
Arya assumes the identity of Lanna, a clam-seller, and shows Jaqen H'ghar she can convincingly become a different person, developing an elaborate and very believable backstory. The Faceless Man sends her, as Lanna, to the harbour where she observes someone referred to as "the thin man" refuse a contract to insure a man's boat, leaving the man in desperate circumstances. Jaqen explains the thin man's business is a sort of gamble yet he does not honour his agreements; if a ship captain's boat sinks, the gambler's family will want the insurance money, but he often doesn't give it to them. Jaqen instructs her to kill him, and hands her a "gift" for the thin man —a vial of poison. The waif is skeptical of Arya/Lanna's success.

At the Wall
Gilly continues to tend Sam's wounds. Olly enters with some food, having heard what happened. Once Gilly leaves, however, Olly expresses concern at joining forces with the Wildlings, particularly Tormund, who led the raid in which his parents were killed. Sam reassures Olly that Jon knows what he is doing, and that unless he is successful, neither the Night's Watch nor the people of the North they protect stand a chance against the winter.

In King's Landing
Cersei is told to confess in return for her freedom. She remains defiant, despite being obliged to drink water from the floor out of sheer thirst. Qyburn visits her in her cell, and informs her that her trial will begin soon for the crimes of fornication, treason and incest, all of which Cersei furiously dismisses as 'lies'. Qyburn tells her that Grand Maester Pycelle has summoned Kevan Lannister to serve as Hand of the King; unfortunately he has refused to visit her in prison. He also tells her that Tommen has become reclusive, refusing to see anyone and refusing to eat in his emotional state. Before leaving, he tells her "the work continues" on their secret project.

In the North
A bitter and determined Sansa confronts Reek about her brothers. After some time, during which Reek apologetically explains why he betrayed her escape plan to Ramsay, and how 'Theon' deserved his torture for similarly trying to escape and for betraying Robb Stark, he accidentally admits that the two boys his men burned were not, in fact, her brothers. When Sansa presses, he tells her they were in fact two farm boys, as he couldn't find Bran and Rickon. He does not know their current locations, however. Despite Sansa's urgings, he breaks down and runs out of the room.

Roose Bolton maintains that his army must wait inside Winterfell, thus starving out Stannis' forces, as Winterfell had enough supplies to last 6 months under siege. That would cause a mutiny in the ranks of the Baratheon force and break them down. Ramsay, on the other hand, has a plan to defeat Stannis decisively and asks his father to lend him "just 20 good men".

In Meereen
In the Throne Room, Daenerys ponders what to do with Tyrion and Jorah. She asks Tyrion why she shouldn't kill him, since the Lannisters are enemies to her House. He claims to have killed both of his parents and by that he is an enemy to the Lannisters as well. Daenerys isn't convinced that killing one's own familiy is a good reputation for someone in her service. Tyrion counters by wondering aloud if she at least is worth his service. Ordered to tell her why he has come to her from the other end of the world, he explains how he learned about her own story from rumours and from Varys. He says that she – a lost girl born in a storm, who with virtually no assistance managed to acquire a barbarian horde, an effective army, conquer three cities, break the slave trade and hatch three dragons – might be worth living for when he lost everything he had lived for until then. He adds that Daenerys needs his advice despite having a powerful army and large dragons, as she lacks both political experience and practical knowledge of Westeros.

She eventually agrees to spare his life, but asks what to do about Ser Jorah. She is intent to fulfil her promise of killing him if she saw him again, as it would not do at all for a queen not to keep her word. Tyrion defends Jorah, commenting that he is clearly devoted to her and quite possibly in love with her, but also that he did not trust her enough to inform her of his mission to spy on her for King Robert and that therefore he cannot be trusted to stand by her side. But, he argues, just as a queen should keep true to her oaths, she should also not kill those devoted to her.

Daenerys exiles Jorah from the city. Contemplating his Greyscale, Jorah returns to Yezzan zo Qaggaz and offers to fight for him. He promises to lead Yezzan's team to the Great Pit and win the tournament for the Queen – after that, Yezzan can make a fortune selling Jorah on the black market.

Later, Tyrion and Daenerys sit in her solar and have a talk about ambitions. When Tyrion mentions what a horrible father Tywin was, Daenerys admits that she no longer has any illusions about her own father. Daenerys is curious about the circumstances of Tyrion's murder of Tywin. He wryly promises that if she decides not to kill him then one day he will tell her, but on that day they will need a lot more wine than the large decanter they are drinking from.

They discuss the role of Varys in their stories and Tyrion assures Daenerys he trusts him, and that he's probably the reason she wasn't killed years ago. Tyrion was convinced by Varys that she could be a ruler who deserves his support. When Daenerys asks how he can get her what she wants, Tyrion nearly rolls his eyes at her desire for the Iron Throne. He suggests that she might stay in Slaver's Bay and build a new kingdom for herself in Meereen, complimenting her on reopening the fighting pits and her upcoming political marriage. She admits that she will to stay and help stabilize things, and make sure the slave trade stays broken, but Essos is not her "home". Tyrion counters that no one will support her in Westeros, but Daenerys somewhat idealistically declares that the common people will support her. Tyrion generously assumes that this will be true (which it generally isn't), but says that she has no support from the Great Houses: the Starks are dead or scattered, the last true Baratheon will never bend the knee and the Lannisters will never surrender, leaving the Tyrells as the only House Tyrion can think of who might switch sides. Daenerys likens the Great Houses, including her own House Targaryen, to the spokes on a wheel, one on top and then others, and on and on, crushing the lesser houses and commoners beneath them in their struggle for supremacy. Tyrion sarcastically warns that others have dreamed of stopping the wheel, but Daenerys instead plans to break it.

Daenerys decides Tyrion will remain as her advisor, but confiscates the wine, as a drunk is of no use to her.

At Hardhome
Jon Snow and Tormund Giantsbane, along with other members of the Night's Watch and the Free Folk, arrive at the Wildling town Hardhome to convince the rest of the Wildlings to join them in the upcoming war against the White Walkers and their armies of Wights.

Insisting on never being an ally with a Crow, The Lord of Bones insults Tormund for being at the side of Jon Snow, causing Tormund to beat his former ally to death with his own staff. The Wildling elders decide to gather in the Townshall to hear Jon, who quickly proposes an alliance between the Free Folk and the Night's Watch in the face of their common enemy, the undead.

Having not seen Mance Rayder since he was taken prisoner at The Wall, the Wildlings question his whereabouts. Snow reluctantly informs them that he is dead and that he shot him personally, with an arrow. This angers the group, but as they move in to kill him, Tormund vouches for him, describing how Rayder was about to be burned at the stake as a warning from Stannis Baratheon, and how Snow defied Stannis by ending his life quickly instead of humiliating him. Some leaders are convinced, such as Karsi, but others like the Thenn warrior Loboda begin to leave.

Just as many of the Free Folk gather to set sail to the Wall, dogs begin barking and the sounds of a storm are heard. Recognizing this as the sign of approaching White Walkers, Loboda orders the gates of Hardhome to be shut, abandoning many of the Free Folk to their fate. As the storm reaches the village, the screams of the people shut outside the walls of Hardhome quickly fall silent. A moment later, a large host of undead wights start breaking through the gates and climbing over the walls. Jon, Tormund, Loboda and Karsi fight alongside others to give as many people as possible an opportunity to make it to their ships. Edd Tollet, Wun Wun the giant, and others are trapped inside the townhall, which is set upon by wights and catches fire- in the confusion, the bag of dragonglass weapons is lost.

On top of a hill overlooking Hardhome, multiple White Walkers mounted on undead horses observe the battle, including The Night's King. Noticing them, and realising the need for dragonglass, Jon and Loboda go to the burning townhall, only to be confronted by a White Walker warrior. While Loboda faces the threat, Jon Snow goes for the dragonglass. Loboda is quickly killed after his axe shatters immediately upon contacting the White Walkers weapon. Jon just manages to grab a dragonglass dagger but is tossed aside by the White Walker's superior strength. Jon retrieves Longclaw and defends himself against the White Walker, but both combatants are astonished to see the Valyrian steel remain intact after colliding with the White Walker's weapon. Seizing the opportunity, Jon slays the White Walker, shattering it to pieces, indicating Valyrian steel to be another weakness of the White Walkers, similar to Dragonglass. All this is observed by the Night's King, who seems at least mildly intrigued by this turn of event.

Meanwhile, Karsi fights off multiple wights before being confronted by a pack of undead children. Frozen by the horror, she is unable to resist as she is mauled to death. The White Walkers send another large host of wights, hurling them over the cliffs above Hardhome. Jon, Edd, Tormund and the remaining defenders flee for their lives. Shielded by Wun Wun, who wields a burning log as a club before walking into the sea with them, they manage to get to the last remaining boat and quickly row out to a safe distance. As Jon and the others look on in horror, the Night's King raises its arms triumphantly; all around it, the slain wildlings rise up as undead wights, including Karsi. The Night's King and its army continue to stare in silence as they retreat.

Appearances

 * Main: Hardhome (episode)/Appearances

First

 * The Thin Man
 * Karsi
 * Loboda
 * Wun Wun
 * White Walker
 * Johnna
 * Johnna's sister
 * Wildling elder

Deaths

 * Lord of Bones
 * Loboda
 * White Walker
 * Karsi

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Mother Cersei Lannister
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen
 * Kit Harington as Lord Commander Jon Snow
 * Sophie Turner as Lady Sansa Stark
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Hannah Murray as Gilly
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
 * Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
 * Tom Wlaschiha as Jaqen H'ghar
 * Michael McElhatton as Lord Roose Bolton
 * Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton
 * with Iain Glen as Ser Jorah Mormont

Guest Starring
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn
 * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
 * Faye Marsay as The Waif
 * Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Karsi
 * Enzo Cilenti as Yezzan zo Qaggaz
 * Zahary Baharov as Loboda
 * Hannah Waddingham as Septa Unella
 * Brenock O'Connor as Olly
 * Richard Brake as The Night's King
 * Ian Whyte as Wun Wun
 * Ross O'Hennessy as the Lord of Bones
 * Murray McArthur as Wildling elder
 * Will O'Connell as Todder
 * Oengus MacNamara as the thin man
 * Sarine Sofair as Lhara
 * Morgan C. Jones as a Braavoshi Captain
 * Tim Loane as a White Walker
 * Ali Lyons as Johnna
 * Karla Lyons as Johnna's sister

Cast notes

 * 15 of 27 cast members for the fifth season appear in this episode.
 * Starring cast members Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Aidan Gillen (Petyr Baelish), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand), Conleth Hill (Varys), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Michiel Huisman (Daario Naharis) and Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.

In the books

 * See: Differences between books and TV series - Season 5


 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Feast for Crows:
 * Chapter 22, Arya II: The Faceless Man tells Arya she must leave the temple and adopt a new identity.
 * Chapter 34, Cat of the Canals: Arya gets used to making a living in Braavos under the identity of an orphan girl who wanders the city's canals and sells oysters, clams and cockles from a cart. Every day, Arya comes back to the House of Black and White and informs of her daily routine to the Faceless Man.
 * Chapter 43, Cersei X: Cersei remains imprisoned at the Great Sept of Baelor, where Septa Unella continuously asks her to confess her sins. She has been stripped of her garments and is made to wear rags. A septa offers Cersei a bowl of soup, which she finds disgusting and throws at her face. Later, however, she is too thirsty to refuse the water she is brought. Qyburn visits her and tells her the Faith will try her for murder, treason, and fornication, and that Grand Maester Pycelle sent a raven to Casterly Rock asking for her uncle Ser Kevan to take over the small council.
 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
 * Chapter 7, Jon II: Jon discovers that Valyrian steel may kill White Walkers.
 * Chapter 35, Jon VII: Ranging Beyond the Wall, Jon Snow meets the giant Wun Wun and some wildling men, all of whom Jon convinces to come back to Castle Black with them.
 * Chapter 49, Jon X: Jon’s plan to bring Tormund to the Wall with thousands of wildlings is a success.
 * Chapter 51, Theon I: Roose Bolton decides to let out a host to fight Stannis in the snow.
 * Chapter 54, Cersei I: Ser Kevan comes back to King's Landing and now presides over the small council.
 * Chapter 58, Jon XII: Jon’s Night’s Watch men arrive in Hardhome in order to bring the Free Folk south of the Wall and save them from the White Walkers, but the settlement is surrounded by wights.
 * Chapter 64, The Ugly Little Girl: Arya is charged with her first assassination target: an old man selling insurance to ship captains. Arya is to follow the conman in her disguise of the clam-selling orphan and learn as much about him before killing him. When the captains die at sea, he is supposed to make good on his promise and pay the family, but he often doesn't. The man is always protected by two guards, and counts his coins jealously. Arya is given a poison to accomplish the task silently.
 * Chapter 66, Tyrion XII: Tyrion Lannister talks his way out of his bondage to Yezzan zo Qaggaz and comes to an agreement with Queen Daenerys’ side.
 * Chapter 69, Jon XIII: Jon is to lead a rescue mission to Hardhome with Tormund.
 * The sixth novel, The Winds of Winter, remains unpublished, so there are some events brought forward from it that may occur in the story, yet the specific chapters are unknown. This may include Sansa’s wedding and her return to Winterfell, both of which are also part of Littlefinger's plan in the books but have not happened yet, and the specifics of the events at Hardhome. The meeting of Tyrion and Daenerys has been confirmed to take place in the sixth book.