The Watchers on the Wall

"The Watchers on the Wall" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of Game of Thrones. It is the thirty-ninth episode of the series overall. It premiered on June 8, 2014. It was written by producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and directed by Neil Marshall.

Plot
The Night's Watch, hopelessly outnumbered, attempt to defend Castle Black from Mance Rayder's massive wilding army, who plan to siege the fortress from the north and while a secret garrison of wildlings including Tormund Giantsbane, Styr, and Ygritte]  are poised to launch a surprise attack from the south of [[the Wall.

At the Wall
​​Jon and Sam are on top of the Wall talking about the adventure Jon had with a woman. Sam brings up that the vows of the Night's Watch do not necessarily forbid having intimate relationships with women, they are only forbidden to marry women and father any children and other "activities" are open to interpretation. Jon replies that Alliser Thorne most likely does not care about their interpretations. Jon tries to explain how it is to be with a woman, but struggles to find a proper way to express it. Sam takes the elevator down to Castle Black when an owl lands on the Wall, controlled by a Thenn Warg. Just outside the castle, the group of wildlings under command of Tormund and Styr has set up camp. Tormund is boasting about a bear he supposedly had sex with when Ygritte cuts him short as she doubts that to be true. She tells him that she only cares about getting as much arrows through the hearts of "crows" as possible. She angrily tells about how the people south of the Wall shut the the wildlings out by building it and hunted the wildling; she says that now the wildlings themselves are hunting. Styr mockingly replies that Ygritte has more words about killing then she has arrows. She defends herself by saying she killed just as many people at Mole's Town than he but Styr replies that none of them was her lover Jon Snow. He further mocks her by saying that when she sees him, she likely just serves him a slice of "ginger mince", causing her to stand up in front of him, angered. Ygritte claims that she wants to kill Jon Snow herself, having an arrow ready for anyone else to kill him. Just outside the camp, a one shaded person cradling something passes by.

​In the library of the Castle, Sam is caught reading by Maester Aemon. Sam was reading a book by Measter Fall about wildlings. Aemon correctly guesses that Sam only wanted to know what might have happened to the girl he loved, Gilly. Aemon talks about the girl he once loved and how he still has the exact sight of her on his mind. Outside, Sam hears Gilly at the gate begging to be allowed inside, while Pypar denies her, saying he is not allowed to open the gate at any circumstances. Sam convinces Pypar to open the gate and let her in. Sam promises Gilly wherever she goes next, he will go there too. Suddenly, two blows from the horn are sound, indicating the wildling army led by Mance Rayder approaching the Wall. Sam rushes to get Gilly safely inside while other brothers of the Night's Watch prepares for the imminent attack by wildlings.

Tormund receives the signal from Mance Rayder through the owl controlled by the Thenn Warg.

On top of the Wall, Jon Snow witnesses a huge fire in the woods, immediately realizing what is about to happen. Alliser Thorne says that they should have blocked the gates as Jon Snow suggested earlier. He further tells that leadership means being second guessed by "clever little twats with a mouth" and when a man in charge second guesses himself, all is doomed.

Sam brings Gilly​ and her baby to a storage room where she can hide. Gilly wants Sam to stay with her as he promised, but he cannot as he sworn to defend the wall as a brother of the Night's Watch. Before he leaves her, they share a kiss. Sam is preparing arrows when Pypar laments that he never seen a real battle before. Pypar says Sam is not afraid but Sam says he is, as there are thousands of wildlings about to attack. Pypar asks how he managed to kill a White Walker while being afraid. Sam says that at that moment, he just had to do something or Gilly would have been killed and her baby would have been taken. Sam further explains that at that moment, he wasn't himself, he was nothing, and when you are nothing there is nothing to be afraid of. Now at Castle Black he is something.

​Meanwhile, Ygritte spies on the Castle to scout numbers of defenders. She tells the other wildings that most of the guards are on the Wall and few in the Castle. The group prepares to attack, while Ygritte seems to have second thoughts. As the small group runs for Castle Black, the main wildling army approaches the Wall from the woods, including giants and a mammoth. Alliser orders the archers on the Wall to lock their arrows, but they draw instead while Grenn accidently drops a barrel down the Wall. Alliser angrily drills his men when another horn blows from down below at Castle Black, alarming for Tormund and his group. Alliser decides to go down leaving command on the Wall to Janos Slynt, who clumsily repeats Alliser's orders.

​At the castle, Tormund and Styr's forces charge the gate. Ygritte inflicts numerous casualties with here bow. Pypar is firing a crossbow as Sam assists by reloading another crossbow, but doesn't hit any wildlings. The wildlings then use grappling hooks and ropes to scale Castle Black's walls. Sam and Pyp retreat from their positions once the wildlings begin coming over the walls. Tormund and Styr are among the first wildlings to scale Castle Black's walls.

Alliser Thorne arrives with reinforcements from the top of the Wall via the wooden lift system, which is being operated by Olly. Alliser gives an impassioned speech, promising that the ancient order of the Night's Watch and Castle Black will survive this battle. His speech rallies the black brothers and Alliser personally leads the charge against the wildlings who have breached Castle Black's defenses.

​On the northern side of the Wall, a wildling strike force led by two giants (one of which is riding a mammoth) charge Castle Black's outer gate. At the top of the Wall, Janos Slynt, having no true leadership experience, breaks down at the sight of the massive wildling army. Grenn steps in by falsely claiming that Alliser needs Janos back down in Castle Black. Janos believes the lie and leaves, allowing Jon to take command of the Wall's defenses. The black brothers continue to rain down arrows on the advancing wildlings, even killing ones that are attempting to scale the Wall. One giant, armed with a massive bow, manages to kill a black brother atop the Wall.

Down in Castle Black, the battle rages on between the wildlings and the Night's Watch. Styr and Ygritte continue to slay numerous black brothers. At one point, a group of wildlings breach Castle Black's dining hall. One wildling is killed when a black brother throws boiling stew in his face and beats him to death with the pot. Hobb, Castle Black's cook, calmly enters the dining hall and kills a wildling with his massive butcher's knife. Meanwhile, Janos Slynt hides in the back of the kitchens, where he discovers Gilly and her baby.

Work in progress.​​

First

 * Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg
 * Giant
 * Cooper
 * Donnel Hill

Deaths

 * Ygritte
 * Grenn
 * Pypar
 * Cooper
 * Donnel Hill
 * Styr
 * Thenn Warg
 * Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg
 * Giant

Cast
Starring
 * Kit Harington as Jon Snow
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Hannah Murray as Gilly
 * Rose Leslie as Ygritte
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund

Guest starring Uncredited
 * Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon
 * Owen Teale as Ser Alliser Thorne
 * Dominic Carter as Lord Janos Slynt
 * Mark Stanley as Grenn
 * Ben Crompton as Eddison Tollett
 * Yuri Kolokolnikov as Styr
 * Josef Altin as Pypar
 * Brenock O'Connor as Olly
 * Joseph Gatt as the Thenn Warg
 * Ian Whyte as Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg
 * Neil Fingleton as Giant
 * Joe Claflin as Cooper
 * Unknown as Donnel Hill

Cast notes

 * Only 5 of 26 starring cast members for the fourth season appear in this episode, the fewest ever in the history of the show.
 * Starring cast members Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Jerome Flynn (Bronn), Aidan Gillen (Petyr Baelish), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Conleth Hill (Varys), Sibel Kekilli (Shae), Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane), Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Carice van Houten (Melisandre), and Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.

In the Books

 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Storm of Swords:
 * Chapter 55, Jon VII: Jon finds Ygritte, shot through the chest with an arrow, and the woman he loved dies in his arms.
 * Chapter 64, Jon VIII: Jon orders fire arrows and oil casks dropped on the giants and mammoths.
 * Chapter 73, Jon X: Jon makes the decision to leave Castle Black and go north of the wall to meet with Mance Rayder.

Memorable Quotes
Alliser Thorne - "Brothers! A hundred generations have defended this castle. She has never fallen before and she will not fall tonight. Those are Thenns on our walls, they eat the flesh of the men they kill! Do you want to fill the belly of a Thenn tonight? Tonight we fight! And when the sun rises, I promise you, Castle Black will stand! The Night's Watch will stand! With me now, now with me!"