Beyond the Wall (Game of Thrones)

The episode's main plot focuses on Jon Snow's raiding party as they journey north of the Wall; they successfully capture a wight to prove the threat, though Thoros is killed.

"Beyond the Wall" received mostly positive praise from critics, who listed the epic scale and special effects of the battle between the White Walkers and the dragons, the interactions between the northern raiding party, and Jon swearing fealty to Daenerys as highlights of the episode,[2] though some reviewers criticized the episode for "defying logic" and its rushed storytelling.

Arya accuses Sansa of mainly being concerned that she will lose face with the Northern lords if the letter is made public.

A horde of wights approaches, and Gendry is sent alone to Eastwatch to send a raven to Daenerys while the others take refuge on a small island in the middle of a partially frozen lake.

"[4] Weiss also stated that the most enjoyable part in writing the sequence was to make it seem as though all of the "good guys" were going to "get out the other side more or less scot-free", and knew that subsequently killing the dragon would have "a tremendous emotional impact", due to its importance to Daenerys.

Weiss recalled being told that they were not able to afford the special effect, but felt that it made "perfect sense that you could have one of these things out there, and we really put our four feet down and said goddamnit, we want a zombie polar bear", and thus wrote it into the episode.

Since his hiatus from the series, Taylor was a director for several big budget Hollywood films, including Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys.

[7] Taylor had fallen into depression following his bad experiences working in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Terminator franchise, so he felt that returning to direct this episode of Game of Thrones was part of his "healing process" to rediscover his joy for filmmaking.

[7] However, with "Beyond the Wall", he was able to fully utilize visual effects to create the large environment, dragons and armies due to the increased budget.

[7] He also described the experience as "going full circle", having witnessed the evolution of characters such as Sophie Turner as Sansa and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, whom he directed when they were children, and that they have since grown up.

[10] Though the actors were dressed warmly for the scenes beyond the Wall, their suits contained a "tube system through which cold water can be circulated between shots using a portable pump to keep them from getting overheated", due to the actual warmth of filming on a fake set in Northern Ireland.

[7] This was also essential due to the possibility of Rory McCann's, who portrays Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, prosthetic makeup melting off his face.

[11] In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.18 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week on its channel.

[13] "Beyond the Wall" received mostly positive reviews from critics who listed the epic scale and special effects of the battle between the White Walkers and the dragons, the interactions between the northern raiding party and Jon swearing fealty to Daenerys as highlights of the episode,[2] although some reviewers criticized the episode for "[defying] logic".

[14] The site's consensus reads ""Beyond The Wall" delivered the epic battles and plot twists that are expected from the penultimate episode of a Game of Thrones season – although sometimes in ways that defied logic.

In that way, "Beyond the Wall" was no different, as it arguably featured the greatest loss the series has faced to date: a dragon killed by the Night King, and even worse, resurrected by him.

"[15] Schwartz went on to also praise the interactions between the northern raiding party on their journey to find the White Walkers, and ultimately gave the episode a 6.9 out of 10.

"[17] He also praised the episode, however, by saying "On the level of spectacle, "Beyond The Wall" is another series high point, with stellar work from returning director Alan Taylor, capturing the visceral battles that the seven men and several Red Shirts encounter on their journey.

And I was charmed by the series of "walk and talks" that punctuate their travels, brief vignettes of characters like Sandor and Tormund interacting for the first time while marching toward their potential dooms.

By bringing the season-long promise of terror and triumph in rapid succession, the series turned this vital episode into a horror story to remember.