Every battle sequence on Game of Thrones, ranked worst to best
6. THE BATTLE ON THE FROZEN LAKE (“Beyond the Wall,” Episode 706)
Major Players: Jon Snow, the Night King, Tormund, Gendry, the Hound, Jorah Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, Daenerys Targaryen, Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion, Benjen Stark
Deaths: Thoros of Myr, Benjen Stark, Viserion (turned into a wight-dragon)
Battle: While Jon Jon Snow leads an expedition north of the Wall to capture a wight, they are attacked by a wight polar bear and Thoros of Myr is badly wounded. Chased by the White Walker horde, Jon’s company ends up stranded on a rocky outcropping in the middle of a frozen lake. The ice is thin, so the undead army simply wait, surrounding the lake.
Overnight, the mortally wounded Thoros has frozen to death so the company burns his body. The ice has thickened, allowing the wight army to attack. Jon’s company is about to be overwhelmed when Daenerys arrives with her dragons to save the day. The Night King fires a javelin that strikes Viserion; the dragon crashes into the lake and sinks below the ice. Daenerys, Jon and the rest of the expedition barely escape with their lives.
Importance: While one might argue that the entire expedition to capture a wight is a bit farfetched, the resulting specimen is vital evidence needed for Jon and Daenerys to convince Cersei Lannister to join the fight against the White Walkers.
The expedition learns that killing a White Walker also destroys wights he has raised, which is invaluable knowledge. And Viserion’s transformation into a wight-dragon is key to the Night King’s plans to breach the Wall.
Cinematics: Bold, wide in scope and epic as ever, the desperate stand of Jon Snow and his company on the ice lake delivers spectacular, snowbound imagery and action. With dragonfire and flaming swords, it’s a great sequence, but it does suffer from some typical geography/distance/time issues, plus the hefty losses–Thoros of Myr and Viserion–seem awfully steep in return for Biff (the captured wight).
Quote: “If we hadn’t gone, I wouldn’t have seen. You have to see it to know. Now I know.” (Daenerys, To Jon Snow)