Game of Thrones Recap: The Fate of Winterfell

Ramsay and Jon battle for the right to Winterfell in Game of Thrones’ most thrilling conflict to date.

The history of Game of Thrones can be tracked through several great battles. Tyrion proved his mettle (thought got none the credit) for “Blackwater,” Jon held off a Wildling invasion in “The Watchers on the Wall” and the White Walkers showed their real power in “Hardome.” In fact, Jon Snow has been present for the majority of great Game of Thrones battles.

The grand fight between Ramsay’s forces and Jon’s cobbled-together army tops all of aforementioned episodes, and then some. “The Battle of the Bastards” brings the most brilliantly executed fight that Game of Thrones has ever seen. This is it, folks; this is the peak of the mountain.

The episode, however, doesn’t begin in the North. Focus instead stars off in Mereen, with Daenerys trying to find out just what exactly happened while she was away. There’s an awkward moment between Tyron and Dany before Dany gets down to business. Dany wants to blindly let loose, but Tyrion reminds her that she’s not her father. He’s right, of course, but we know that already and so does she.

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There is a perfunctory meeting with the masters that have come to take back their slaves, but it’s all just a production before the dragons let get the real job done. Watching all three dragons fly around is exciting, but the battle itself carries little weight. There is no real struggle to set Mereen right again — we knew all along that Daenerys was going to save the day.

Later, Theon and Yara arrive to request aid. Tyrion and Theon haven’t seen each other since meeting at Witnerfell way back in the first season, and their re-introudction is fun and filled with typical Tyrion quips. It turns out that Yara and Daenerys have quite a bit in common when it comes to wishing to buck the patriarchy, and they quickly come to an agreement — the only caveat being that the Iron Born have to stop raping and pillaging.

There is no real struggle to set Mereen right again — we knew all along that Daenerys was going to save the day.

It’s a tad suspect that the two of them would be able to make it there before Euron, who surely not only has superior numbers but far more sea-faring experience. This scene exists, basically, so fans can see Yara and Dany meet. A meeting that will eventually, hopefully, have major repercussions.

And then there’s the North.

We haven’t seen Ramsay in several episodes, and it’s difficult to say that he’s been missed. Ramsay has been transformed into an ultra-violent, cartoonish villain. Ramsay has Rickon, and that’s a problem. Before they get down to business, however, there are some side stories to visit. For one, Tormund and Davos have their first heart-to-heart to ends in Davos discovering Shireen’s burn site. While that doesn’t go anywhere here, it’s going to be a major sticking point for Davos going forward.

Jon and Sansa also argue about the best way to handle Ramsay, and both give good points. Sansa knows Ramsay more intimately than Jon, but Jon knows how to lead an army in battle. The two Starks are going to have to learn how to better rely on each other if they’re going to successfully move forward.

It’s a stunning achievement that feels brutal, raw, and absolutely worth all of the lead-up.

The battle begins with Rickon, whom Ramsay wants to play one of his games with. Rickon is forced to run the length of the battlefield while Ramsay fires arrows at him. He does, ultimately, meet his end this way. It’s a cruel, Ramsay-special death, but it offers little. Rickon hasn’t had a single line since he returned. Game of Thrones has tried to convince us that Rickon is important because he is technically the last male Stark heir, but an extended absence and no character development makes his death feel like a non-event.

The real meat of this episode is the fight, and it is marvelous. It’s a stunning achievement that feels brutal, raw, and absolutely worth all of the lead-up. There are no words to describe the beauty of the action; the frantic but attentive camerawork, the amazing stunts. Jon’s side is beat back again and again until it feels like a loss is inevitable. His paltry force can’t stand up to Ramsay’s, and there is an incredible scene in which Jon is being buried underneath bodies.

This is Game of Thrones, and there is always hope right around the corner. For main, characters, anyway. When the Knights of the Vale ride in to save the day and slaughter Ramsay’s men, including the misguided Umber clan, it feels like an earned victory even though it’s an obvious play. Of course Sansa cut a deal with Littlefinger. Even though it’s not surprising, it’s still a major moment that plays very well.

The Flayed Man banners are torn from the halls of Wintefell, and the Stark banners are hung for the first time in years. It’s an emotional victory that feels hard-fought, and most importantly, earned.

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After a little row in the Winterfell courtyard, and a pointless little scene in which Ramsay finishes off the giant, Wun Wun (because of course Ramsay is the one to do it,) Sansa is left to decide Ramsay’s fate. And she is not kind. In a turn of perfect poetic justice, Ramsay is left tied up with his starving dogs. The rest can be easily imagined.

Sansa tells Ramsay that he will be forgotten, though she’s not completely correct. The Bolton name is now dead — a proud house brought to complete ruin. His name, however, will live in stories, but the particulars of that are not important here. It’s incredibly satisfying to see Ramsay dispatched and the Starks return to Winterfell.

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Besides a couple of missteps in Mereen, “The Battle of the Bastards” offers a perfect distillation of what Game of Thrones can do at its best. It is, by far, the best battle ever fought in this show. And for that, at least, it deserves some serious recognition.

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