SIX OF THE BEST #11 – GAME OF THRONES (S: 1 – 7) – GREATEST BATTLES

Game of Thrones is one of the biggest literary and TV phenomena of recent years. It has entered Western cultures’ psyche offering a glut of: plotting, death, sex, class-divide, war, fantastical beasts and devilish sorcery!  I think the main strength lies though in the wonderful writing that stems first from George R.R. Martin’s behemoth tomes and the incredible production values of the show. Plus, the casting, acting and directing is more often than not better than most cinema offerings.

For my latest article on the show I would like to look at six of the best battles. The spectacular fighting and warring is often amazing but what makes it work is the emotional impact you feel during the battles. The writers have always strove to build empathy, sympathy and antipathy with the characters so you feel strongly as to whether they live or die. Heroes, anti-heroes, friends and nemeses are often pitted against each other in the most violent fashion and epic quite frankly doesn’t cut it as a word to describe such rousing and emotional action.

**MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**

BLACKWATER (S2 – EPISODE 9)

Arguably the first major battle epic of the whole show found Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) attacking King’s Landing in an attempt to smash through the Lannister’s stronghold and claim the Iron Throne.  Shadowed boats float amidst the blaze of wildfire as men cut down other men on the shore. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) gives a rousing speech as the Hound (Rory McCann) spites barbs and curses before finding fear in fire. Within the castle keep Cersei (Lena Headey) gets drunk and bullies Sansa (Sophie Turner) to tears. It’s a dirty, bloody and fiery battle tremendously edited and expertly directed by Neil Marshall.

THE MOUNTAIN AND THE VIPER (S4 – EPISODE 8)

While this fight between the Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) and Prince Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) is nowhere near as big as the others on this list, it does not make it any less impactful or brutal. Their hand-to-hand trial by combat is a both a legal fight to determine Tyrion Lannister’s guilt for the crime of murder; and a personal revenge for Prince Oberyn for the death of a loved one. Pascal is absolutely superb in his performance throughout this season and the hatred he for the Lannister’s spits out of his whole being. He is a skilful fighter and linguist too but sometimes that just isn’t enough as hubris proves his downfall. This fight is as unforgettable as it is gruesome and the end is one I will never forget.

THE WATCHERS ON THE WALL (S4 – EPISODE 9)

With the White Walkers march painstakingly forward toward the realms of men and women, The Wildling tribes and their hordes of men, women, barbarians, cannibals, Worgs and giants descended upon The Wall in this brutal episode. Like the battle of Blackwater, Neil Marshall again directs the whole shebang as we get fifty or so minutes of spectacular cinematic action throughout. The brave soldiers of the Night’s Watch essentially re-enact the conflict of Rourke’s Drift – albeit with a massive wall in the way – as they fend off the Mance Ryder’s fierce Wildlings. The emotion is high to as Ygritte (Rose Leslie) once again comes face-to-face with her lover Jon Snow (Kit Harrington), as their savage romance ultimately proves to be a doomed one also. Its fire, it’s ice; it bones crunching and bloody to the end.

HARDHOME (S5 – EPISODE 8)

The walking, running and horse-riding dead finally reach some semblance of civilisation as they launch a vicious attack on the Wildling settlement of Hardhome. It’s a beautifully designed battle sequence which begins with unease between Jon Snow and his Wilding allies, before a deathly silence befalls the area. After which silence gives way to: the slow drumming of feet, the slippage of snow and then the racing army of skeletal men and women smashing toward the living. We knew the first major battle with the Night King and his acolytes would prove deadly and just the beginning of the cold war. As Jon Snow and the flame-haired Tormen take the fight to the zombie foes many Wildling lives are lay waste in the sodden black and red dirt of Hardhome; only for them to rise again.

BATTLE OF THE BASTARDS (S6 – EPISODE 9)

I recall seeing an advert for Sky TV and Game of Thrones at the cinema. They ran with the tagline “Believe in better!” over an image of Jon Snow, sword held in hands, while affront him is an army of Ramsey Bolton’s cavalry charging toward him. It is a moment of sheer breath-taking spectacle. Designing and filming war scenes must be some of the most difficult for filmmakers. The Game of Thrones directors are under added pressure to differentiate their images as well. In the Battle of the Bastards the director, Miguel Sapochnik, and his team of cameras, actors and stunt-people open with these incredible wide shots before taking us into the nitty gritty of the fight. It’s all shot from Jon’s perspective. He fights off foes on foot and horse; mud and blood splashes and soaks him until the Bolton army are pushing the Stark’s army back and back until all seems lost. There’s one further twist before the end of a quite amazing battle set-piece.

THE SPOILS OF WAR (S7 – EPISODE 4)

Season 7, while suffering from pacing issues due to a speeding up of the narrative, was arguably the most cinematic and spectacular season of all. There were so many great battles as in Stormborn, where Euron Greyjoy’s attacked his niece’s Yara’s ships in a burning row under moonlight. Moreover, in the episode Beyond the Wall, the magnificent seven (Hound, Jon Snow, Tormen, Gendry, Davos, Jorah etc.) of Game of Thrones went white-walker hunting and found themselves surrounded by the dead. But, arguably the most exhilarating battle was in The Spoils of War. Having been blindsided tactically by Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) went on a Dothraki and dragon offensive and set about destroying the Lannister army and allies. Like a medieval Saving Private Ryan (1998), we are thrown from the air to ground to right into the faces of the soldiers. The shot where we track Bronn (Jerome Flynn) as he attempts to load the Scorpion catapult is incredible. Emotions are high too as our favourite characters face off against each other as they all perilously come close to losing their lives. Kudos goes to the stunt-team, extras and crew for pulling off one of the most memorable battles ever committed to celluloid.

If you love the show like me, please check out my other articles on Game of Thrones listed below.

Game of Thrones – Season 7 Review HERE:

Game of Thrones – Finest Heroes HERE:

Game of Thrones – Memorable monologues HERE:

Game of Thrones – Most evil villains HERE:

Game of Thrones – Scene Stealers HERE: