‘Game of Thrones’ season 5, episode 8 review: Hardhome brings White Walkers; Tyrion, Dany’s first chat

Was “Hardhome” the greatest episode in the history of “Game of Thrones“? We’re not quite sure that we can say that, but we will at least tell you now that it is the best episode of the season. It was intense, well-acted, and above all thoroughly entertaining. Provided that you love this particular HBO gem, you probably enjoyed almost all of this from start to finish.

Before we get to some of the epicness that took place near the end, can we first say how much we loved all of the interactions between Tyrion and Dany in the early going? For the most part, they were a generous source of almost everything that we needed from them and then some. They decided to be allies, and Tyrion was very honest with everything that he knew. He also questioned some of her moves, and told her the best thing to do was to send Jorah away … even if that means him trying to get another chance to fight before her in the Fighting Pits. Jorah is the man who just won’t go away!

The House of Black and White – Arya’s story still is not the easiest to read, is it? We do see her starting to understand more of the politics of this world, even if it is progressing at such a slow pace that we wonder if there is ever time to have it make sense in the larger world.

King’s Landing – Given that almost everyone of value is at the moment imprisoned, there’s not much time that needs to be spent here. Cersei refuses to kneel to the feet of the High Sparrow, while at the same time Tommen is suffering with both her and Margaery behind bars.

Hardhome – Now, let’s get to the bulk of what everyone was interested in seeing: The biggest sign on the show to date that winter really is here. The White Walkers are on the offensive, and they mean business. There was an enormous battle sequence here that was so fantastic that it is hard to even describe, from the plight of the giant to Jon trying to do his best impression of a character from “The Walking Dead,” desperate to survive. This was sad and unbelievably chilling, especially the closing seconds that featured the dead rising once again as Walkers. By far, this was the season’s strongest episode, and we’ll be chatting about it for some time. Grade: A.

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