History Recap / GameOfThronesS2E10ValarMorghulis

But wait! [[EndingFatigue We're not done yet!!]] No, we swear this is the last one. (The episode runs 5 minutes longer than normal, and this is the last five.) We're at '''the Fist of the First Men''', where Dolorous Edd, Grenn and Sam are scavenging [[DaveBarry moose doots]] from the snow to burn for fuel. Sam's still going on about Gilly: "The thing about Gilly I find so interesting is that, after all Craster's done to her, [[ThePollyanna she's still got hope life will get better]]." "The thing about Gilly you find so interesting is that she said six words to you," Dolorous Edd snorts. "And the thing about ''you'' I find interesting is [[NoYou absolutely nothing]]," Sam returns. But their banter is cut off by the sound of a horn. At the first, Sam is delighted at the idea of Qhorin and Jon returning. At the second, Grenn and Edd go for their swords.

* ShootYourMate: Halfhand sets this up, knowing that he's going to be killed anyway, so the wildlings will believe John Snow has gone over to them.

* WhamEpisode

It screams and points its spear at the Fist of the First Men, and the camera pans out to show a shamble[[note]]new collective noun for any zombies or undead, nominated by Tropers/SlvstrChung[[/note]] of wights, supported by Others, advancing on the position. As the camera pulls back, the army is shown to be larger than previously believed...and it's getting larger...and larger...''[[ZombieApocalypse and larger]]''...

* MySisterIsOffLimits: A non-verbal version. After Loras unhappily offers his sister as a bride to Joffrey, he then stands protectively behind Margaery and stares defiantly in Joffrey's direction. The boy-king is only paying attention to Margaery at this point, so he doesn't get the message, but Loras is warning Joffrey that he had better not harm his sister.

* SickbedSlaying: Tyrion is GenreSavvy enough to be worried when he wakes up to the sight of the man he previously screwed over.

* GenreSavvy: The three Stark soldiers that Brienne and Jaime run into.
** Dany recognizes Drogo and Rhego and the throne room as visions or deceptions.

Five hundred northmen, led by the still-unnamed and unseen Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of the Dreadfort, have surrounded '''Winterfell''', and are [[LoudOfWar blowing horns]] at all hours to keep the defenders awake and unnerve them. In Theon's case, [[SanitySlippage it's working]]: "I will kill that man. I don't care how many arrows they feather me with, how many spears they run through me, I will ''kill'' that horn-blowing cunt before I fall." Maester Luwin stands by, trying to help as best he can, but Theon is in no mood for it. Theon reminisces on the first time he saw Winterfell (interrupted on occasion by aforementioned horn-blowing cunt) and his feelings during his childhood: "Know what it's like to be told [[TheResenter how lucky you are]] to be [[IHaveYourWife someone's prisoner]]? To be told how much you owe them? And then to go back home [[WellDoneSonGuy to your real father]]?" Who [[TheUnfavorite thinks you weak and soft]], he has no need to say; and Luwin doesn't say it. Instead he counsels that Theon take the black, which will wash out his past crimes--of which there are [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone quite a few]].

* BadFuture: Daenerys gets a glimpse of one while in the House of the Undying: She walks into the throne room in the Red Keep. She's the only one there, with absolutely no one to stop her from sitting upon the Iron Throne if that's what she wants. But it's a throne room in ruins, with the roof collapsed in on itself and exposed to the open sky. And [[ArcWords winter has come]].
** Some fans have interpreted it not as a throne room covered in snow, but rather in ''ashes'', as if the warlocks are trying to tell Dany that to take the Iron Throne, she would have to burn it, so she may as well stay in the House of the Undying.
*** Except that icicles can be seen hanging off the braziers.

** And also to symbolize that, without Tyrion's influence, King's Landing is going to start sliding into the brown stuff.

Stannis has arrived back at '''Dragonstone''' and broods over the Painted Table, furious at Melisandre for his defeat. He tries to [[WhereIsYourXNow strangle her]], but he is not so lost to honor as that. She reminds him that he is the Prince who was Promised and draws him to the flames where she has her visions. As Stannis stares, he sees them too.

Arya, Hot Pie and Gendry trudge through '''the Riverlands''' with [[labelnote:no set destination]]In the books they're making for Riverrun, but nothing's been said on TV[[/labelnote]], but are startled to see Jaqen H'ghar surveilling them from atop a rock outcropping. Arya wants to know how he killed the guards, and if it was difficult. "No harder than taking a new name, if you know the way," he answers. If Arya wants, she can go to Braavos with him, and learn to be a "Faceless Man." It's clearly tempting to her, but Arya decides she needs to stay and link up with her brother and mother. "... And my sister. I need to find her too." So instead, Jaqen gives her an iron coin. "If the day comes when you must find me again, just give that coin to any man from Braavos and say these words to him: ''Valar morghulis.''" He turns away and does something to his face, and when he turns back the white SkunkStripe in his hair is gone, his cheeks are different, his jawline heavier, his eyes more deeply sunken. He has a different face. Is that what they mean by "Faceless Men"?

-->''(Brienne and Jaime exchange a look, then she [[BadAss kills all three]])''

* JerkassWoobie: This episode finally lets Theon edge closer to the Woobie side.

* OneSceneWonder: Drogo's back! And he's just as badass as ever. Shame it's an illusion.

* {{Wangst}}: Tyrion looks like he might be about to slip into this, albeit not without ''a lot'' of reason, but Shae snaps him out of it.

* BadBadActing: The scene in the throne room, though a bit more subtly than is usual for the trope. Joffrey turns to his mother in anticipation for her line before she starts speaking. Margaery enthusiastically participates in the rehearsed charade, but Loras is literally a bad actor. He can't be bothered do his small part properly, as his body language practically oozes with contempt for Joffrey, and Loras even messes up one of his lines because he inadvertently lets out a FreudianSlip regarding his feelings for Renly.

* BadBadActing: The scene in the throne room, though a bit more subtly than is usual for the trope. Joffrey turns to his mother in anticipation for her line before she starts speaking.

* MoralEventHorizon: Theon believes he has already crossed it.

Somewhere in '''the Riverlands''', Brienne pulls the boat up out of the Trident. Jaime stands by, snarking: "[[NoGuyWantsAnAmazon You're a virgin, I take it?]]" Nice, Kingslayer. He's trying to play on Brienne the same way Ygritte did to Jon, with markedly less success, but soon they are both distracted by the sight of three tavern wenches hanged from a tree. "They laid with lions," claims the sign that hangs round one's neck; in other words, this was done by northerners. "Must make you proud to serve the Starks," Jaime observes, but Brienne retorts, "I don't serve the Starks. I serve Lady Catelyn." She ties Jaime to a tree so that she can cut the women down and bury them, but they are interrupted by three men, those responsible for the hanging. "I hope you gave them quick deaths," is all Brienne says, and they gloat and say, "Two of 'em we did." Once the questioning begins in earnest, Brienne and Jaime put on a pretty good double act and are ''almost'' able to lie their way out... but one of the three recognizes the Kingslayer. As the bandits count down, Brienne and Jaime trade glances; he leaps out of the way and she comes out slashing sword and dagger--not even her ''own'' sword and dagger, but one from each bandit. The disarmed Stark men she kills. The last one gets Brienne sword through his intimate regions. "[[IronicEcho Two quick deaths.]]"

* SickbedSlaying: Lampshaded

** There's a DeletedScene of her strangling Irri. The scene was deleted clearly to keep her betrayal secret until the last episode.

Stannis has arrived back at '''Dragonstone''' and broods over the Painted Table, furious at Melisandre for his defeat. He tries to [[WhereIsYourGodNow strangle her]], but he is not so lost to honor as that. She reminds him that he is the Prince who was Promised and draws him to the flames where she has her visions. As Stannis stares, he sees them too.

* BodyguardBetrayal: The Ironborn to Theon.[[labelnote:In the books]]the few troops that stay at Winterfell with him are actually eager to die fighting, and Theon seems like he's about to take Luwin's suggestion of heading to the wall, only for them all to fall victim to a CavalryBetrayal.[[/labelnote]]

* DownerEnding: Winterfell is sacked so the survivors head for the Wall hoping to get help from Jon, Jon is about to be taken to Mance Rayder, the Lannisters are made stronger by their alliance with the Tyrells, Tyrion is no longer Hand, Sansa's engagement to Joffrey is broken but she now needs Littlefinger's help to survive, Robb breaks his promise to the Freys by secretly marrying Talisa, and the White Walkers are marching.

* GroinAttack: Or maybe it was an AssShove -- either way it's clearly a painful place to stick a sword.
-->'''Emilia Clarke:''' [[KarmicDeath For women everywhere]].

* MoodWhiplash: Theon delivers a RousingSpeech to his [[GoYeHeroesGoAndDie doomed]] soldiers. Then he's promptly knocked out by his own men, who chuckle about it. Then Maester Luwin gets ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice and left to die.

** Bran gets a wheelbarrow to ride in, so Kristian Nairn doesn't have to constantly be carrying the quickly growing Isaac Hampstead-Wright.

Poor Sam is left behind as the wind and snow kicks up. In the far distance he sees figures emerging from the bleak white, and takes shelter behind a rock, where he is (for whatever reason) largely ignored. There are wights, in various stages of disrepair, and also a zombie horse whose hooves do not break the snow. And on its back? A White Walker, what the book calls "The Others," a creature of ice and snow, cold mist rising from is muscles, its hair the spun white of frost, its eyes glowing blue.