Game of Thrones and “The Battle of the Bastards”: Once more, a Stark screws up.

Perhaps the most impressive battle ever created for TV, the “Battle of the Bastards” in Sunday’s Game of Thrones had me and most viewers riddled with anxiety and tension. That was all the more impressive considering I was fairly certain that a) Jon Snow would live and b) Littlefinger would ride to the rescue, turning the tide of battle for Stark and Co. — credit goes to the director for how the whole sequence was filmed and staged, showing what a difference a skilled director can make to a somewhat predictable storyline. He shot it in such a way so as to make this battle stand out among the various battles Game of Thrones has shown over the years — the focus here on the confusion, brutality, and randomness (or divine intervention?) of it all. However, there were many of my favorite and most respected critics who were more mixed on the Battle, appreciating the technical mastery on display but feeling like the characterizations left it a bit lacking.

I will leave aside the issue of Sansa not telling Jon about the troops from the Vale — it seems premature to address the reasoning and fallout of such a decision before the upcoming season finale (and perhaps next season when we get a clearer idea where her character arc may be going). I will also leave aside Ramsay because there is not much to say about such a one-note character. Some criticized his battlefield blunders, but Ramsay has never been portrayed as a brilliant general — he has always been a clever, sadistic, opportunist absent of all loyalty (save his hounds, which show him no loyalty in the end) and his decisions in this episode reflect that for the most part.

Instead, I want to focus on Jon Snow because I think his actions fit in with a broader theme of this season, namely in continuing to show the flaws of the Starks and the cost of those flaws to those around them. It is particularly important in this episode when Daenerys speaks of the fathers leaving this world worse off and how the children will leave the world better off by not falling victim to the same sins of the fathers. But on this side of the world, the Stark children are still falling victim to some of the same sins of the Stark parents (though it remains to be seen if they leave the world better off and I am not sure I would say Ned left the world worse off through his actions). It also remains to be seen whether Dany will follow through on that promise — without Tyrion there as advisor, she may fall victim to her worst tyrannical and genocidal Targaryen impulses (as she almost did this episode).

In previous seasons, we have had Ned’s inability to play the political game and his stubborn insistence on honor be his downfall (and topple the dominos that led to war and his family being torn apart). We have seen Catelyn’s rash decisions to capture Tyrion (the immediate inciting incident to the war) and then let Jaime Lannister go free in a semi-treasonous act all in the name of getting her family back. We have seen Robb Stark choose love while making some dire strategic miscalculations about his alliances (as well as underestimating the cleverness of his enemy, Tywin Lannister), leading to his brutal death, along with his wife, his unborn child, his mother, and countless others among his followers (and we cannot forget Grey Wind, while we continue to wait for Nymeria and her pack to return for revenge as they presumably roam the countryside).

This season, we have seen Bran, Arya, and now Jon Snow all fall victim to their character flaws, and like in previous seasons, other people have paid the price. Bran, in a moment of pride, impulsivity, and impatience (echoing the first episode of the show all those years ago), allows himself to be touched in an unsupervised vision opening up the door to the White Walkers invading the giant weirwood tree. We know what then transpired with the deaths of the Children of the Forest, The Three-Eyed Raven, Summer, and of course, Hodor (not just a death, but a condemned life from the moment he was in that courtyard at Winterfell). Arya displays similar pride — after deciding to reclaim her identity as Arya Stark, she puts in motion a plan to return home and deal with the Waif should she encounter her (I assume that was the point of the ending of Episode 6 with Arya using Needle to cut the candle in her hideout…unless the sole point was for it to be a cool scene to end an episode on). However, Arya is attacked while looking pleased with herself on the bridge in Braavos. While it does feel like a scene is missing - showing that transition from fear to overconfidence - it is not out of character for Arya to be at times undisciplined (particularly when vengeance consumes her thoughts), prideful and overconfident in her abilities. In the end, Lady Crane pays the price for Arya’s lack of caution after taking her in (though perhaps her days were always numbered). This also points to another theme this season — the Starks let their character flaws lead them into terrible mistakes, where others often pay the price, but the Starks themselves only survive thanks to the intervention and often sacrifice of others (something Robb and Ned and Catelyn did not have the benefit of) — the real question is whether they will honor that sacrifice and address their flaws.

Finally, that brings us to Jon and this episode. Despite knowing that the odds were not good for him, he went to war to help save his brother and rid the north of enemies before having to face the White Walkers. He devised the best possible strategy to defeat a far larger force (the implications being that even then they would be lucky to win), tried to goad Ramsay into a one-on-one duel, yet succumbs to Ramsay’s sadistic trap with Rickon. Why? Because family is Jon’s weakness, his flaw; family (along with duty and honor, just like Ned) has been the consistent theme for Jon Snow throughout the series — a bastard trying to figure out where he belongs. Early on with the Night’s Watch, Jon gets into trouble when he pulls a knife as Alliser Thorne teases him about Ned being locked away and Jon’s bastard origins. When Ned is executed, Jon leaves the Night’s Watch to join Robb, convinced to return only because of Sam, Grenn, and Pyp. He has a new family now, one he cannot betray even when he falls in love with Ygritte (just as he cannot abandon his honor and kill the farmer, which tips off the wildlings that he is still loyal to the Night’s Watch before the Battle of Castle Black). But that family turns on him, capped off by his surrogate little brother Olly (“keep your shield up or I’ll ring your head like a bell” — a moment Jon shared with Olly, and we see it also in a Bran flashback as Ned gives the same advice to Benjen) murdering him with the promise of Uncle Benjen (representing both his Night’s Watch family and his Stark family) having returned. He is resurrected, but he is done with the Night’s Watch (after killing “brother” Olly), done with his duty to them, and ready to move on. Move on to where? Unsure because Sansa arrives, re-establishing his connection with the Stark family, and she convinces him to fight for Winterfell.

It is in that context that Jon cannot just leave Rickon to die without trying to help him. He does not have the practical, logical take on Rickon’s sealed fate that Sansa has, but Jon is not thinking rationally; he is emotionally reacting to watching yet another family member about to be taken from him. People criticized him for this decision, and rightly so (though it is not like they had much chance of survival even if they followed the original plan to a t), but it is not out of character for him. Despite what people have said in the aftermath of this episode, Jon is a good leader — he is brave, honorable, decisive, and has vision (he has had his eyes fixed on the main threat for awhile now and knows what needs to be done, though he is unable to persuade people to get on board unless they have seen the threat first-hand — perhaps why he needs someone like Davos as his right-hand man, or maybe he just needs Lady Lyanna Mormont to scare them all onboard).

He led the defense of the wall as successfully as possible considering how outnumbered they were. He sought out Mance to assassinate him during a lull in the battle (questionable honor, but he has his eyes on the big picture, doing his duty and protecting his family on and behind the wall, even if it means giving his life). He ventured to Hardhome on an unpopular, but necessary mission that went to pieces, yet still helped organize a retreat of numerous wildlings while fighting impossible odds once again.

But his weakness for family does him in in the Battle of the Bastards. This time, he does not have Grenn or Pyp (both dead) or his best friend Sam (sent away and off stealing swords) to bring him back. From there the errors only compound themselves. There was criticism for Jon charging alone into the front lines of the Boltons, but that decision was already made when Jon decided to run for Rickon. Ramsay’s entire point was to draw out Jon into range of his archers and Jon realizes this too late. He is stuck in no man’s land, unable to retreat as the arrows fly behind him, and so, brave as he has always been (and perhaps also motivated by hatred for Ramsay), he makes one final charge. But it is not the end because Davos has made the decision to not let Jon die and sends in the soldiers to follow him (again, not the correct tactical choice if your only shot at survival is sticking to the original plan, but as his conversation with Tormund earlier in the episode makes clear, he believes Jon is the leader they need after his disappointment with King Stannis, and Davos is nothing if not a loyal servant in need of someone honorable to serve). We then get into the heart of the battle: chaos and confusion and luck (or the ultimate Deus ex machina as the Lord of Light saves Jon for his real purpose as Melisandre alludes to in their pre-battle conversation). They put up an excellent fight, better than could be possibly be expected as they (with a helping hand from Ramsay’s callous order to fire volleys of arrows into his own men on the battlefield) seem to destroy much of the Bolton Calvary (which means maybe they really could have been successful if they stuck to the original plan), but at great cost, leaving them vulnerable to the slowly closing encircling of spears and shields.

And of course, we have Sansa and Littlefinger saving the day, though not for the thousands of soldiers already dead — once again this season, a Stark’s weakness almost costs them their life, as it did to Starks in seasons past, but the actions of others saves them, though not without cost. In this case, the cost is a staggering loss of life as well as the loss of another named character, Wun-Wun (Ramsay really should have game-planned for taking him down first to preserve Winterfell as a secure place to hole up in for a long siege; then again, this was probably the first time most of them realized Giants are actual living creatures).

Moving forward, it will be important for the Starks to learn from their mistakes if they want to survive (and that is where Sansa becomes very interesting going forward because she seems to have acted the least “Stark-like” this episode, not falling prey to her weakness of naivete we saw early on in the series; unless she has overcorrected and is developing a new weakness that will be her downfall….a discussion for another time (or for now) and once the story is clearer) because how often can they rely on the sacrifice of others to save them? Will they face situations where they have to make a different choice? Will Arya have a choice to forgo seeking revenge? Will Bran be presented with the option to act or wait patiently, to be restrained in how he uses his powers? Will Jon face a choice of having to sacrifice family to win the greater war to come? And when he finally knows about his true family heritage, how will that affect him since that theme has been so central to his story? How will that affect his relationship with Dany if/when they ever meet?

Or will they never move past their flaws? Most people seem to struggle with their weaknesses throughout life — there is usually no moment of triumph where struggles have been forever banished and no longer trouble us. Instead, we have people in our lives to help hold us accountable, to balance us, to guide and channel us, to call us out when we are on the verge of doing something we shouldn’t or repeating mistakes of the past (just like Tyrion did for Dany). Perhaps that is what we are building to with the Stark children and the show in general — they are all in this together and need each other to survive the upcoming winter, because there is no perfect hero to save the day.