Why the Real Winners of 'Game of Thrones' Are the Wildlings

Philip Ellis

May 19, 2019 4:01 PM

Everybody has suffered in Game of Thrones: the Starks, the Lannisters, countless unnamed soldiers and civilians, and those poor, poor direwolves. But according to a fan of the show, one group of people might just end up a lot better off thanks to all of this bloodshed: the wildlings.

The Real Winners of 'GoT'? The Wildlings

Reddit user SaboTheWanderer posits: "Yea, they lost quite a few people on the way, but they ended up forging an amicable relationship with the northerners, driving the white walker threat out of their lives through that alliance, and then returning home to a place better and more secure than they left it. The rest of Westeros could learn a thing or two from Tormund and his pals."

Some points were made! The wildlings were first introduced as antagonists, long-standing enemies of the Night's Watch, and back in season one it would have been almost impossible to predict that they would become such an integral part of the show's on-going plot, and that we would come to care for them so much.

The viewer first started to sympathize with their plight when they got to know Osha, the wildling who fled the White Walker threat and eventually became Bran's protector. Later on, when Jon Snow fell in love with Ygritte, we saw more of the free folk's way of life: nomadic and dangerous as hell.

Over several seasons, the wildlings learned to trust Jon and join him in his fight against the Night King, a storyline which was all the more satisfying because the truce took time. Dismissing Tormund and the rest of the wildlings in last week's "The Bells" was an unceremonious end to that portion of the saga, but it's true that they are going back to a much safer home.

For one, all of the various wildling tribes are unified, something which was a necessity in the face of the White Walker threat but which will serve them well in future. Additionally, Tormund now has Ghost at his side, making him a formidable leader should anyone try to challenge the Giantsbane.

Regardless of what chaos and carnage ensues in King's Landing in tonight's finale, it's comforting to think of the wildlings up there in the True North, living their best lives.

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Philip Ellis