The Watchers on the Wall

"**The Watchers on the Wall**"
"The Watchers on the Wall"
Game of Thrones episode
Episode no.	Season 4; Episode 9
Directed by	Neil Marshall
Written by	David Benioff; D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	David Franco
Editing by	Katie Weiland
Original air date	June 8, 2014
Running time	50 minutes
Guest appearances
	Peter Vaughan as Maester Aemon; Owen Teale as Alliser Thorne; Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt; Mark Stanley as Grenn; Ben Crompton as Edd Tollett; Yuri Kolokolnikov as Styr; Josef Altin as Pyp; Brenock O'Connor as Olly; Joseph Gatt as a Thenn Warg; Ian Whyte as Dongo; Neil Fingleton as Mag Mar Tun Doh Weg;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Mountain and the Viper"	Next →; "The Children"
	Game of Thrones season 4
	List of episodes

"The Watchers on the Wall" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the fourth season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. The 39th episode overall, it was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Neil Marshall.^[2] It first aired on HBO on June 8, 2014.^[3]

Like season two's "Blackwater" (also directed by Marshall), the episode focuses exclusively on one storyline: the wildling assault on Castle Black at the Wall, and the Night's Watch defense, led by Ser Alliser Thorne and Jon Snow. In the episode, Mance Rayder's army attacks Castle Black from both sides as the undermanned Night's Watch struggle to fight them off; Ygritte is eager for revenge against Jon; and Gilly hides from the battle.

The episode achieved a viewership of 6.95 million during its initial airing in the United States,^[4] and received acclaim from critics and viewers, highlighting the episode's battle sequence and the emotional depth. For the episode, Neil Marshall was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.^[5]

^ "S4 E9: The Watchers on the Wall". HBO. Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2022. 51 MIN
^ Hibberd, James (July 16, 2013). "'Game of Thrones' season 4 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
^ "Shows A–Z – Game of Thrones". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lowry, Brian (July 10, 2014). "2014 Emmy Awards: 'Game of Thrones,' 'Fargo' Lead Nominations". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2014.

[1] "S4 E9: The Watchers on the Wall". HBO. Home Box Office, Inc. Retrieved May 25, 2022. 51 MIN

[4directors-2] Hibberd, James (July 16, 2013). "'Game of Thrones' season 4 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 6, 2014.

[futon-3] "Shows A–Z – Game of Thrones". The Futon Critic. Retrieved June 6, 2014.

[:0-4] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Lowry, Brian (July 10, 2014). "2014 Emmy Awards: 'Game of Thrones,' 'Fargo' Lead Nominations". Variety. Retrieved July 10, 2014.

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