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mardi 22 août 2017

Benjen's Sacrifice Is a Reminder of House Stark's Greatness

The following contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season seven.

The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones season seven is an emotional juggernaut, but perhaps no moment is quite as unexpected or poignant as Benjen Stark saving Jon Snow. Poor Uncle Benjen - Ned Stark's brother - hasn't appeared in a fully alive form since season one, but before the Children of the Forest stopped him from becoming a wight, he accepted a certain amount of responsibility for Jon.

It's established in the first episode of the entire series that Jon looks up to his uncle. He even uses Benjen as part of his argument for why he should be allowed to join the Night's Watch so young. But as soon as Jon arrives at the Wall, his uncle is sent ranging beyond it, never to return. As a result, Benjen isn't there to guide Jon during his Night's Watch days as expected. Instead, he is left beyond the Wall in a half-human state with no way to help his family and no hope of resuming a normal life.

At the end of season six, he gets the opportunity to help Bran and Meera, and that's a definite win, but the connection between Jon and his uncle is the one that needs the payoff. And in "Beyond the Wall," the show finally allows Benjen to have his big hero moment when he saves Jon from certain death. Benjen never questions his decision to save Jon. It's almost as if he has been watching the battle play out and he sees his chance to wade into the fray. Even though he has only been living half a life for years now, Benjen is still a Stark, and Starks are loyal until the bitter end. He sees a chance to save Jon, and he takes it.

Benjen puts his nephew on that horse because he's family and because he knows that Jon still has some living left to do. It's a final sacrifice made to honor Ned, the Night's Watch, and his family name. Even though he never returned from ranging to teach Jon what it means to be a brother of the Night's Watch, he has the opportunity to give his nephew a greater gift: the chance to live long enough to fight another day.

It could be argued that Benjen knows something about Jon's role in the great war to come. He may be privy to some vision or prophecy pointing toward his nephew being Azor Ahai reborn, but sometimes the simple answer is the best one, even in the complex world of Game of Thrones. Starks are loyal and honorable, and family always comes first for them. Benjen dies for Jon because it's what Ned would have done, what their father would have done, and what Jon would do for any of his family members. His sacrifice is a reminder that House Stark's greatest strength is their love for one another - a lesson Sansa and Arya need to remember right about now - and that the pack will always survive, even when it loses one wolf.

mardi 22 août 2017