Game Of Thrones Recap: 12 Things You Learn Rewatching Season 5

4. Hardhome Is Ridiculously Good

Few things can prepare you for Hardhome. Even having seen the episode multiple times and knowing it's coming doesn't fully ready you for what's to come.

Game of Thrones is full of epic battles. Clashes of good and evil, or wars where you're not quite sure which side to root for. The scale is vast, the numbers of extras mind-boggling, and they're brilliant to watch - but we also know, to a degree, what we're getting. A clash of swords, spears and shields, horses tearing through, maybe a bit of fire here and there. Thrones has shown it's able to raise the stakes, be it wildfire or dragonfire or a giant scythe, but Hardhome is on a whole other level.

Coming almost out of nowhere, this isn't a typical battle. It's a damn massacre. It's like something out of a horror movie, with swathes of the undead raining down upon the living. It's a sensational piece of television, and a horrific one. It's also crucial at this point, as we head towards a new Battle for the Dawn: the White Walkers had been introduced before now, but this was when we really saw what they were capable of and the switch flicked to how little any of the rest of it matters, because they are coming, and the endgame is on.