<P> Taylor also spoke about the amount of time that was intended to pass between the approach of the White Walker army, and Daenerys's arrival, saying that they were being intentionally vague, "We did a few things, like getting deliberately hazy about how much time is passing, because it's so dark in the frozen lake and you don't know how many days or nights you may have witnessed . We tried to make it a little ambiguous and give it some wiggle room on that end . We were aware that we were asking for people's suspended disbelief--plausible impossibilities is what you're aiming for ." </P> <P> "Beyond the Wall" was viewed by 10.24 million viewers on its initial viewing on HBO, which was less than the previous week's rating of 10.72 million viewers for the episode "Eastwatch". The episode also acquired a 4.7 rating in the 18--49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night . In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.18 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, making it the highest - rated broadcast that week on its channel . It also received 0.98 million timeshift viewers . </P> <P> "Beyond the Wall" received mostly praise from critics who listed the epic scale and special effects of the battle between the White Walkers and the dragons, the interactions between the northern raiding party and Jon swearing fealty to Daenerys as highlights of the episode, with some reviewers criticizing the episode for "(defying) logic ." It has received an 81% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 43 reviews, with an average score of 8.3 out of 10 . The site's consensus reads "" Beyond The Wall" delivered the epic battles and plot twists that are expected from the penultimate episode of a Game of Thrones season--although sometimes in ways that defied logic ." </P> <P> Terri Schwartz of IGN wrote in her review of the episode, "Game of Thrones has long set the precedent that its penultimate episodes of its seasons would be the biggest in terms of scale and, oftentimes, loss, in everything from "Baelor" to "The Rains of Castamere". In that way, "Beyond the Wall" was no different, as it arguably featured the greatest loss the series has faced to date: a dragon killed by the Night King, and even worse, resurrected by him ." However, Schwartz also criticized the episode saying that it suffered "more than any other episode to date from the rushed, truncated storytelling in Season 7 ." Schwartz went on to also praise the interactions between the northern raiding party on their journey to find the White Walkers, and ultimately gave the episode a 6.9 out of 10 . Daniel D'Addario of Time Magazine wrote in his review of the episode "This episode, occupying the penultimate - in - the - season slot that has historically been the spot where the biggest moments occur, was ever - so - slightly less a barnburner than last year's "Battle of the Bastards," for instance . But that's in part due to the increasing obviousness of the stakes ." Myles McNutt of The A.V. Club spoke similarly in his comparison of the episode to the previous season's penultimate episode, questioning some of the reasoning behind the battle, writing "we have a situation here where a series of events engineered for action and suspense effectively sells out the characters involved ." He also praised the episode, however, by saying "On the level of spectacle, "Beyond The Wall" is another series high point, with stellar work from returning director Alan Taylor, capturing the visceral battles that the seven men and several Red Shirts encounter on their journey . And I was charmed by the series of "walk and talks" that punctuate their travels, brief vignettes of characters like Sandor and Tormund interacting for the first time while marching toward their potential dooms ." He gave the episode a B. Steve Greene of IndieWire wrote in his review, "" Beyond the Wall" might not be the best episode of the season, but it's more assuredly the most important . By bringing the season - long promise of terror and triumph in rapid succession, the series turned this vital episode into a horror story to remember ." </P>

Game of thrones beyond the wall episode synopsis