At Skirling Pass, the main camp of the Free Folk, a man of the Night’s Watch by the name of Jon Snow has been taken prisoner and is being escorted to meet with the King-Beyond-the-Wall, Mance Rayder. The Night’s Watch is a military order which holds and guards the Wall in order to keep the Free Folk, or “wildlings,” from entering into the Seven Kingdoms. As they enter the camp, Jon is shocked to see a real-life giant walk past. Jon is then led into Mance Rayder’s tent where the Lord of Bones explains that he is Lord Eddard Stark's bastard son to Tormund Giantsbane. Tormund asserts that he doesn't care, but his interest is piqued on hearing that Jon killed the legendary Qhorin Halfhand. As they talk Jon kneels before Tormund and calls him "your Grace". This causes all of the wildlings to burst out laughing, as he is unaware that Tormund is not Mance Rayder. Mance himself is a man sitting in a corner, who then introduces himself and tells Jon to stand, as no man kneels before another among the Free Folk, since they do not recognize a class of nobility in their culture. Mance says he is glad that Jon killed Qhorin and asks why he wants to join them as he replies he wants to be free, but Mance doesn't believe this. Jon then explains that when the Night's Watch camped at Craster's Keep, he saw Craster leave his newborn son in the woods as an offering to the inhuman creature that took it. Jon insists that he wants to leave the Watch, because he is disgusted that Lord Commander Mormont already knew what Craster was doing but did nothing to stop it. Jon states that the First Men he is descended from defeated the White Walkers once during the Long Night, and that now he wants "to fight for the side who fights for the living.” Mance is satisfied and advises Jon to get a new cloak, his black one clearly attracting malignity.

Some days later, Tormund slowly marches south with Mance and a small band of the Free Folk army. Mance explains that his army is a diverse force, formed of about ninety different groups or clans of wildlings, who speak seven different languages, and have numerous internal rivalries. However, he managed to unite them all by telling them the truth: that they will all die if they remain north of the Wall. Mance brings Jon Snow to one of his scouts, Orell. He is sitting silently with his eyes rolled back as an eagle circles above him. Mance says that he is a "warg", and  Ygritte is surprised that Jon doesn't know what that is. Mance explains to Jon that a warg is a person who is capable of entering the mind of an animal, seeing what it sees and even controlling its actions. Orell controls his menagerie eagle to scout miles ahead. Mance asks him what he has seen as Orell then informs that he saw the Fist of the First Men - and many dead "crows," confirming to Jon that most of his brothers have been killed during an attack.

Days later, as Tormund and the Free Folk arrive at the Fist of the First Men, they survey the bloody aftermath of an assault on the Night's Watch by the White Walkers and their army of dead. Mance grimly remarks that the White Walkers are "always the artists," as the severed corpses of all of the Watch's horses have been carefully arranged into a large-scale, ceremonial spiral pattern. However, there is no sign of any human corpses - which Orell insists were there when he scouted ahead earlier by warging into his eagle, but have now vanished. Mance warns Jon that all of the missing corpses from the Fist are no longer his brothers from the Night's Watch, but have been resurrected as undead monsters who serve the White Walkers. Mance orders Tormund and Ygritte to take a force of twenty men to scale the Wall. His plan is for their small band of wildlings to distract Castle Black by attacking their exposed southern side, at which point Mance's main army will assault the castle from the north. Tormund will know that Mance is in position when his army makes a massive signal fire. Mance orders Tormund to take Jon with him, as Jon knows the layout of Castle Black, and it will prove a key test of his loyalty. If it turns out that Jon won't really betray the Night's Watch, Tormund can easily throw him off the Wall to his death.

Some time later, on their way to the Wall, Tormund questions Jon about the "crows" patrolling the top of the Wall. Orell has seen through the eyes of his eagle that there are patrols on top of the Wall and he wants to know how frequent they are. Jon informs them that the Watch usually send out patrols in teams of four, two builders to inspect for structural damage and two rangers to protect them, but that the frequency of their patrols often changes. Orell then informs that the wildlings know there are nineteen castles along the south side of the Wall, but he wants to know how many are currently manned. Jon reluctantly informs that only three are currently manned. Apart from Castle Black, there is also Eastwatch-by-the-Sea at the extreme eastern end, and the Shadow Tower at the western end. Jon is then asked how many men currently garrison Castle Black. Jon is again reluctant to answer, but after being threatened by Orell, he gives an exaggerated number, saying there are one thousand men (this is a lie, as Castle Black only had six hundred men before the Great Ranging, and the garrison now is closer to three hundred). Tormund asserts to Jon that he likes him, however, if he is lying to them, he will rip his guts out through his throat. Despite this, Jon remains steadfast with his exaggeration.

Days later, at the base of the Wall, the wildling party prepare to climb. Tormund comments to Jon that crows used to cut down any the trees within a mile of the Wall. When Jon asks Ygritte if she's ever climbed the Wall she confesses she hasn't, but Tormund has done it many times. In private, Ygritte speaks with Jon, explaining her excitement as she’s been waiting her whole life to see the world from the top of the Wall. They then flirtaciously discuss the other night in the cave where they had sex. Being Jon’s first time, Ygritte teases him that he’s killed Qhorin Halfhand but at the sight of a naked girl Jon trembles “like a leaf.” Ygritte then swears that his secret is safe with her, revealing her awareness of Jon’s loyalty to the Night's Watch, adding that he didn’t stop being a “crow” the moment he walked into their camp. Ygritte tells Jon, however, that he must be loyal to each other instead, noting that neither the Watch or Mance don’t care if they live or die: “It’s you and me that matter.” After a few minutes, Tormund approaches Jon again and gives him a climbing pick. He advises Jon to sink it deep into the ice of the Wall and make sure it holds before taking the next step. He then jokes that if he falls, he better not scream because he wouldn't want that be the last thing Ygritte remembers about him.

During the climb, as they are half-way up the Wall, a struggling Jon, who is last within his group, looks down to view their journey upwards thus far. His terror is then exacerbated when Ygritte accidentally strikes an already splitting crack in the ice. This causes the crack to spider out into a large break which dislodges a massive sheet of ice, sending several wildlings to their deaths, as well as leaving Ygritte and Jon to hang precariously by their safety rope. As they are roped together in groups of four, Orell decides that Tormund cannot continue climbing with the weight of Jon and Ygritte's bodies pulling them down. As Jon and Ygritte hang from beneath him, Orell all-too-quickly decides to start cutting the rope. Ygritte and Jon witness Orell cutting away at the rope vigorously. Just as the rope breaks with the final thrust of Orell’s blade, Jon barely manages to swing to his left to plant a hook in the ice. As a terrified Ygritte starts plummeting down the Wall, Jon uses all of the strength he can manage to keep himself held onto his hook and to brace for the weight of catching her as his connecting line saves her. After finding a large enough foot-hole in the Wall to stand on, Jon reels Ygritte in as she pulls herself up. Once at safety, they take a moment to catch their breath and Jon looks above at Orell with disdain. After a few more taxing hours of climbing, Tormund and the rest finally reach the top of the Wall. Through their exhaustion Ygritte and Jon are elated to have survived the climb. Ygritte is in awe to view the lands south of the Wall, before she and Jon share a passionate kiss.

After surviving the perilous climb of the Wall, Tormund and the small wildling party make their way towards Castle Black through the Gift in order to await Mance Rayder's signal to begin their attack on the Night's Watch. Afterwards, Jon confronts Orell about cutting his and Ygritte's rope loose during the climb on the Wall, which nearly killed the both of them in the process. Orell tells Jon that he doesn't see Ygritte complaining about what happened because she is a wildling and understood what needed to be done in a pressurized situation. Orell adds that this is the reason Jon will never be able to keep Ygritte. During their journey through the woods, Tormund jokingly gives Jon some advice on how to properly have sex with a woman before ordering the group to begin the march again. Meanwhile, a jealous Orell then confronts Ygritte in private, insisting that he would be a better man for her than Jon Snow, who he continues to express his distrust in. However, he is flatly refused by Ygritte. Some hours later, Ygritte and Jon successfully hunt and kill a deer together, which is then tied and carried along by the wildlings as they continue their trek.

Some days later, Tormund and the wildling party prepare to raid an elderly horse breeder's home for his horses and gold. Jon insists that the old man is no threat to them, but Tormund and Orell intend to kill the man so as to stop him from alerting the Night's Watch to their presence. However, when the party attacks the farmstead, Jon surreptitiously hits a rock with his sword, alerting the old man who then flees on horseback. Jon then quickly distracts Ygritte when she tries to shoot the fleeing man with an arrow. Once they catch up with the old man, Tormund moves in to kill him, but Orell insists on having Jon do it instead to prove his loyalty. Jon is ultimately unable to kill the innocent man, and instead, Ygritte kills the man with an arrow. Realizing that Jon is still loyal to the Night's Watch, Tormund orders his men to kill Jon. He then restrains Ygritte to stop her from trying to assist Jon, and soon after Jon battles with Orell. Meanwhile, Jon’s little brother Bran Stark, on a mission of his own and hidden in the tower next to Tormund, wargs into the mind of his direwolf Summer in order to aid Jon as he battles to the death with Orell. Jon thrusts a fatal blow with his sword through Orell’s chest. With the last of his strength, however, Orell wargs into his pet eagle, which swoops down and attacks Jon, clawing him badly about the face before he fights the bird off. In fear for his life from the rest of the wildlings Jon then quickly steals a horse and escapes. As Jon rides away in the pouring rain, heading back to Castle Black, a heartbroken Ygritte watches in disbelief.

Some time later, in the North, wildlings Tormund and Ygritte stand outside a stone ravine that is located a short distance from the Wall, now awaiting Mance's signal for attack. Tormund chides Ygritte for failing to kill Jon Snow when she caught up with him after his betrayal and fleeing return to the Night’s Watch at Castle Black. Despite wanting revenge for his betrayal, Ygritte still loves Jon, a fact that Tormund picks up on. Ygritte insists that all three arrows found their mark, but says that Jon may still have survived. Knowing Ygritte's skill as a markswoman, Tormund says that if Jon is still alive, it is because she didn't want him dead. Their tense conversation is suddenly interrupted, however, when their scouts signal that someone is approaching. A band of Thenn trek towards the wildlings through the ravine and, out of earshot, Tormund comments about how much he hates Thenns, who are the most advanced best equipped of the wildling tribes. Their leader named Styr informs Tormund his party raided a village south of the ravine and gathered meat. He comments further insisting that the meat tastes so much better south of the Wall, and chides Tormund for losing their warg Orell, as well as Jon Snow. He then reminds Tormund how the Night's Watch are feasting and getting fat at Castle Black. Styr suggests that Tormund taste crow meat before he dies, as a human arm roasts over a fire, revealing the Thenn’s predilection for cannibalism.

Some weeks later, a small village in the Gift is attacked by raiding wildlings and the cannibalistic group of Thenns under the leadership of Tormund and Styr. The village is entirely decimated within minutes, as the villagers are brutally slaughtered one by one amidst the chaos. A young boy named Olly witnesses Ygritte slay his father directly in front of him. The boy hides under a cart but is eventually caught by the Thenn leader Styr, who threatens him at knifepoint to act as a messenger to Castle Black in order to relay an account of the massacre, as well as a warning that more will follow. Their intention is for the Night’s Watch to leave Castle Black in order to protect nearby villages, leaving them vulnerable to wildling attacks. Upon Olly’s frenzied arrival at Castle Black, Ser Alliser Thorne, the acting Lord Commander of the Watch, states that they do not have the manpower to afford venturing away from the Wall to aid in fighting the wildlings from local raids. Thorne then notes that the wildlings want to draw them out and pick them off a few at a time. Jon stresses, however, that Mance Rayder is coming and if the wildlings breach the Wall, they will tear through the Seven Kingdoms until they meet an army that can stop them.

Several weeks later, inside a tavern at Mole's Town, a drunken prostitute socializes with a mixture of townspeople and other whores alike before heading to the back room. When she encounters a lone wildling girl named Gilly who has been staying at the tavern to seek protection, the prostitute starts arguing about her crying infant who woke her up earlier that morning. Gilly passively apologizes and attempts to stay out of the woman’s way while hanging her laundry but the whore continues to harass her by saying that if Gilly doesn’t keep her baby quiet, she will instead. Just as Gilly stands up to the woman and defends her son they are interrupted by an attack on Mole’s Town. Meanwhile, outside of the tavern, Tormund and the Thenn leader Styr, along with the rest of the wildling party, start killing everyone in the small village town. Ygritte then rages into the tavern where Gilly and her baby have been hiding out in and runs into the whore who was harassing the young girl. Ygritte quickly runs her spear through the woman’s stomach. Ygritte then discovers a terrified Gilly hiding with her baby in one of the back rooms. After a moment, Ygritte spares both of their lives by urging Gilly and her son to keep quiet so they will not be found by other, less merciful wildlings.

Some time later, as Tormund and the band of wildlings have arrived at Castle Black, an owl lands on top of the Wall and is revealed to be controlled by a Thenn warg who is a member of the garrison under the command of Tormund and Styr, who have set up camp just outside of the Night’s Watch castle. Ygritte tells the others that she only cares about getting as many arrows through the hearts of crows as possible. Styr mockingly replies that Ygritte has more words about killing than she has arrows. She defends herself by saying she killed just as many people at Mole's Town as he, but Styr further mocks her by saying that when she sees Jon, she'll likely just serve him a slice of "ginger minge”. Ygritte stares Styr down and warns the others that she has an arrow ready for anyone else who attempts to kill him. On top of the Wall, Jon hears the horn blowing and looks north, witnessing a tremendous conflagration. South of the Wall, the Thenn’s owl also spots the fire and informs the time has come to attack. Jon approaches Ser Alliser Thorne, who admits that they should have heeded Jon's advice and blocked the gates. Meanwhile, Ygritte spies on the castle to scout numbers of defenders. She then informs Tormund and the other wildlings that most of the guards are at the top of the Wall.

The group immediately take off towards Castle Black, though Ygritte seems to have second thoughts. North of the Wall, the massive wildling army emerges from the woods, their numbers including giants riding atop mammoths. Alliser orders the archers on the Wall to nock their arrows, but they draw instead while a man of the Watch named Grenn accidentally drops a barrel down the Wall. Another horn blows from down below, signalling the unanticipated appearance of Tormund's group. Realizing the dire need for experienced men to defend the keep from the surprise attack, Alliser orders Janos Slynt to assume command of the Wall's defenses and heads below to join the melee. Below, Tormund and Styr's forces charge the gate while Ygritte, acting as a sniper, manages to pick off several men defending the gate with her bow. The band of wildlings manage to reach Castle Black's walls and begin scaling them using grappling hooks and ropes. On the northern side, a wildling strike force led by two giants, one of which is riding a mammoth, charge towards Castle Black's outer gate. On top of the Wall, Janos, having no true leadership experience, breaks down at the sight of the massive wildling army and begins fumbling his orders and eventually leaves, allowing Jon to take proper command of the Wall's defenses.

One giant, armed with a massive bow, manages to fire a huge arrow at one of the bunkers atop the Wall, obliterating it and killing the Black Brother manning it. The force of the giant's arrow carries the brother off the wall on to the other side where he is shoved into ground with a tremendous amount of force. Down below in the courtyard, chaos ensues as Styr quickly defeats the Night’s Watch one by one in melee battle while Ygritte precisely shoots with her bow from above. Olly, the young boy the wildlings sent to Castle Black as a messenger during their raid in the Gift, watches in horror as he witnesses the massacre. A Black Brother named Pypar manages to kill a wildling with his crossbow, but is then shot through the neck by Ygritte. Meanwhile, at the outer gate, one giant ties several ropes around the gate as well as the large mammoth, who uses as much of it’s brute strength as possible to pull away from the gate, attempting to weaken it enough to infiltrate Castle Black through the tunnel. Atop the Wall, Jon then commands Grenn and five other men to travel down the lift and hold the gate on the other side. Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Alliser Thorne is locked in a vicious duel with Tormund on the catwalks of Castle Black, both seem evenly matched in skill. However, Alliser suffers a grievous wound from a swift Tormund and is forced to retreat, being dragged to safety as he continues to shout orders to his men.

The Black Brothers defending the Wall manage to repel most of the wildlings attacking the outer gate, but one giant manages to make it through, greatly weakening the gate by repeatedly smashing it with his fists and managing to single-handedly begin lifting the gate. Samwell Tarly then arrives atop the Wall to ask Jon for more men to defend the castle down below. Jon grabs his sword and heads towards the lift. Arriving at the inner gate, Hill cowers when faced by the giant charging at them, but Grenn bolsters the others courage by reciting the Night's Watch oath. The Black Brothers ready their weapons just as the giant slams himself into the inner gate. As they travel below to the courtyard in the lift, Jon tasks Samwell with releasing his direwolf Ghost from his pen to assist in the fighting. When Samwell descends the Wall he makes a run for it to release Ghost while Jon himself finally enters the fray. Upon Ghost’s release, the direwolf immediately starts tearing into then wildlings while Jon quickly dispatches several of his own, proving his skill level is well beyond the majority of the wildings and Watchmen alike. He then catches the attention of Thenn leader Styr. The two meet in a brutal single combat where Styr eventually gets the upper hand by knocking Jon’s sword away and brutally assaulting him, smashing Jon’s face into an anvil and tossing him into the blacksmith's forge. Styr then picks Jon up and begins strangling him, but Jon spits blood in Styr's face and distracts him long enough for Jon to grab the blacksmith's hammer lying next to him and buries it in Styr's skull. Upon killing Styr, Jon turns around to find Ygritte pointing her bow at him with an arrow drawn. After the initial shock in seeing her Jon smiles at her, causing Ygritte to hesitate with her attack. She stares back at him in conflict, however, before either can say anything to each other, Ygritte is shot near the heart by an arrow fired from young Olly, avenging the death of his father at Ygritte's hands during the wildling attack on his village in the Gift. Jon runs over to Ygritte and holds her collapsed body in his arms. She tells him that they should have never left the cave where they first made love. When Jon insists that they will return there, she tells him "You know nothing, Jon Snow." She then succumbs to her wound and dies in his arms. Atop the Wall, a huge section of ice suddenly falls away from the Wall revealing a massive anchor-like blade attached to a chain that swings along the Wall, mowing through the wildlings attempting to climb its frozen face. The Night’s Watch then witness the wildling forces begin to withdraw into the Haunted Forest, siezing further attack for now, but as the wildlings still outnumber the Watch one-thousand-to-one, Mance Rayder was simply testing their defenses. Below, a heavily wounded and arrow-filled Tormund is surrounded in the courtyard but continues to fight despite being the only wildling alive inside the walls of Castle Black. He is finally subdued by Jon with a crossbow and taken prisoner by the Night's Watch for interrogation.

Some time later, after the arrival of King Stannis Baratheon and Mance Rayder’s subsequent arrest, Jon enters the chamber of the castle where Tormund is being held. Tormund asks why the castle’s maester, Aemon Targaryen, has patched up his arrow wounds. Jon asserts that Maester Aemon is sworn to heal all wounded men, friend or foe. Jon then informs Tormund that they will be burning the dead wildlings' bodies and asks if he wishes to say any words in their memory. Tormund scoffs at the idea, telling him that the dead can't hear them. Tormund then asks if Jon really loved Ygritte, telling Jon that Ygritte truly loved him because all she ever talked about was killing him. Tormund explains that because of this, he knew her love for Jon to be true. Saddened, Tormund then implores Jon that Ygritte's final resting place should be in "the real north," since that's what she would have wanted. Jon complies with Tormund’s wish and later takes Ygritte's corpse to the north side of the Wall, building a funeral pyre for her near a heart tree within the Haunted Forest. Jon looks at his lover one last time, lights her pyre and then weeps silently as he heads back towards the Wall.

Some time later, as Tormund is escorted across the courtyard, Alliser Thorne confronts him about his imprisonment, commenting on the provided shelter and food. When Thorne then alludes to what he would do to him instead, Tormund smugly retorts that Thorne mustn’t be in charge if it hasn’t occurred. The acting Lord Commander, feeling powerless, walks away without a response. Meanwhile, Jon visits the imprisoned Mance Rayder and tries his best to convince him to save his own life, as well as the rest of the wildlings, by bending the knee to King Stannis. When Jon insists this doesn’t have to be their last meeting, Mance asserts that it will be. He explains that the wildlings only follow him because he kneels to no one, so if he did kneel to Stannis, they would lose all respect for him and ignore his commands anyway, so he might as well die with his honor intact by refusing. That evening, Tormund is in attendance when Mance is marched out into the courtyard of the castle. Stannis gives Mance one last chance to save his own life. However, Mance politely refuses, staying true to his conviction, and wishes Stannis “good fortune in the wars to come.” As Mance is led to the pyre and tied to the stake, a Red Priestess named Melisandre, who follows Stannis’ cause, lights it aflame. Stannis’ wife, Queen Selyse Baratheon, watches with sick pleasure but their daughter Princess Shireen stares with horror. Tormund himself witnesses the brutal execution in anguish. Unable to watch Mance suffer, Jon storms off out of the courtyard. Just as the fire begins to consume Mance, he is mercifully shot through the heart with an arrow by Jon. With Mance Rayder dead, Tormund becomes the new leader of the remnants of the wildling army.

Some weeks after Jon has been voted as the new Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, he speaks with Maester Aemon in private for advice on a hard decision he is about to make, noting that half the men in the Watch despise him for his sympathy for the wildlings, but Aemon tells him to "Kill the boy, and let the man be born." Taking Aemon’s advice, Jon then meets with  Tormund and offers to forge an alliance with the wildlings. He will open the gates for them and give them land south of the Wall and in return, the wildlings will fight alongside the Night’s Watch when the army of the dead arrive. To convince Tormund further, Jon unlocks his chains and frees him. Tormund eventually relents, and reveals that most of the wildlings are located in a village named Hardhome. He adds that they’ll need ships to bring his people back, which Jon says they can borrow from Stannis. Tormund's final condition is that Jon accompany him as a guarantee that the wildlings will not fall prey to any traps set by the Night's Watch. Afterwards, Jon's plan is met with harsh criticism by the Night’s Watch, citing the countless innocent lives lost due to the wildlings. Even Jon’s friend Eddison Tollett rejects this decision, stating that the wildlings killed their friends Grenn and Pypar during the Battle of Castle Black. Jon explains that the goal is to keep the wildlings from falling into the hands of the White Walkers. Jon points out that every single wildling that remains on the north side of the Wall will be killed, then resurrected and added to the White Walker’s ever-growing army of the dead.

Days later, Tormund is released in the courtyard as Jon prepares to leave Castle Black with him and a group of Black Brothers, including Eddison Tollett. Tormund is set free from his restraints as Alliser Thorne stares at him with disdain, as does Jon’s young steward Olly, who has not forgotten about the wildling raid on his village where his parents were slaughtered. Jon entrusts the care of the Night's Watch to Alliser Thorne, who criticizes Jon’s rescue mission to the village of Hardhome, believing it to be reckless and an insult to the men of the Watch who have died fighting the wildlings. While Tormund mounts his horse, Jon bids farewell to Samwell Tarly, who hands him a bag of dragonglass daggers in case he should run into White Walkers on the way. With first-hand experience in killing a Walker, Samwell insists on the weapon’s effectiveness and then tells Jon that he hopes he doesn’t need to use it.

After a few days of travel, Tormund and Jon, along with other members of the Night's Watch and the Free Folk, arrive at the Free Folk village of Hardhome to convince the rest of the wildlings to join them for the impending war. Insisting on never being an ally with a crow, the Lord of Bones insults Tormund for being at the side of an enemy like Jon Snow. Tormund seizes the Lord's staff and beats his former ally to death with it. The wildling elders then decide to gather in a meeting hall to hear out Jon's proposal; an alliance between the Free Folk and the Night's Watch in the face of their common enemy, the White Walkers. Having not seen Mance Rayder  since he was taken prisoner at the Wall, the wildlings gathered question his whereabouts. Jon reluctantly informs them that he is dead and that he shot him personally with an arrow. The group is infuriated, but as they move in to kill him, Tormund vouches for him, describing how Rayder was about to be burned at the stake as a warning from King Stannis Baratheon, and how Jon defied Stannis by ending his life quickly instead of suffering in the flames. Some leaders are convinced, such as Karsi and the giant Wun Wun, but others like the Thenn warrior Loboda  begin to leave. Jon offers them the dragonglass daggers, telling them that his friend Sam had killed a White Walker with one. The wildlings still seem unconvinced.

While approximately five thousand Free Folk gather to set sail to the Wall, the Night's Watch starts gathering the dragonglass daggers in the tent. Eddison Tollett approaches Wun Wun who holds one of the daggers, examining it curiously. The giant appears unwilling to hand it over and asks Edd "The fuck you looking at?" in the giants' rudimentary form of the Old Tongue. Eddison walks away quietly, without collecting the arrowhead. Suddenly, dogs begin barking and the sounds of a storm are heard. Recognizing the sign of approaching white walkers, Loboda orders the gates of Hardhome to be shut, abandoning many of the Free Folk on the other side to their fate. As the storm reaches the village, the screams of the people shut outside the walls of Hardhome quickly fall silent. A moment later, a large host of undead wights begin breaking through the gates and climbing over the walls. Tormund, Jon, Loboda and Karsi fight alongside others to give as many people as possible an opportunity to make it to their boat. Eddison, Wun Wun and others are trapped inside the townhall, which is set upon by wights and catches fire. Amidst the chaos, the bag of dragonglass weapons is lost. Meanwhile, on top of a hill overlooking Hardhome, several White Walkers mounted on undead horses observe the battle, including their leader the Night King. Realizing the need for dragonglass, Jon and Loboda go to the burning townhall, only to be confronted by a White Walker. While Loboda faces the threat, Jon goes for the dragonglass. Loboda is quickly killed after his axe shatters immediately upon contacting the Walker's icy blade. Jon just manages to grab a dragonglass dagger but is tossed aside by the Walker. Jon retrieves his sword and defends himself against the creature and both combatants are astonished to see that his Valyrian steel remains intact after clashing with the Walker's blade. Seizing the opportunity, Jon strikes the Walker with his sword, shattering the creature’s body into fragments of ice, confirming that Valyrian steel is just as lethal to them as dragonglass. The Night King, watching the battle from a distance, seems at least mildly intrigued by this turn of events. The White Walkers deploy another large host of wights, letting them hurl themselves over the cliffs above Hardhome. Now outnumbered, Tormund, Jon and the remaining defenders flee for their lives. The giant Wun Wun throws several wights off of himself and wields a burning log as a club. Tormund and the others manage to get to the last remaining boat and quickly row out to a safe distance. As Jon looks back to shore in horror, the Night King raises his arms triumphantly and all around him the slain wildlings rise up as undead wights. The Night King and his army continue to stare in silence as the living retreat from the massacre.

Some time later, Tormund, Jon, Eddison and the surviving few thousand wildlings rescued from Hardhome arrive at the Wall, before the gates of Castle Black. For a tense moment Ser Alliser Thorne hesitates to let his old enemies through, but finally relents and gives the order to open the gate. Thousands of wildlings come through the Wall and into Castle Black itself, including many women and children, and even the giant Wun Wun. Many men of the Night's Watch glare at them as they’ve entered into the Seven Kingdoms. Alliser coolly asserts to Jon that he has a good heart to have saved so many people, but that it may end up getting them all killed. Indeed, as Jon looks around, he sees almost all of his Black Brothers looking at him scornfully, among them is his steward Olly, as well as Othell Yarwyck and Bowen Marsh. Jon reunites with Samwell Tarly, but is despondent, saying that the mission was a disaster and they only managed to save a small fraction of the wildlings at Hardhome. Samwell points to several different wildlings passing by, noting that each of them would have died if Jon had done nothing at all, so it wasn't a complete failure.

Some days later, the Red Priestess Melisandre returns to Castle Black alone, as she had abandoned King Stannis when it became apparent he would lose the impending Battle of Winterfell against House Bolton. When Ser Davos Seaworth questions her about Stannis and his daughter Shireen, she says nothing yet her sorrow is manifest, all but confirming the demise of the king and the princess. Still forlorn and at a loss for words, Melisandre heads inside the castle, leaving both Jon and Ser Davos horrified at the news. Later that evening, Jon is reading messages when his steward Olly rushes in to urgently inform him that a wildling knows of the whereabouts of his long-missing uncle, Benjen Stark. Jon quickly runs out into the courtyard, joining Alliser Thorne and a small gathering of Black Brothers, only to find a placard stuck in the ground with the word "traitor" written on it. He turns around to find his brothers staring him down as result of allowing the wildlings to cross into the kingdoms. Thorne makes the first move and stabs the shocked Lord Commander in the chest. "For the Watch" Thorne recites, before several other brothers also close in on Jon and takes turns stabbing him. One after another, Jon Snow is betrayed, "For the Watch." Finally, a hesitant Olly approaches last, who is clearly confronted with the task at hand. After a moment of pause, Jon gasps, "Olly," before the young boy then delivers the final blow and repeats the pledge. Without uttering a word, the Black Brothers then leave Jon to bleed out in the snow alone.

Some time later at Castle Black, the band of Black Brothers loyal to the slain Jon Snow have not yet surrendered to Alliser Thorne and remain holed up in a room with Jon’s corpse. When  Davos Seaworth refuses a final ultimatum from Thorne, the acting Lord Commander orders the door to be battered down with a sledgehammer. Before the mutineers can break in, however, Eddison returns with Tormund and a band of angry wildlings. Though Thorne demands that the Watchmen stand and fight, only one of them is stupid enough to try it and is almost immediately cut down by Tormund, enabling an almost bloodless takeover. One archer foolishly looses a crossbow bolt into Wun Wun's back, which only results in the angry giant seizing him from his perch and dashing him against a stone wall before throwing the mangled body at Thorne's feet. The rebellious Black Brothers, seeing this, quickly throw down their arms and surrender. Thorne then tries to attack while Olly angrily rushes Tormund with a sword, but Thorne is seized and Tormund easily disarms Olly and pushes him into waiting arms. No wildlings are hurt in the process. Thorne, Olly, Othell Yarwyck and Bowen Marsh are then led away to the Ice Cells. Eddison brings Tormund to see Jon's corpse. Noting the many wounds, Tormund solemnly informs that he'll have his men start gathering wood for pyres.

After being rescued by Eddison and the wildlings, Ser Davos visits the Red Priestess Melisandre, who is still gripped by a crisis of her faith. Davos asks her if reviving Jon is possible, if there's any magic she knows of that would result in a successful resurrection. The Red Woman admits to having seen it done, but insists that she herself cannot do it, having lost faith in the Lord of Light due to the failure of her predictions regarding King Stannis Baratheon to come true. Davos curtly states that he wasn't asking the Lord of Light for help, but Melisandre herself, which convinces her to provide her best efforts. Joining Jon’s body in the room where they’ve laid him, Melisandre then performs a ritual that includes cleaning Jon’s wounds, cutting some of his hair and burning it in the fire. While she performs the ritual, Melisandre chants incantations in High Valyrian. After the ritual seems to not have any effect after a few minutes, it disheartens Jon’s supporters. After a silent moment, a devastated Tormund leaves and Melisandre offers a final "please" in the common tongue, but leaves the room, despondent. Eddison and finally Ser Davos follow her a moment later. Once the room is empty however,  Jon’s direwolf Ghost, who had been sleeping underneath the table upon which Jon was lying, perks up to find Jon suddenly awake and gasping for air.

After having somewhat recovered, the revived Jon dons his Night’s Watch armor and walks into the courtyard, seeing many of the Free Folk and his loyal brothers arrive before him. Jon greets the dumbfounded Tormund, who instantly jokes with Jon before hugging him tightly, which slightly pains Jon due to his stab wounds. Jon then greets the relieved Eddison and they embrace. Jon thinks it's still himself in his body, not a wight, so he jokes to hold off on burning his body for the time being. Afterwards, Jon oversees the public hanging of the four traitors responsible for the mutiny: Thorne, Olly, Othell and Bowen. Jon asks if the men have last words to say. Bowen states that it's not right Jon is alive as he coldly replies, "Neither was killing me." Thorne says he had a choice: to betray his Commander or the Night's Watch. He then says that Jon bringing the wildlings was dangerous and had to be stopped, warning Jon that he’ll be fighting their battles forever. Jon gives his respect to him and then moves on to Olly, who says nothing and glares furiously at Jon. Jon then cuts down the rope, killing all four traitors, and solemnly stares at Olly's lifeless body. Jon takes off his cloak and hands it to the confused Eddison, unofficially designating Edd as the next Lord Commander. Jon then leaves the courtyards and declares his watch has ended, leaving Tormund and the rest to look on in shock.

Some time later, Jon packs his belongings as he plans to leave Castle Black. Eddison chastises him for abandoning the Watch despite the threat of the White Walkers looming, and reminds Jon of the oath he swore. Jon retorts by saying that he already died, and that he couldn't stay after what was done to him. They are interrupted by the surprise arrival of Jon’s half-sister, Sansa Stark, after escaping her arranged marriage to the sadistic Ramsay Bolton, who currently resides in the seized castle of Winterfell, Jon and Sansa’s ancestral home belonging to House Stark. Along with Sansa is her protector Brienne of Tarth and Brienne’s squire Podrick Payne. A surprised Tormund stares curiously at the statuesque female warrior, as he then witnesses Sansa's emotional reunion with Jon. Later on, Tormund shares a meal with Jon, Sansa, Brienne and Eddison. As he eats, Tormund gives an uncomfortable Brienne a flirtatious glance. Jon then reads a letter sent by Ramsay Bolton stating that he has his youngest half-brother Rickon Stark: “his direwolf’s skin is on my floor, come and see…” Jon uncomfortably stops reading the letter upon reading threats against Sansa, but she takes the scroll and reads it aloud. Ramsay orders that if Sansa is not returned, he will slaughter every wildling at Castle Black, let his men rape Sansa, and feed Jon and Rickon to his dogs. Jon asks Tormund how many men he has available to fight and Tormund replies he has two-thousand able fighters, far less than the estimated five-thousand Ramsay has. Sansa urges trying to retake their home and rescue their brother, claiming that the Northern houses will unite behind Jon as the son of the late Warden of the North, Lord Eddard Stark. Jon then agrees to take Ramsay out.

Days later, a war council is called upon to discuss strategy, and is attended by Tormund, Jon, Sansa, Davos, Melisandre, Eddison, Brienne and Podrick. They discuss the need for more men to defend Castle Black as Jon bitterly notes that they simply don't have the numbers to challenge the Boltons at present. It is then noted that the Karstarks and Umbers, two vassal houses in the North, have already declared for Ramsay. Jon then points out that they can summon the rest of the minor houses, as their combined strength would give them a numerical advantage when combined with his current forces. Sansa states that "the North remembers" - the people of the North are still loyal to the Starks and will risk everything for their name. When Sansa then mentions her great-uncle Brynden Tully's recapture of Riverrun and the virtual guarantee of support from House Tully, Jon is surprised that Sansa has such valuable information. Sansa subsequently tasks Brienne and Podrick with securing Brynden's help while the rest of them leave Castle Black to start building their army. Before leaving Castle Black, Tormund again gazes at Brienne with lust, leaving her continuously uneasy. Meanwhile, Sansa presents Jon with a new fur cloak like their father Eddard’s, carrying the Stark sigil.

Some time later, Jon, Sansa and Davos begin searching for allies, starting with the wildlings at their camp along the Wall. With assistance from Tormund and Wun Wun, Jon speaks with the wildlings, and their elders led by Dim Dalba, who are still indebted to Jon for saving them at Hardhome. Jon asks for their help in the coming battle against Ramsay. Though Tormund stands by Jon, Dalba is skeptical, citing that they were allowed into the North to help fight against the White Walkers, not the Boltons. Jon agrees this isn't their fight and he shouldn't be asking for their help but points out that if Ramsay wins, he will wipe them all out anyway. Tormund speaks up for Jon, saying he died for the wildlings' well-being and if they don't help him, they are "cowards". The wildlings agree after Wun Wun stands up and says "Snow", confirming his allegiance. When the meeting disperses, Jon asks Tormund if he's sure that the Free Folk will join him, and Tormund responds: “We’re not clever like you southerners. When we say we'll do something, we do it.” 

Some weeks later, outside of Winterfell, Tormund, Jon, Sansa, Davos and the Northern lords that declared for House Stark request a parley with Ramsay Bolton, Harald Karstark and Smalljon Umber before they commence battle. Ramsay offers surrender terms, saying he will pardon Jon for deserting the Night's Watch as well as the recruited Northern forces only if Jon hands over Sansa. Jon refuses and offers Ramsay a chance to settle their dispute in one-on-one combat. Ramsay rejects a one-on-one combat with Jon, noting that he doubts he can best Jon in a duel but he is confident his numerically superior forces will triumph in battle similar to his victory against the late King Stannis. Jon counters that Ramsay's men may not want to fight for him if he will not fight for them. In response, Ramsay threatens Rickon Stark. Jon and Sansa are wary of whether Ramsay actually has their brother, to which Umber throws out his direwolf’s head as proof. Sansa refuses the terms of surrender and tells Ramsay he will die the following day. As she rides off, Ramsay comments to Jon that she is a fine woman and will enjoy having her back in his bed after the battle. Ramsay adds that that they are all fine-looking men and his dogs are ravenous, as he then ponders what body part will they attack first, before riding off himself.

Late night, Jon holds a war council meeting when Ser Davos mentions that if the other houses sense weakness on Ramsay’s part, they will stop fearing him. Jon adds that fear is his weakness as well, noting that his men don’t want to fight for him, they are being forced to. He ponders what would happen to Ramsay’s allies if the tide turned away from him during battle. Tormund then interrupts to express concern over Ramsay’s number of horses, explaining that this was how the wildlings were hit the hardest when they were attacked by Stannis following the Battle of Castle Black. Jon assures Tormund that they are digging trenches along their flanks so it shouldn’t result in the same catastrophy. They then discusses their battle plan is to let the Boltons attack the middle of their formation in order to encircle their army. After exiting the meeting, Tormund and Davos discuss their time serving Mance Rayder and Stannis Baratheon respectively. Tormund reaffirms to Davos that he believed in Mance, just as Davos believed in Stannis. Davos suggests that perhaps their mistake was placing their faith in kings altogether. Tormund reminds him that Jon is not a king and offers Davos a jug of sour goat's milk. Davos declines, stating his preference with walking and thinking in solitude prior to a battle.

The armies gather the following morning as Ramsay brings out Rickon. After menacingly raising a knife, he cuts Rickon's bonds and tells him that they are to “play a game.” The only rule is to run towards his brother Jon. As Rickon does so, Ramsay pulls out a bow and nocks an arrow, prompting Jon to urgently ride out and try to save Rickon. Ramsay appears to have no intention of hitting Rickon with his first few shots but, just as Jon approaches his brother, Rickon is struck in the back with an arrow and is killed. Devastated and enraged over his brother's murder, Jon charges towards the Bolton army, followed by the Stark calvary. The Bolton archers fire at Jon and strike his horse. With Jon now defenseless in the middle of the battlefield, Ramsay orders the Bolton cavalry to charge at him. As Jon brandishes his sword and prepares to fight to the death, the Stark cavalry smashes into the Boltons, narrowly saving Jon from being trampled. In the rear, Ser Davos belays his order to his archers to release arrows into the melee of infantry, as he announces that they would kill his men, engaged in close-quarter fighting, as well the enemy. He eventually sends the archers forward to be of more use in the middle of the battlefield. Ramsay, however, has no such compunction; he has twice the men to lose and little concern for killing his own. He repeatedly and purposefully orders arrow fusillades that kill all combatants in the middle of the field, apparently in an effort to create a strategic barrier of human death in the center of the battlefield.

The Stark forces seem unaware of this strategy and developing trap. Bolton soldiers are ordered forward to create an impenetrable horseshoe formation of tall shields and spears that surround three sides of the Stark forces against the death mound and progressively compresses them into a helpless and dysfunctional mass. Simultaneously, Smalljon Umber leads a group of soldiers across the mound of corpses to attack the beleaguered Stark infantry from behind and complete the deadly envelopment. While Wun Wun is able to kill a few Bolton soldiers, it is not enough to break their phalanx. Panic sets in and Tormund, sensing futility, urges his wildlings backward towards the pile and possible escape. Amidst all of this, Jon is trampled by his own forces, nearly suffocating under a group of men crawling on top of him, but is eventually able to get back to his feet. At this point, where the Stark forces face imminent destruction, a horn sounds out in the distance as Sansa and her secret ally Lord Petyr Baelish arrive with the Knights of the Vale, waving banners bearing the House Arryn sigil. On horseback, they begin to cut down the Bolton soldiers from behind to disrupt the encirclement. Smalljon, momentarily distracted by the arrival of the Arryn forces, is caught off-guard by Tormund, who bites out his foe’s throat and then kills the stricken Northman, stabbing him multiple times in the face with a dagger.

After Ramsay witnesses his soldiers being cut down, he retreats inside Winterfell, insisting that the Stark army is too weak for a siege, despite the Vale reinforcements. Wun Wun, however, is able to break down Winterfell's gates, allowing wildling archers to pour into the castle; the last vestiges of the Bolton garrison are quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered. The giant is nevertheless overwhelmed by arrows and finally killed by Ramsay's shot. As Jon approaches, Ramsay fires three arrows at him with his bow but Jon blocks them all with a shield. Before Ramsay can fire the fourth arrow, Jon gets close enough and smacks the bow out of Ramsay's hands before striking him in the chest with enough force to send Ramsay down. Before Ramsay can stand up, Jon pounces on him and proceeds to savagely beat him with his fists. Ramsay doesn’t attempt to defend himself and fight back, as he grins maniacally. Jon stops upon noticing Sansa, realizing she has more right for revenge, and subsequently orders Ramsay locked up as a prisoner. The Bolton banners on Winterfell are torn down and the Stark banners are raised in their place. Jon orders Rickon's body to be buried next to his father in the crypts. Later that evening, Sansa executes the blood-drenched Ramsay herself by releasing his own vicious hounds upon him, who had been starving in the kennel for a week.

Some time later, the surviving heads of all the Northern vassal houses convene in Winterfell's Great Hall. Tormund briefly disputes with Lord Yohn Royce, claiming that Jon invited him and the wildlings south of the Wall instead of them invading as Royce had believed. Lady Lyanna Mormont then rises to shame those who did not join Jon and Sansa in helping defeat Ramsay. She reiterates that the North knows “no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark." Lyanna continues by asserting that while Jon may be a bastard, she doesn't care and he is a Stark to her. She then hails Jon as the new King in the North. Lord Wyman Manderly, rises to apologize, stating that he didn't send aid before because he didn't want to send his men to die for nothing. However, he goes on to call Jon "the White Wolf" and he too proclaims him as king. Lord Robett Glover then apologizes profusely, saying that he dishonored himself by not aiding Jon before, and he only didn't help him because he thought he had no hope of winning. Glover and Lord  Cley Cerwyn then also swears their allegiance. All of the gathered lords of the North and the Vale draw and raise their swords and hail Jon as the new King in the North. Although by now a close friend and ally of Jon, Tormund stays true to his beliefs as a wildling and doesn't take part in hailing him king.

Some months later at Winterfell, the King in the North, Jon Snow, organizes the defense of the North against the army of the dead, who are currently marching towards the Seven Kingdoms from beyond the Wall. Tormund in attendance at the Great Hall, as Jon asks that all maesters start searching for dragonglass that are to be forged into weapons. He then commands for all able-bodied men and women to be trained in combat. When Lord Robett Glover balks at the idea of arming his granddaughter, Lady Lyanna Mormont remarks that she certainly will not remain idle, giving her assurance that every girl on Bear Island will be trained alongside the boys. Jon then requests for Tormund and his band of wildlings to man Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, located along the Wall. Tormund jokes that he and his Free Folk are the Night's Watch now. The next order of business is the possibility of the White Walkers getting past the Wall; if they do, the first obstacles they encounter will be the castles of Last Hearth and Karhold, the seats belonging to the two Northern houses that fought alongside the Boltons.  Lord Yohn Royce opines that the castles should be demolished for their lords' treachery. However, Jon advocates mercy, insisting that children will not be punished for the crimes of their fathers. Jon then asserts his decision and summons Alys Karstark and Ned Umber, asking them to reaffirm their loyalty to House Stark. They oblige and kneel before King Jon.

Later that afternoon, Brienne later tutors her squire Podrick Payne in the courtyard rather sternly, but is struck by Podrick when Tormund then appears and momentarily distracts her. Brienne punches Podrick to the ground without hurting him seriously and rebuffs the wildling’s advances when Tormund tells Podrick that he’s a lucky man for getting beaten down by Brienne. Meanwhile, Sansa watches Brienne and Podrick spar from above the courtyard when Lord Petyr Baelish approaches, commenting that Brienne is an impressive woman. Sansa curtly asks what Littlefinger wants, as he assures that he is only concerned with her happiness and safety. Sansa dismisses Littlefinger’s attempts to get under her skin by stating that she is safe at Winterfell and has Brienne as her sworn shield. Sansa retorts that she only wants peace and quiet when he prods her that she looks unhappy. Brienne, having seen their interaction from below, moves over to intervene, and Baelish scurries off. When Brienne asks why Littlefinger is still at Winterfell, Sansa replies that his Knights of the Vale helped to turn the tide during the  battle for Winterfell, though Brienne quips that Baelish is after something else.

Several weeks later, after landing at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, Jon and his small party meet with Tormund, who thinks that Jon's new plan of capturing a wight beyond the Wall is suicidal. Tormund mockingly asks which of the two ferocious queens is it they need to convince, as Jon replies both Cersei Lannister and the dragon queen, Daenerys Targaryen, whom Jon has recently formed an alliance with. Jon then learns that the Night's Watch have detained a handful of members from an outlaw group working against House Lannister, the Brotherhood Without Banners. The group includes Ser Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr and Sandor "The Hound" Clegane. Tormund and Jon’s team then meet with the prisoners in the cells beneath Eastwatch, where the entire group swiftly establish their reasons for hating each other, given past histories. During the ensuing exchange, Tormund learns Ser Jorah Mormont’s real name and deduces that he is the son of Jeor Mormont, who hunted the wildlings "like animals," though Jorah retorts that the wildlings did the same to the Night's Watch. They all decide, however, to put aside their differences to in order to fight against the army of the dead. After the Brotherhood is released, Tormund, Jon, Jorah, Sandor, Beric, Thoros and Gendry Baratheon exit Eastwatch's gate together and set out into the lands beyond the Wall on their dangerous mission to capture a wight as proof of their existence.

As Tormund and the ranging party travel through the lands beyond the Wall, Gendry Baratheon complains about the bitter cold and asks Tormund about life as a wildling. Tormund insists that the key is to keep moving, stating that “walking is good, fighting is better and fucking is best.” Tormund then confides with Jon about the foolhardy nature of their mission. When Jon explains that Daenerys Targaryen will only ally with them if he bends the knee to her, Tormund remarks that Jon has grown prideful and independent as a result of his time spent with the Free Folk. However, Tormund remarks that standing on pride can be a dangerous thing, using his late friend and leader Mance Rayder as an example. While walking, Jon and Jorah Mormont chat about their relationships with their honorable fathers who didn’t deserve their deaths. Jon tries to return to Jorah his father's sword but Jorah tells him that he is not worthy to bear his Jeor’s sword and adds that his father gave the sword to Jon, and gives his blessing for Jon and his future children to keep it. Meanwhile, Tormund tries to banter with Sandor Clegane, who attempts to thwart small talk with offensive remarks that only instigates Tormund further. When Tormund begins discussing Brienne of Tarth, Sandor shoots down the idea of Tormund’s ability to win over her heart. As they continue onwards, Sandor eventually sees the mountain from a vision he’s had and steers the group in that direction.

Later on, while trudging through a brutal snowstorm, Jon and his party sight a massive polar bear with blue eyes approaching them. The snow bear turns out to have been resurrected by a White Walker. The monstrous creature charges at the group, mauling and killing three of their hunting party. Beric Dondarrion manages to set the snow bear alight with his flaming sword but it continues to attack, forcing Thoros of Myr to get in its' way when it attacks Sandor, who is too terrified of the flames engulfing the beast even to defend himself. Thoros is unable to break free of its jaws until Ser Jorah kills it with a dragonglass dagger. Beric then cauterizes Thoros' wounds with his flaming sword.

Some time later, while navigating through a mountain range, they see a White Walker leading a column of wights marching through the canyon below. The ranging party plants a fire and then ambushes them when the White Walker stops to investigate. Jon manages to kill the Walker with his sword, causing most of the wights associated with him to disintegrate themselves upon his death. The rest of the group manages to capture the only unaffected wight. The creature unexpectedly screeches for help, which echoes throughout the canyon. Sandor slaps his gloved hand over the wight’s mouth, but it wrenches its face away when its mouth skin tears off into the glove. As Jorah pulls out a bag from his jacket and secures it over its head, Tormund and Sandor bind the creature with a coil of rope. In the middle of this, they realize their captive's howls have drawn the attention of a massive host of wights now heading their way, hastening their work. As the noise of the horde approaches, Jon sends Gendry, over his protest, back to Eastwatch-by-the-Sea to bring news to Daenerys, as he is the fastest. Tormund then grabs Gendry and insists that he will be faster without his war hammer. Before leaving, Gendry hands the hammer over to Tormund. The wights then pursue the group over a lake of weak ice, as they flee toward a large stone island jutting out in the middle. One of the party trips and falls behind; a few of the horde tackles him, the combined weight breaks the ice, and they fall through. This causes a chain reaction of breaking ice all around the rock until the horde slows to a stop to avoid the water. Throughout the night, Tormund and his comrades wait in the middle of the ice while encircled by the army of the undead. Meanwhile, Gendry eventually reaches Eastwatch's outer gates but collapses from exhaustion. Davos Seaworth and several guards attend to him as Gendry tells him to prepare a raven for Daenerys. Davos then orders to bring the maester to tend to Gendry.

In the morning, Tormund and the others awake to find that Thoros has died from his wounds. Beric and Sandor pay their last respects, with the former praying for the Lord of Light to guard them as the latter assures him freezing to death is said to be one of the better ways to die. At Jon's insistence, they burn the body with Beric's flaming sword so Thoros can't be reanimated. The wights watch while their captive wight struggles under its hood and restraints. Ser Jorah proposes killing the wight but Jon counters that they need to keep it as evidence. Beric suggests that Jon kill the Night King, who has just arrived on horseback; given that they've seen killing a Walker destroyed the wights it controlled, killing the Night King might destroy them all. He then adds that the Lord of Light has not resurrected Jon for no reason, but Sandor reminds him that they have just lost their priest, and Beric is now down to his last life. Bored, Sandor hurls two rocks at one of the undead minions, knocking its jaw off. The second however, skids across the ice, and both the party and the undead quickly realize the ice, which has hardened overnight, is strong enough to support their weight, and in ever-increasing numbers, the horde attacks the group's position. The ranging party hack and slash at the wights with their blades but are unable to stem the tide. With the group overwhelmed, Jon orders them to fall back to the highest part of the island. Tormund is overwhelmed by several wights and is nearly dragged under the ice, but is saved by Sandor, who drags him back onto the island. The group continues fighting against the wights. One of the wildlings falls off a ledge and is ripped apart by the creatures, who begin to scramble up the ledge towards the living. When all seems lost, Queen Daenerys then arrives with her three dragons, who attack the wights with dragonfire. Hundreds of wights are burned to ashes while others collapse under the ice that has been melted by dragonfire. The hunting party all rush to Daenerys and her dragon Drogon, dragging their captive wight with them, while  Viserion and Rhaegal provide covering fire from above. Meanwhile, the Night King obtains an icy javelin from one of his lieutenants and hurls it at Viserion, scoring a direct hit. Viserion is struck in the neck and plunges helplessly into freefall, shrieking in agony as blood and fire pour from the fatal wound. Drogon and Rhaegal cry out for their brother, but are powerless to help him as Daenerys watches in horror and sorrow. Viserion crashes onto the frozen lake, shattering the ice, and slowly sinks beneath it. As the Night King readies another spear, Jon hollers at Daenerys to leave with her remaining dragons before he himself is dragged under the ice by two wights. Tormund and the hunting party flee with Daenerys on dragonback before the Night King can kill them. He hurls the second javelin, but Drogon narrowly dodges it. With the dragons gone, the Night King and his army leave the scene. Within moments of their retreat, Jon climbs out of the ice and regains his sword. Jon is then quickly spotted and pursued by a large horde. Before the wights can finish him off, Jon’s long-lost uncle, Benjen Stark, makes a surprise arrival on horseback with his flaming flail. Benjen tells Jon to flee on his horse while he stays behind to buy time for Jon to escape. While riding away on horseback, Jon watches his uncle being overwhelmed and devoured by the undead. After returning to Eastwatch, Sandor carries the struggling wight into a boat. Tormund and Ser Beric inform him they will meet again but Sandor retorts that he hopes not. Tormund helps them load the wight into a boat, and shares a farewell nod with Sandor in gratitude for saving his life. Meanwhile, on top of the Wall, Daenerys sends her dragons Drogon and Rhaegal to scour the mountains for Jon. Jorah, however, tells Daenerys that it is time to leave but she insists on waiting a bit longer. Before she departs, a horn blow announces that a rider is approaching. Looking down below from the Wall, Daenerys sees a wounded Jon approaching on horseback. On board a ship, Jon is tended to, as he’s suffered hypothermia and several minor injuries.

Some days later at Eastwatch, Tormund and Beric review the defenses atop the Wall, as Tormund remarks that “the crows” say he'll get used to the height, but admits that it'll be a while. Suddenly, the pair sees movement at the edge of the Haunted Forest and then witness a White Walker emerging on top of an undead horse, followed shortly by hundreds of wights. More White Walkers emerge as the Night’s Watch horns sound three times. Despite their numbers, the dead don't have anything that could possibly get them past the barrier. However, Tormund and Beric stop in horror as they hear a familiar sound: a screeching roar mixed with the heavy thumping of huge wings beating the air. Suddenly, the resurrected dragon Viserion swoops down with the Night King riding on his back. In a burst of bright blue flames, Viserion demolishes some of the scouting platforms atop the Wall and then turns his flames against the Wall itself. Tormund shouts for them all to run and the Night's Watch brothers and wildlings alike desperately try to evacuate as the Wall begins to crumble. Tormund and Beric witness the entire eastern extremity of the Wall collapse into the sea, leaving a gap between the Wall and the sea large enough for the army of the dead to cross. A road now open to them, the White Walkers direct the wights to begin their march into the Seven Kingdoms. Wights, undead giants and other monstrosities march by the thousands into the North as Viserion and Night King soar overhead to lead the march. The Great War has now begun.

Some time following the attack on the Wall by the army of the dead, Tormund, Ser Beric and the survivors of the garrison at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea make their way south to Last Hearth, the seat of House Umber. They find the castle completely abandoned and damaged from a battle, though without bodies- implying that the White Walkers have already raised the victims as undead wights. As they tensely investigate the castle, they stumble into Eddison Tollett. Following Jon Snow's message, Edd is leading the remaining Night’s Watch garrison from Castle Black down to Winterfell. Tormund and Beric ask if Edd found anyone, at which he leads them to the main hall and shows them the corpse of young Ned Umber pinned to a wall and surrounded by a gruesome spiral design made out of severed limbs. They realize that it is a warning from the Night King. Tormund and Beric worry that the White Walkers' army will reach Winterfell first, but the wights are slow moving and on foot, and Eddison’s men brought horses which they can ride in order to outpace them. As they discuss what to do next, Ned Umber suddenly re-animates as a wight and tries to grab Tormund. However, the undead boy is unable to free himself from the wall. Beric sets his sword on fire to kill the wight, who bursts into flame at its touch, also igniting the symbol of the spiral.

Some days later, the sound of the horn brings Jon out into the courtyard of Winterfell, where to his delight, he finds Tormund, Beric, Eddison and the rest of the Night's Watch dismounting from their horses. Unfortunately, the new arrivals bring bad news: Last Hearth has fallen and anyone who has not reached Winterfell by now have joined the army of the dead, who should be arriving before daybreak. Jon then meets with Tormund and all of the prominent commanders to discuss strategy and notes that even with dragonglass, Valyrian steel and the defenses they have laid, they are still outnumbered. He suggests to focus on the Night King as their primary target, given that if he raised every monster in the army of the dead they should all die with him. Ser Jaime Lannister predicts that the Night King, knowing this weakness, will never risk himself on the battlefield, but Jon’s half-brother Bran Stark interjects that he will come for him. Bran explains that the Night King’s ultimate desire is to erase all memory of the world of men, something which Bran now possesses. Ser Davos suggests the dragons will be helpful on the battlefield but Jon notes they need the dragons near the godswood to protect Bran when he is luring the Night King in for an ambush. Jon’s youngest half-sister Arya Stark then asks if dragonfire will kill wights, to which Bran can only reply he has no idea, as no one has ever tried it before. Tormund also notes that while everyone is going to die, they will at least die together.

Later that evening, as the looming battle nears, Tormund, Brienne, Podrick and Ser Davos join the Lannister brothers for wine. Tormund instantly hones in on Brienne, bragging how he killed a giant at the age of ten and crept into his wife's bed. As she woke, she suckled Tormund at her teat for three months, mistaking him for her baby, which is the reason why Tormund is so strong. The rest of the group looks on, unsure how to react to such a story, as Tormund guzzles down his milk from a horn. Tormund is later puzzled upon learning that Brienne was never officially knighted, and states he would knight her "ten times over" for her bravery. Brienne insists that this is the way of tradition. Ser Jaime, however, mentions aloud that the tradition isn't necessarily true. He states that any knight can make a knight. A hesitant Brienne then stands and moves away from the group so that she can kneel. Bringing his sword with him, Ser Jaime gives Brienne her knighthood, before adding "arise Brienne of Tarth, a Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." With everyone applauding, Brienne stands and gives a tearful smile to the small group in the room. However, their celebration is quickly interrupted by the arrival of the White Walkers and their army of the dead.

Night has fallen and Bran Stark is wheeled to the godswood to wait as bait, while Jon and Daenerys ride their two dragons away from the castle as to not alert the enemy of their presence. Outside the gates and on the battlefield, Tormund readies himself for battle alongside Eddison, Beric and the other defenders. From the blackened distance, the Red Priestess Melisandre suddenly arrives on horseback just in time to aid their army and magically lights a fire on each end of the Dothraki army’s weapons, as they then ride into battle and crash into the seething horde of wights. The infantry around Winterfell can hear the chaos in the distance, as Dothraki war cries turn to screams of terror and the flames from their swords are quickly extinguished. The undead rush down from the north and slam into Tormund and the other defenders around Winterfell like a tidal wave. Jon and Daenerys make strafing runs on the undead army with dragonfire but more keep coming and does little to affect their outnumbered defenses, resulting in the deaths of hundreds, including Eddison. A full retreat into the castle is then ordered, as the Unsullied army form a rearguard to protect the withdrawal of their few remaining forces. Melisandre uses her powers again, this time to light the entire trench ringing Winterfell, as it bursts into flames. However, the Night King directs his horde of the undead into a concentrated charge across several sections of the fire: many hundreds burn, but eventually their sheer mass extinguishes the flames, breaching the outer defenses. Thousands of them start swarming around the base of Winterfell's great stone walls, then climb over each other in a mass, using their strength to grip into stone. As they continue climbing the castle walls, the defenders are nearly overwhelmed by scores of wights, but continue to stave off their progress when hacking through them. The siege takes a turn for the worse, however, as the Night King uses his resurrection power to raise all of the defenders who died in the battle up to this point into wights. As Tormund fights for his life in the overrun courtyard, the Night King reaches the godswood to meet Bran, as predicted, but not all goes to plan as Jon and Daenerys have lost the use of their dragons and cannot protect Bran. As the Night King draws the sword sheathed on his back for the killing blow, Arya Stark stealthily leaps at him from behind with her Valyrian steel dagger. The Night King instantly reacts, spinning around to catch her by the throat, but with her free hand she drives the blade into the center of his chest, shattering him into ice. With the Night King killed, the few surviving defenders witness the undead suddenly drop and fall apart, as the magic animating their dead flesh has been broken. As the Great War comes to a victorious end, dawn breaks over Winterfell.

Following the victorious battle against the White Walkers, Winterfell has been cleared of the thousands of corpses in and around it, as the war resulted in a heavy number of casualties. Tormund is in attendance when scores of the fallen soldiers are gathered into funeral pyres. Jon then gives a eulogy that it is the duty of those who survived to keep them all alive in memory for generations to come. He notes to the survivors in his eulogy: “Our fellow men and women, who set aside their differences to fight together, and die together, so that others might live. Everyone in this world owes them a debt that can never be repaid.” He also quotes the funeral speech used for members of the Night's Watch and announces that they were the shields that guarded the realms of men, and they will never see their like again: “now their watch is ended.” The assembled leaders go forward with torches to light the pyres: Sansa Stark weeps over Theon Greyjoy's body, taking a pin with the Stark direwolf sigil off of her own gown and adding it to his chest, to show that he was a Greyjoy and had redeemed himself as a Stark. A devastated Queen Daenerys then lights the pyre for her closest advisor, Ser Jorah Mormont, who fought alongside Tormund during the wight capture beyond the Wall. The survivors also bid farewell to Ser Beric Dondarrion and Eddison Tollett, as well as the young Lyanna Mormont.

That night, the survivors hold a victory feast in the great hall of Winterfell, though so many have died that the mood is somber. Daenerys calls on Gendry Baratheon, noting that he is the late King Robert’s bastard son. She then appoints Gendry as the new Lord of Storm's End and legitimizes him as a Baratheon, as a reward for his heroism during the battle. After the announcement, the mood is lightened and the hall becomes more celebratory, as everyone starts drinking heavily and discussing the battle. Daenerys stands up and makes her own toast, "To Arya Stark, the hero of Winterfell!" prompting an entire room of cheers, though Arya is not in attendance. When Tormund then praises Jon for his heroism aloud, he unintentionally feeds into Daenerys' ongoing paranoia regarding Jon's better claim to the Iron Throne causing her to exit the celebrations. It was recently discovered that Jon was never a bastard, but secretly born a Targaryen by Lord Eddard’s sister Lyanna Stark and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Later on during the feast, Tormund drunkenly propositions Brienne again, but is rebuffed by her as well as the intervention of Ser Jaime Lannister. Comically heartbroken, Tormund then commiserates with Sandor Clegane until he leaves the feast with two serving girls.

Some time later, in the castle courtyard of Winterfell, Jon is getting ready to leave south with the Northern army, while Tormund and Samwell Tarly come to bid farewell. Tormund informs Jon that he is also leaving to return north with his people: the surviving wildlings will travel to  Castle Black. Once spring arrives and the winter snows have cleared, they will then return to the lands beyond the Wall. Jon states that the Free Folk are welcome in the North, but Tormund declares that the lands north of the Wall are their home. When Jon says this is farewell, Tormund says, "You never know. You've got the north in you. The real north." They hug goodbye. Jon then spots his direwolf Ghost in the courtyard, who was badly wounded in the battle, having lost his right ear, but managed to survive and is up and about. Jon instructs Tormund to take Ghost with him as a direwolf has no place in the southern kingdoms, and would be happier in the northern forests, where other direwolves still live. After congratulating Samwell and Gilly on their recent pregnancy, Jon bids them farewell and then rides out of the castle, as Tormund and Ghost also look on.

Some weeks later, much has occurred in the war against Queen Cersei Lannister in the capital, resulting in the Battle of King's Landing, the final engagement of Daenerys Targaryen's war for Westeros. The siege resulted in a catastrophic sacking of the city where Daenerys rained dragonfire on the capital, consuming Lannister soldiers and innocent civilians alike. Shocked with Daenerys’ grief-stricken-yet-tyrannical turn, Jon assassinates the dragon queen in fear of further descent into madness. After an imprisoned Jon is exiled to live the rest of his days with the Night’s Watch, he reaches Castle Black and is greeted by Tormund, who gives Jon a sympathetic look upon arrival. After donning the black garb of the Night's Watch again, Jon leaves his quarters to join Tormund and the wildlings outside in the courtyard where he reunites with his direwolf Ghost. Jon and Tormund together then lead the remaining wildlings outside the gates of Castle Black on horseback, with Ghost walking ahead of the group. As they make their way beyond the Wall and into the Haunted Forest, Jon silently watches the gate closing behind them. Jon takes a moment to look at Tormund and the wildling men, women and children as they walk into the forest and has a brief look of peace. Jon then rides among the group as they progress towards the “real north,” as the wildling people are finally free from the threat of the White Walkers. As Tormund and the wildlings continue deeper into the forest, a piece of grass can be seen emerging from the thawing snow as the first signs of spring begin to slowly appear in Westeros.