Game of Thrones: 5 Things The Wildlings Did Better Than Westeros (& 5 Westeros Did Better)

The Hornfoots don’t wear shoes, so their legs are naturally blackened. Thenns, on the other hand, forge weapons from bronze and are ferocious fighters that enjoy cannibalism and also sacrifice themselves. These were just some over 90 tribes that united under Mance Rayder to attempt crossing The Wall and survive the Night King’s march South.

Their primitive lifestyle and general lawlessness make the wildlings unwelcome visitors to the South. Years of coordinated attacks against the Night King and looting of villages immediately south of The Wall have also made the Freefolk an unwelcome bunch. However, a close look at these fine people revealed that most of them were completely happy with their lives and even did some things better than the clean and organized Westerosis.

10 Wildlings: Democracy

The wildlings happily named themselves the Freefolk because they never bent the knee to any king they didn’t choose themselves. While the Westerosis thought of them as primitive people with no ability to govern effectively, the Freefolk had their own system that worked; sometimes even better than what happened South of The Wall. Each wildling tribe had its own leader, but they didn’t have to bow to him, kneel or call them “your grace.”

In fact, a Wildling had the right to walk away from their leader or simply depose them if they couldn’t lead properly. On the other hand, in Westeros, kings were chosen depending on who their father was, and failing to bend the knee would get you killed. Hereditary leadership was the biggest problem in all the Seven Kingdoms as it caused the bulk of the deaths.

9 Westeros: Law

When Jon and Tormund arrived in Hardhome, the Lord of Bones insulted Tormund for walking with a crow, for which Tormund beat him to death with his staff, and there were no consequences. North of The Wall, any man, could keep whatever he fought for. The wildlings didn’t have any set of laws to govern the interaction between people, which is why there were many squabbles between the tribes.

With no one to enforce the rules and some tribes like the Thenns inherently violent, peaceful existence was a problem in the North. There were clearly outlined laws throughout the Seven Kingdoms and within each kingdom that allowed peaceful coexistence in Westeros.

8 Wildlings: Hunting

Robert Baratheon was one of the greatest fighters in Westeros, but he got killed by a boar while hunting. While Robert’s wine and Lannister tricks may have caused his death, poor hunting skills are also a possible cause. The people of Westeros were not as good as the Freefolk at hunting. Beyond The Wall, hunting is what kept the people alive, and everyone had to learn how to do it from a young age.

When some of the Wildlings walked away, refusing Jon’s offer of lands South of The Wall, Tormund told him that they would return because they had no more food and there was nothing more to hunt. The Wildlings were great hunters that could track any animal through their ice-covered country. Ygritte proved her hunting skills to Jon Snow with her skill with the bow and ability to track down specific hideouts and caves.

7 Westeros: Security

Hardhome was the largest Wildling settlement in Game of Thrones, but it wasn’t anything more than a large village secured with planks of wood that Wights simply pushed their way through. The same was probably the case with the rest of the Wildling dwellings, as most of them preferred caves and temporary structures to permanent homes.

With no castles and walls to protect the people, the risk of dying was very high. In Westeros, everyone lives in properly secured homes with the largest castles enjoying the security of high walls and full-time surveillance.

6 Wildlings: Their Treatment Of Women

Ygritte was a spearwoman, and she wasn’t considered any less of a fighter than Tormund and the rest of the men in the raiding party. The same cannot be said for Westeros, where there had never been a woman knighted until the day Jaime Lannister knighted Brienne of Tarth. Women in Westeros were not considered equal to men.

Even in castles like Winterfell, while the boys were taught how to fight, acquire lands and earn titles, Arya and Sansa were only taught how to sew and behave “as ladies.” Arya only learned to fight because Ned Stark broke the rules and assigned Syrio Forel to teach her. However, beyond The Wall, a girl could become anyone she wanted to be.

5 Westeros: Forging Weapons

The Thenns were the only Wildlings that carried advanced weapons since they knew how to forge axes from bronze. The rest of the Freefolk rely on rudimentary wood and bone axes, arrows, and spears that can hardly deliver any significant damage on the enemy.

It is not clear how they remained so far behind in terms of metal technology, yet they share ancestry with descendants of the first men, such as the Starks. On the other hand, Westeros has advanced steel forges that produce all types of swords, crossbows, and spears, which make them formidable in battle. With no weapons, the Wildlings are disadvantaged in any conflict against the Southerners.

4 Wildlings: Surviving

Winterfell is one of the hardest places to grow up in the Seven Kingdoms because of the harsh winters that make it hard to grow huge food reserves. However, the Northerners learned how to get through long winters by keeping bigger food reserves than the rest of the Seven Kingdoms.

The wildlings don’t have a similar opportunity, though, since they don’t have a centralized government that helps manage the food supply. With hunting and raids as the only source of food, Wildlings have learned to survive through the worst of times. They can survive for days in the ice with limited supplies, a task that proved hard for Jon Snow’s expedition beyond The Wall. They even learned how to scale the 700ft wall to raid the settlements in The Gift.

3 Westeros: Reading And Writing

When Samuel Tarly took Gilly to the Citadel, she was shocked to see so many books in one place. Beyond The Wall, reading and writing were not a priority. Some people still speak the common tongue of the first men, but they only use word of mouth to send messages, which is too backward if compared to the advanced methods used in Westeros.

In the Seven Kingdoms, messages were written on scrolls and transferred using Ravens. Writing and record-keeping are so advanced that it is an essential part of the day to day life.

2 Wildlings: Loyalty

The closer you got to King’s Landing from the North, the less the number of trustworthy people you met. The Starks were the most loyal house in Westeros that kept all their promises and never broke oaths, which is why the Lannisters took advantage of them.

The rest of the Seven Kingdoms are full of cunning people that won’t hesitate to turn on you. The Wildlings share the sentiments of the Starks and the First Men. Tormund told Jon Snow that the Freefolk are not as cunning as the Southerners, and once they promised to show up and fight for him in the Battle of the Bastards, they would do exactly that.

1 Westeros: Dressing

Tormund didn’t know how to dress fancily and exercise table manners while drinking his sour Goat’s Milk, which is one of the reasons he never won Brienne’s heart. It was unfair, though, because he was one of the best dressed Freefolk in Game of thrones.

They didn’t have the best dressmakers on that side of The Wall and so they relied on skins. The looks didn’t matter so much to the Freefolk, just the warmth. In Westeros, people knew how to dress, and as you got closer to the capital, the dress code got fancier.

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