S08.E03: The Long Night

[paramitch]

On 5/1/2019 at 5:12 AM, Wouter said:

Source? The NK doesn't exist in the books (in that form). When/where dit Martin state anything about this?

Sorry, I was referring to the implication of a longtime plan for Arya to be the savior based on this VANITY FAIR piece quoting GRRM, not that the literal Night King would exist in the books. Here's the piece, which quotes an older interview with GRRM (who was, please note, talking about an approach involving a much younger Arya than show-Arya, since his books involve younger characters across the board):

Quote

“If a twelve-year old has to conquer the world, then so be it,” he said back in 2005 perhaps already bracing for the backlash such a big move from Arya would inspire.

On 5/2/2019 at 12:46 AM, jeansheridan said:

There have been plenty of mixed wins on this show.  And the show ends on a lovely pensive note. Dawn is rising and one of the heroes of the hour melts away. Plus I liked making Mel, who is maybe at best a chaotic good character, one of the major contributors to their victory.

Only Theon really gets a hero's pause when Bran thanks him (and this time I noted the body count around him...Theon was a killing machine).

This is beautifully described, and I felt the same way. My favorite thing is that I have hated Mel so many times, yet I also always felt that she was on the side of good. She proved that in this episode, and her ending was incredibly haunting. It communicated... more than anything for me... tiredness. That she has lived for so long that there was not even the driest bit of pleasure left for her in the world; she was simply existing to see the battle won. I was surprised at how moved I was by her final walk and her death.

(Also -- THANK YOU to the poster who noted that Djawadi's theme during Mel's walk echoes back to Shireen's theme on the way to the pyre -- that is AMAZING. Horrible but so appropriate!)

And THEON! I'm so glad you brought this up. I really thought Theon's arc here was so satisfying. I tried to count and we literally see him take out over a dozen wights or more, and with the implication that he's taken out many times that amount over the night. And I love that final moment when Bran tells him he's a good man. It's everything Theon wanted and needed. 

On 5/2/2019 at 12:52 PM, taanja said:

When Sansa enters the crypt-- her face is deadly serious and there are tears in her eyes. She doesn't say a word but her expression and the very fact that she is down in the crypt says it all -- the fight is NOT going well.

Tyrion takes one look at her face and sort of nods and takes a swig of booze -- because he understands -- like all the others down there -- that Sansa is down in the crypt because the living are losing! Period.

Silly prayers and hollow words of comfort would have ruined that otherwise poignant scene.

I agree with this. Everyone there looks at her face and knows what they're up against. I had no problem with her not trying to cheerlead them there. 

On 5/2/2019 at 2:11 PM, dreamcatcher said:

Especially with sansa, they’ve been trying to redeem her character and are telling us she’s smart and good at politics and that’s her strength. And they just decided to cut her scenes to the point that it looked like she let the other die even though they literally filmed them fighting. Why?? This was the longest episode of the series, 6 extra seconds wouldn’t have killed them.

While I'm sorry we didn't see more of the fight in the crypts, I don't think Sansa requires redemption. She's been through hell for 7 seasons now. She made mistakes in S1, but she was a trusting, naive (literal) child.

On 5/3/2019 at 6:30 AM, Maximum Taco said:

I think where they failed was showing exactly how she accomplished it. This was obviously in service to the moment where she strikes, they wanted us to lose all hope for Bran and then have Arya spring to his rescue. The problem with this is it smacks of Deus ex Machina. Arya jumps at him, but from where? The walls of the godswood are far from the weirwood tree. Arya got to him but how? He was surrounded by undead and his most trusted generals. Arya has supernatural stealth powers, but we don't ever see her use them in this episode, and it's a stretch for us to assume she did here. 

I feel like what you describe would have been a massive failure dramatically. For me, if the show has done its job in presenting Arya's life and backstory, then her moments here aren't OP but believable. For me, I think it's easy and believable to put together Arya's actions. I went back and rewatched the sequence several times and to me it works (note -- for those seeking screengrabs in sequence, I tweeted it in this thread😞

• At about minute 55, Mel reminds Arya of what we say to Death. Arya immediately realizes where she needs to be and leaves.
• At about 1:12, Theon is fighting the last of the attacking wights. At the NW Corner, the NK enters and Theon faces him. Bran is almost directly East of Theon. Arcing around NW-North-NE is the circle of trees (with some wights in front but tons of gaps in front of deep forest). Please note that the godswood borders are VERY close to the north, from the path entrance to the Weirdwood tree.
• As the NK approaches (he takes the main path through the godswood), there are huge old-growth trees on either side. Arya at this point has had almost 20 minutes to get into those trees (which she has known since birth). Her stealth and agility have been established.
• The nearby wights and White Walkers are repeatedly shown to be in passive mode at this point, seemingly to allow the NK's passage to his victory. They're not deactivated, but they make no move even when Theon attacks the NK.
  To me, this is VITAL -- the NK isn't afraid of a single person attacking him. He's ancient and bored by it. This is why nobody reacts when Arya leaps out shortly after -- everyone (it's openly implied) would expect the NK to deal with the puny interloper. Expectedly, the NK dispatches Theon at about 1:14. 
• The NK then walks calmly over to Bran (even though Theon isn't fully dead yet -- again, arrogance). He is facing Bran (East) and the Weirwood tree behind Bran pretty directly. If you replay it, this is a good time to note the huge number of gaps between the wights in the rough circle surrounding the godswood.
• The NK stands before Bran at about 1:16:45. He thinks nothing can beat him so he's savoring the moment. (I love the little detail that Bran is angled slightly away from the entrance to the godswood. As if he is so removed from the action, so far away in some ways, that he couldn't even bother to face the entrance.) He is entirely alone with Bran now at the weirwood, so the stage is set for Arya.
  Note: There's been some speculation that Jon yells "Go!" next at an unseen Arya around this point. He does not. He simply turns to face Viserion, willing to die to take him out, and screams. He does not scream "Go!" (And not that Arya remotely needs a man to assist her here (GAH), but the timing's all off as well.)
• At 1:17:31, a breeze whispers past the cheek of a White Walker on the path. Arya begins to run from cover for the NK. (We don't see her full approach but we've already seen why, predictably, nobody moves (see also: Theon.)
• 1:17:35: If you pause it, you can see Arya running into frame.
• THEN leaping screaming for the NK (with the scream presumably to get him to face her). It's high but not supernaturally high.  She's a few feet in the air (nothing we haven't seen her do in her previous Faceless man training). The NK grabs her by the throat and left forearm.
• Her eyes never leaving his face, still pinned, she shifts her left hand to the right, drops the dagger, and then stabs the NK in the heart with her right hand (Note: I've seen people say it's his gut, but it is clearly his heart). 

Boom. Arya saves Westeros.

To me this is believable, beautifully staged, and was one of the best moments of TV I can remember. There is nothing Arya does here -- stealthing, running, leaping, attacking, the knife switch -- that we have not seen her do before. So for me it works.

Just in case it helps? It's cool if our MMV -- it was fun to go through the sequence regardless.

On 5/3/2019 at 8:55 AM, Portia4844 said:

When I watched the episode live, I was struck by the NK entering the Godswood.  The wights stopped and parted for him to walk through.  My thought was that he stopped all of them and made it about himself and Bran.  I've rewatched numerous times and still get the same impression since they clearly stop, part to let him through, and then stand there with him while Theon attacks and while he walks towards Bran.  I might be giving the writers too much credit and seeing something that wasn't intended but it was why Arya moving through without being attacked made sense at the time.  

Great observation. I felt the same, and felt like it was the NK's arrogance. The wights and white walkers have all paused when he enters the godswood, as if to allow him the chance to savor his moment. Nobody moves even when Theon attacks him.

On 5/3/2019 at 11:06 AM, FierceCritter said:

Bran knew the NK would be making a beeline for him. By planting himself where harm could easily have befallen him, he guaranteed that someone who could take a stab at killing the NK (not quite meant to be literal) would be able to know exactly where he would be once he could make his way through the melee to the Weirwood.

Bran may not have been much - if any - help in the battle. But he made it strategically easy for someone to be at the right place at the right time to take the NK down. 
 

I have come around on this and think Bran was more help than we know. I think there is a certain amount of courage not just in the fact that he positioned himself as helpless bait, but he further incapacitates himself by warging (leaving his shell there), and further, by (I suspect) calling to the NK, which is why the first thing we see after the flight of ravens is the NK on Viserion -- Bran is actively (I think) sending out a signal here, calling the NK to him. And of course he gave Arya the dagger, put himself where he needed to be (and where the Weirwood tree would witness it), and hoped he would be saved.

18 hours ago, rmontro said:

I've read a lot of posts talking about how the Hound was ready to give up, until he say that "his baby, Arya" was being threatened, and that spurred him into action.  I just wanted to say that I didn't see that so much as a protective motivation.  I thought that seeing Arya fighting like she was shamed him into action.

I didn't see shame, so much as his care for Arya overriding his visceral fear. I also think it's beautiful symmetry -- she saved his life not long earlier, and now she's in danger, and I think he simply reacts, and moves to save her, and it breaks him out of his trauma and fear and allows him to act again. He and Arya may snipe at each other but they are now family. Which was why I loved it when she left him and Beric and teasingly called them "miserable old shits" after sharing a drink with them. I will always love that because she saved the Hound, the Hound saved Arya... and Arya lived to save the world.

NOTE: I took screenshots of the entire sequence but now I can't seem to embed them. 

Edited May 4, 2019 by paramitch
Edited to clarify Arya's book vs show age

[Wouter]

5 minutes ago, paramitch said:

Sorry, I was referring to the implication of a longtime plan for Arya to be the savior based on this VANITY FAIR piece quoting GRRM, not that the literal Night King would exist in the books. Here's the piece, which quotes an older interview with GRRM:

I'm not sure who GRRM means with his "twelve year old has to conquer the world", but I doubt it's Arya. That is only speculation from Vanity Fair. Arya did not actually conquer the world in the show, is unlikely to conquer the world in the remaining 3 episodes and she is unlikely to conquer the world in the books, as well. And since there is no NK in the books and it is very uncertain if there will yet be an equivalent, I doubt Arya will play a similar role in the books. It's more likely that Jon and/or Dany will play the most crucial role, on this front.

[tv-talk]

23 minutes ago, paramitch said:

I have come around on this and think Bran was more help than we know

For all we know Bran put it in Arya's head that she had to stab him in the heart, the show has made him seem helpless and powerful at the same time. It would be well within the show's parameters that he seeded the idea in her head and she executed it to perfection.

[paramitch]

56 minutes ago, Wouter said:

I'm not sure who GRRM means with his "twelve year old has to conquer the world", but I doubt it's Arya. That is only speculation from Vanity Fair. Arya did not actually conquer the world in the show, is unlikely to conquer the world in the remaining 3 episodes and she is unlikely to conquer the world in the books, as well. And since there is no NK in the books and it is very uncertain if there will yet be an equivalent, I doubt Arya will play a similar role in the books. It's more likely that Jon and/or Dany will play the most crucial role, on this front.

Fair enough. To me, it seems pretty obvious that, whether or not the NK exists in his telling, GRRM is still talking about Arya. But I get that YMMV. We'll find out... if he ever publishes the end of the story!
 

[tv-talk]

3 minutes ago, paramitch said:

Fair enough. To me, it seems pretty obvious that, whether or not the NK exists in his telling, GRRM is still talking about Arya. But I get that YMMV. We'll find out... if he ever publishes the end of the story!

GRRM is definitely talking about Arya and "conquer the world" doesnt have to literally mean subdue all nations and sit on the Iron Throne. He meant that Arya could be the piece that turns everything, the key player in 1 or 3 events that makes everything go one way rather than the other way...and by killing the NK she just did that. Personally while she'll have her moments rest of the way, I dont think she's going to basically solve every problem and kill every bad guy. There is going to be a lot of Sansa moving forward. 

[QuinnM]

1 hour ago, tv-talk said:

For all we know Bran put it in Arya's head that she had to stab him in the heart, the show has made him seem helpless and powerful at the same time. It would be well within the show's parameters that he seeded the idea in her head and she executed it to perfection.

So in the last seconds Bran and the NK are staring at each other.  Bran looks down and tips his head slightly.  This is his tell when he’s lying according to Caitlyn.  The NK cocks his head, reaches for his sword, and turns to grab Arya.

Were Bran and the NK communicating?  What was Bran’s lie or was he faking his tell?

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, paramitch said:

To me, this is VITAL -- the NK isn't afraid of a single person attacking him. He's ancient and bored by it. This is why nobody reacts when Arya leaps out shortly after -- everyone (it's openly implied) would expect the NK to deal with the puny interloper. 

Aside from that, the NK was fresh from surviving a blast of dragon fire, and looking pretty smug about it too.  I was wondering if even the NK knew that he was impervious to dragon fire before that?  It could well be that he had just found out himself, and was feeling pretty invulnerable by this time. 

[MrsR]

3 hours ago, rmontro said:

Aside from that, the NK was fresh from surviving a blast of dragon fire, and looking pretty smug about it too.  I was wondering if even the NK knew that he was impervious to dragon fire before that? 

And a five hundred foot fall from a dragon.  He's not just immune, fire shrinks from him. He's a fire suppressant.

[peggy06]

Many comments about Arya stabbing the NK in the heart where the dragonglass was lodged, and whether she could or could not have known this was the vital place. To me, it looked like she stabbed him in the gut. I haven't rewatched, so maybe I'm wrong. It seemed pretty clear at the time and the location, having dropped the dagger, also makes sense to me.

[FierceCritter]

Another observation on Arya/NK kill.

Initially, the fact that she screamed as she came up behind him bugged the crap out of me. I'm not a very critical movie watcher, but this is something that I've always found stupid - you're sneaking up on someone and then as you go for your target... you scream/yell? WTF?

But it came to me suddenly...

I think she knew she had to get him in the heart. And that she couldn't approach from the front because she needed the cover of the trees before the clearing. So she had to get him to turn around. She starts off with her left hand - not her strong hand - knowing she'd need to hit a specific target on him, and if he went for any part of her, it'd be the hand she's striking with. I'd fall short of saying she was smart enough to know she'd end up in that exact position so she could drop rather than otherwise switch the knife into her right hand. But otherwise, it makes more sense to me now why she'd slip out of stealth at the last second like that.

(Afterthought - I too initially thought she struck him in the gut. But upon re-watch, she does get him in the area of the heart.)

Edited May 5, 2019 by FierceCritter

[sistermagpie]

20 minutes ago, FierceCritter said:

I think she knew she had to get him in the heart. And that she couldn't approach from the front because she needed the cover of the trees before the clearing. So she had to get him to turn around. She starts off with her left hand - not her strong hand - knowing she'd need to hit a specific target on him, and if he went for any part of her, it'd be the hand she's striking with. I'd fall short of saying she was smart enough to know she'd end up in that exact position so she could drop rather than otherwise switch the knife into her right hand. But otherwise, it makes more sense to me now why she'd slip out of stealth at the last second like that.

That's what I thought she was doing too. We'd seen her learn about getting people in the heart, and it wouldn't take much for her to realize that stabbing him in the back would be a bad idea. The chances of him surviving would be great.

One other little detail is in the books Arya is left-handed and apparently Maisie Williams decided to learn to fight left-handed because of that, though she's actually a rightie herself. So she's an ambidextrous fighter and I imagine so is Arya at this point. Because I also originally thought that she'd come at him with the knife in her weaker hand intentionally, but I guess she maybe was intending to strike with her left hand when he turned around.

[rmontro]

2 hours ago, FierceCritter said:

I think she knew she had to get him in the heart. 

She might have known, Bran might have planted that information in her somehow.  Or it could have been luck/fate.  I'm okay with either.

[sistermagpie]

12 minutes ago, rmontro said:

She might have known, Bran might have planted that information in her somehow.  Or it could have been luck/fate.  I'm okay with either.

Isn't that where the Hound instructed her to kill people? He talked about it re: being merciful because it was a quick death, but she'd have good reason to want to kill him quickly.

[rmontro]

3 minutes ago, sistermagpie said:

Isn't that where the Hound instructed her to kill people? He talked about it re: being merciful because it was a quick death, but she'd have good reason to want to kill him quickly.

Sounds right.  So coincidence/luck/fate/whatever.  

But do we really know that the Night King has to be stabbed in the heart to be killed?  Everyone is talking about it like it's a foregone conclusion.  I know that's how the Children of the Forest created him, but who exactly said that he had to be stabbed in the heart?  Maybe we would have gotten the same result if he was stabbed in the heel with Valyrian steel?

[proserpina65]

On 5/4/2019 at 5:08 PM, paramitch said:

Great observation. I felt the same, and felt like it was the NK's arrogance. The wights and white walkers have all paused when he enters the godswood, as if to allow him the chance to savor his moment. Nobody moves even when Theon attacks him.

The only thing missing from the classic villain fail was him monologuing about his motivations.

[Umbelina]

"WINTER IS COMING!  WINTER IS COMING!"  "THE LONG NIGHT COULD LAST DECADES, MAYBE EVEN LONGER, PREPARE!"

It's coming, it's coming, ooops, it's here, and now...it's gone!  If you were napping in Westeros, or anywhere except Winterfell?  Sorry, you missed it!

[tennisgurl]

3 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

The only thing missing from the classic villain fail was him monologuing about his motivations.

Bran: "I mean, the guy has me on a silver platter, and he just wont shut up!" 

You sly dog, you got me mentally monologuing! 

I do hope that at some point, maybe in the later books, we find out more of what his evil plan was. Was there an actual goal, or was it just...be evil and make everybody cold? Is he basically Cold Miser? Does he want to expand and assimilate, Borg style? What do arranging bodies into creepy symbols mean? What are the symbols? The books give a lot more detail in general to the whole Bran/children stuff, so i hope we get some follow up with the ice zombies too.

[MrWhyt]

4 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

The only thing missing from the classic villain fail was him monologuing about his motivations.

his plan was sheer elegance in it's simplicity

[paramitch]

10 hours ago, peggy06 said:

Many comments about Arya stabbing the NK in the heart where the dragonglass was lodged, and whether she could or could not have known this was the vital place. To me, it looked like she stabbed him in the gut. I haven't rewatched, so maybe I'm wrong. It seemed pretty clear at the time and the location, having dropped the dagger, also makes sense to me.

She definitely stabs him in the heart. Here's a screenshot I took (darn it, it keeps copying too many tweets!):

10 hours ago, FierceCritter said:

I think she knew she had to get him in the heart. And that she couldn't approach from the front because she needed the cover of the trees before the clearing. So she had to get him to turn around. She starts off with her left hand - not her strong hand - knowing she'd need to hit a specific target on him, and if he went for any part of her, it'd be the hand she's striking with. I'd fall short of saying she was smart enough to know she'd end up in that exact position so she could drop rather than otherwise switch the knife into her right hand. But otherwise, it makes more sense to me now why she'd slip out of stealth at the last second like that.

(Afterthought - I too initially thought she struck him in the gut. But upon re-watch, she does get him in the area of the heart.)

I agree! It's exactly why I and some others thought she screamed -- to get him to turn around and give her access to his heart.

9 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

One other little detail is in the books Arya is left-handed and apparently Maisie Williams decided to learn to fight left-handed because of that, though she's actually a rightie herself. So she's an ambidextrous fighter and I imagine so is Arya at this point. Because I also originally thought that she'd come at him with the knife in her weaker hand intentionally, but I guess she maybe was intending to strike with her left hand when he turned around.

That's amazing! I really love how hard Maisie worked in the role -- it really showed. She was always so fluid and fast in the fight scenes, and her evolution was very believable to me for that reason.

I didn't remember that Arya was left-handed, so it's interesting that you note that she initially attacked with her "strong" hand -- unless, as you point out, she is so ambidextrous at this point that she has no "weak" hand and either one worked.

59 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

I do hope that at some point, maybe in the later books, we find out more of what his evil plan was. Was there an actual goal, or was it just...be evil and make everybody cold? Is he basically Cold Miser? Does he want to expand and assimilate, Borg style? What do arranging bodies into creepy symbols mean? What are the symbols? The books give a lot more detail in general to the whole Bran/children stuff, so i hope we get some follow up with the ice zombies too.

I hope that too, although it will be interesting if THIS Night King even shows up (I do think he might still) or some similar kind of sentient leader of the Others/White Walkers. 

Like you, I have so many remaining questions -- what did the spirals mean, and what did the NK actually want beyond killing the Three-Eyed Raven?

I found show NK fascinating and really did want to know more about his motives and thoughts. For instance, that final confrontation with Bran is so fascinating and well-acted. I feel like I know what Bran is thinking, to some degree, but with the NK, beyond sheer triumph and enjoyment of the moment, I'm utterly mystified. And I really want to know!

On a side note, Vladimir Furdik did a great job as the Night King. He was always surprisingly expressive (considering how much makeup he had to deal with). There was menace there, but also cruelty and even humor.

[FierceCritter]

11 hours ago, paramitch said:

I didn't remember that Arya was left-handed, so it's interesting that you note that she initially attacked with her "strong" hand -- unless, as you point out, she is so ambidextrous at this point that she has no "weak" hand and either one worked.

Actually, it was just a wrong assumption on my part that she was right handed. 

But yeah, still works. :)

[WatchrTina]

I've been obsessing about the show today (as you do) and I think I've spotted a missed opportunity.  I understand that Ghost could not fight at Jon's side because Jon was on dragon-back.  But it made NO sense for Ghost to line up with the Dothraki or Ser Jorah.  Nope, the missed opportunity was sending Ghost down into the crypts to guard the women and elderly.  Yeah yeah, they thought the crypts were safe (unlike EVERYONE on the internet) so why would they need a guard but, stay with me.  The direwolves are bonded to the Starks.  Sansa is a Stark and she was the first to lose her direwolf.  Poor Lady didn't even make it though the first season.  So I wish that Jon had sent Ghost into the crypt to guard Sansa.  If he had, then that would have made for an exciting fight down there.  As it was, the fight in the crypt was so boring the show-runners cut most of it and left everyone confused as to what Sansa and Tyrion were planning to do with those daggers.

[John Potts]

Nice trick with the Dothraki swords. Shame they get thrown away in the first 5 minutes! Evidently they hd no concept of integrated forces: it's Hammer & Anvil - the infantry are the anvil, the cavalry (and dragons) hit them once they are held by the infantry (worked for Alexander the Great). And why were your catapults outside the walls!? Just as well the main characters had Plot Armour or they would never survive.

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 5:42 AM, Vella said:

Sansa did NOTHING to comfort or guide or anything for the people in the crypt. Those are HER people and she can't bring herself to lead them in any way and when the dead attacked, she ran and hid.

Exactly! She was the one in charge, it's her duty to keep morale up. She managed it at Blackwater, even when she wasn't sure you wanted to survive. Even if it's "We're stoic Northerners - let's die like it!" she should be leading her people.

Did like that even the Night King had trouble staying on his dragon when it started rocking around. Though I've no idea why Jon & Danny haven't worked out a saddle to help them stay on (since Tyrion could work out a saddle for Bran to ride).

I get the impression the writers have read Preacher when Danny "Dracarys-ed" the Night King ("Not Enough Gun").

It was very nice of the Night King to give the defenders a break when he rezzed the dead - Jon was right in the middle of a zombie army! In fact everyone needed a breather, so it worked out for all the living.

Did like Drogon mourning with his mommy.

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:54 AM, Enigma X said:

I was hoping that taking down of the NK would have been more of a group effort. 

If I was writing it (weirdly, nobody asked) I'd have had the goal be to eliminate not just the Night King but his posse as well (you could have some of the zombies dropping with each kill, so it gives Team Living a slight breather). Then we could have the living make some gains even as each of their defences fall. I would also have each death require the sacrifice of a main character (I'll include one of the dragons, Mel, Beric and Lyanna as mains, even if they're not in many episodes, but I'd kill more than just Jorah and Theon) so it felt more costly for the winners.

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:37 AM, nodorothyparker said:

I kind of hate that this validated Cersei leaving them all to fend for themselves because now she's suddenly looking like the smartest person in the room.

Yes, it seems dealing with the Not-Very-Long-Night wasn't that big a deal, and letting your enemies take the hit gives you the best chance of winning. Since Cersei has declared she'd rather die than lose the throne and doesn't care about who dies on the way, not sending people is her best policy. So we should let somebody else care about Global Warming and just look after No. 1!?

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 7:27 AM, SimoneS said:

Seriously. WTF was that? I will never look at Sam the same again. That wasn't courage that was stupidity to the umpth degree. Sam endangered people's lives staying on the battlefield. If he had gone into the crypts, he might have been able to save those red shirt women from the awoken dead.

I wish they wouldn't make Sam such a wuss. He was (as he said) the first to kill a Walker. But if they had to make him incompetent for now, I'd rather he stayed in the Crypts - or died doing something.

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:31 AM, mac123x said:

HBO Executive:  Since you're only doing 6 episodes, you need to make them longer so the fans don't riot.  Last 4 have to be 80 minutes minimum

GoT  Director:  Easy, I'll just show the last 20 minutes in slow-mo with sonorous and slightly out of place piano

Agreed - it seemed they were shooting for "epic" but I was going "Get on with it!"

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 3:28 AM, sumiregusa said:

They should have consulted Peter Jackson on how to do a long extended battle that the audience can actually see.

I normally like listening to the Directors' commentary, but this one was so much them justifying the low visibility. There's "Fog of War" and there's "The audience can't see a damn thing"! Given I was watching this on a monitor where I was sitting maybe 2 feet from the screen, I was OK, but I hate it when producers go, "You just need a better TV!"