S08.E03: The Long Night

[catrox14]

Whilst it felt annoying that Jon didnt kill yhe Night King, Arya killing was foreshadowed long ago. If it had been someone other than Arya, then I would have been upset. Jon's purpose may have never been to kill him himself but more to be the one that stayed alive long enough to get the message across to the others that the NK was going to kill all of them.  He must have a differnt purpose now.

I think the inability to see much was intentional to help us feel exactly what those in yhe field of battle were experiencing, confusion and fear.

[Drogo]

Just now, Jextella said:

It went from Littlefinger to the assassin but how did it end up with Arya?

Littlefinger got it back in KL after betraying Ned and gave it to Bran last season who gave it to Arya under the godswood after they reunited.

[GodsBeloved]

5 minutes ago, Jextella said:

Thank you!  I should have asked...how did she get it?  It went from Littlefinger to the assassin but how did it end up with Arya?

In season 7, Littlefinger gave it to Bran and Bran gave it to Arya 

[LadyChaos]

5 minutes ago, UNOSEZ said:

We are l going round and around saying who's the real hero.. Jon.. Dany... Arya.. Bran.. And blaming some of those same ppl... I think the answer is obvious... Lord Rickard Stark.. Father of Ned and Lyanna... Without him the north would have been in shambles ages ago.. Without him No Robert's Rebellion.. No Arya...  No Bran... No Jon(Aegon) 

My thing is, everyone is so quick to rise up their faves, and trash everyone else that they are missing the point, Melissandre even said it in reference to Dondarrion: he served his purpose.

They all had a purpose, a part to play. They all served their purpose, or their purpose is yet to come.  They all shined in this ep, even Bran because he did his work before the ep started by making sure every piece was in their place.

Edited April 29, 2019 by LadyChaos

[Sakura12]

3 minutes ago, GodsBeloved said:

Sure but, to me at least, it sounded as if but for Daenerys the Northerners would die/she was the ONE who would save them/the day.

The Dorthaki were the first in line and showed everyone what they were facing, then when they were being overtaken Dany and her dragons laid fire cover to give them time to regroup, then the Unsullied stood their ground allowing everyone else to fall back to the castle. Plus she brought the dragon glass weapons.

Take all that way and the North would not have stood a chance. They were not a big army. They need Dany, her army and her dragons. All of them working together, the North and Dany's army saved the realm. Arya dealt the final blow but she did not win the war on her own. Everyone played their part and that is how they won. 

[Wendy]

9 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Sansa has been my guess to end up ruling (along with Tyrion) and I was disappointed with her in this episode. I expected her to take and apply some lessons from the similar situation in Battle of the Blackwater, but despite being Lady of Winterfell she did nothing at all in the crypts to help keep up people's spirits or whatever. Even Cersei managed a bare minimum, in keeping up appearances even though she actually expected the worst. All Sansa can do is whine about Dany, and I was thrilled when Missandei smacked her down. It takes a lot of fucking nerve to complain about the woman whose armies and dragons she needs to first fight the army of the dead, and then to fight Cersei afterwards (since Cersei has no intention of ceding the North). If Littlefinger were around, he'd advise Sansa to at least not show her hand so obviously, not while she still needs Dany to do the fighting; Dany could always die in the final war, after all. It's like as soon as Sansa got Winterfell, she started forgetting everything she learned about political smarts.

?? 

During the battle of Blackwater Sansa was in the Red Keep, surrounded by high born ladies who have never been/seen war. She was comforting them with songs and prayers to the seven. They needed codling and reassurances.

In the Crypts of WF, she was with Northern and wildings besides Missandei, Varis and Tyrion, these people do not pray to the seven, they either pray in front of a weirdwood tree or not at all. They do not need codling, these are different kind of people. If Sansa starting singing or prayer they probably would have thought she had lost her mind or was trying to make a mockery of the situation. 

These are different kind of people, they are not the soft and spoiled nobility of KL, these are people who have seen war after war the last several years and are aware that this battle would probably be the end. Nobody has sugar coated anything for them because they do not needed it. 

When she got the dragon glass knife, IMO it meant that the battle was over, they all were going to die but at least they will try to fight back, they didn't ran from the people, Tyrion and Sansa found their people and were willing to fight back but then all stopped because the NK was defeated. 

If Sansa started praying or singing I would have found it incredible condescending and patronizing to the people that was with her, you have to know how to read the room temperature and IMO her actions were coherent with the kind of people she had on the crypts. 

[DarkRaichu]

1 hour ago, Wendy said:

Bran's strength was not of a warrior, not everybody is meant to be one, his strength was to place the pieces of the chess in the correct place and make it happen, just as he did. 

So Bran is Professor Charles Xavier and Jon is the Wolverine (he could not die)...

Got it 😉

[Drogo]

10 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

think something that upsets me ( nitpicky I know)  is that so many southerners won't know ( or believe)  what really went down... I wouldn't have minded if they could felt that terror themselves.. Even if it was like a small splinter group the NK had sent on  ahead to KL.. Because seeing the preview for next week and cersei's smug face got me wanting to break something.... All those wildlings and dothraki and unsullied died to keep the southerners safe.. And they'll never really know... Unless the show makes a point before its over to say somn about it

And now we know why the children in the North grow up hearing terrifying stories of the White Walkers before bed, where in the South they consider WWs along the lines of grumpkins/snarks/imaginary creatures- and why House Stark's words (Winter is Coming) are held in such high regard by Northerners while the Southern houses find the words boring and tiresome. 

[Bryce Lynch]

12 minutes ago, Jextella said:

I've lost track of a few weapons.  Who has the dagger that the assassin had when he tried to kill Bran in Season 1?  Is that long forgotten or is that what Arya gave to Sansa?

Arya used the catspaw dagger, given to her by Bran who received it from Tommy Carcetti, I mean Littlefinger (been watching Season 3 of The Wire) to kill the NK.  

I had thought that she gave it to Sansa to take to the crypts, but that was just one of the many dragonglass daggers Gendry and the crew had been making.   

[DrSparkles]

10 hours ago, CatWarmer said:

 NK: No man can kill me.

Arya: I am no man.

This is exactly what I screamed out & have been telling everyone all day!!! YES. So satisfying.

[GodsBeloved]

4 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

The Dorthaki were the first in line and showed everyone what they were facing, then when they were being overtaken Dany and her dragons laid fire cover to give them time to regroup, then the Unsullied stood their ground allowing everyone else to fall back to the castle. Plus she brought the dragon glass weapons.

Take all that way and the North would not have stood a chance. They were not a big army. They need Dany, her army and her dragons. All of them working together, the North and Dany's army saved the realm. Arya dealt the final blow but she did not win the war on her own. Everyone played their part and that is how they won. 

Yes, I agree. My point is as much as it's not true that Arya and Arya alone saved the day, its just as true that more than just Daenerys and her army was needed. For all that they did, had Arya not been there, they'd all be dead.

[DarkRaichu]

1 hour ago, Kanner said:

Did the Walkers even engage anyone that we saw?

I know this would have undercut the NK's strategy, but I would have liked to see the main characters killed a few Walkers.  Brianne, Jamie, and Pod could have killed 5-7 Walkers before NK swooshed them away with his ice storm magic

[Blakeston]

I'll say it - I was disappointed by this episode.

I get what they were going for with the extreme darkness and the frenetic editing - "what you can't see is scarier than what you can see!" - but a little of that goes away. It was so disorienting that at many times I just wasn't engaged like I should have been.

And it was flat-out ridiculous that so few of the significant characters died.

Bodies were piled up all over, they were absolutely overwhelmed with wights inside Winterfell, and the dragons were indiscriminately breathing fire everywhere...and somehow the only recognizable casualties were obvious redshirts like Theon and Jorah, and a few minor characters? Talk about plot armor!

There were obviously some good moments, as well (like the sense of terror when the Dothraki's lights were snuffed out) but I was expecting a lot more.

[Bryce Lynch]

10 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I have questions.

Why must battles always be in the dark on this show? Daytime battles would be suspenseful, too, and easier on the eyes.

Why did Jon and Dany hold their dragon runs until so far into the battle? By the time they started spraying fire, they were hitting as many of their own guys as the zombies.

Why didn’t they make a moat around Winterfell? They knew white walkers can’t cross water.

Did Gilly die? I saw a woman being dragged away that looked like her, but couldn’t be sure, because: see question 1.

I also thought I saw Bronn die early on? Or was that someone else?

WHERE IS GHOST??

Not questions, but comments:

I thought Brienne was a goner when it looked like she was being pulled into a Walking Dead-style feeding frenzy, and am so glad I was wrong.

Loved the kiss on the hand from Tyrion to Sansa. A very sweet moment amongst all the tension.

Liked the callback of Arya running through the underground tunnels of Winterfell to an early episode in Season 1 when she did the same thing, only that time she was seeking adventure and this time it was for real.

THE POINTY END, INDEED! 

There have been several daytime battles (Battle of the Bastards, Loot Train, Casterly Rock, etc.).  There have also been night time battles that were easy to follow (Blackwater and Castle Black).  This one was shot a bit too dark, IMO.

A probably would have quickly frozen over.  Winter is coming here.  

AFAIK, Gilly, is alive.  I think they would have clearly shown her dying.

I don't think Bronn made it to WF yet.

Spoiler

Ghost is seen in the preview for episode 4.

I was also thinking of young Arya running through the catacombs of Kings Landing, chasing cats, during that scene.  

[GodsBeloved]

7 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Arya used the catspaw dagger, given to her by Bran who received it from Tommy Carcetti, I mean Littlefinger (been watching Season 3 of The Wire) to kill the NK.  

Had Norm been around LF might not have gotten his throat slit.

[Sakura12]

1 minute ago, GodsBeloved said:

Yes, I agree. My point is as much as it's not true that Arya and Arya alone saved the day, its just as true that more than just Daenerys and her army was needed. For all that they did, had Arya not been there, they'd all be dead.

With that we could go had Melisandre not been there to tell Arya her destiny then they'd all be dead. They needed everyone to play their part to save the realm. If any one of those players were missing they would've lost. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

10 hours ago, CatWarmer said:

 NK: No man can kill me.

Arya: I am no man.

I saw this and thought you would appreciate it!

I also liked this version:

[Wendy]

8 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

ARYA MOTHERFUCKING STARK.

Also RIP Lyanna Mormont, Giantkiller.

I really did get emotional when both Theon and Jorah died. Bran telling him he was a "good man" and Jorah saving the queen he loves.

So Cersei's plan actually paid off.  Dany no longer has a Dothraki army and she now has one uninjured dragon.

This is not the world of GRRM, this is the world of D&D and time is of the essence. 

We saw 99% of Dotraki fighters die, same with unsullied, the dragons are hurt at best, most of the survivors are also injured. But suddenly and magically you watch next episode and that will all be fixed. 

In the world of GRRM, it would take them months if not a year to regroup and get more soldiers from the Vale, the Riverlands, Dorne and Highgarden, but the show doesn't have those months to spare so my gut is telling me that the dragons miraculously will recover, same with the soldiers, we will still see unsullied and dotrakies who somehow survived. We will see most of the bravest warriors ready for battle. The other kingdoms will send their soldiers to fight for Daenerys. Yara , who didn't have but three ships to make it to the Iron Islands, will suddenly come with hundreds of ships to transports Dany's army. 

If anything I think it would be even, my only concern is about the dragon fire. They can't use the dragons because KL is full of wildfire so I wonder what is the strategy that they will use. I hope this is Tyrion's vindication moment and he uses his skills to think about other possible solutions. 

[Giselle]

2 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I saw this and thought you would appreciate it!

I also liked this version:

But the GOAT is Tom Brady!

[enoughcats]

9 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

10 hours ago, rollacoaster said:

Cleanup is gonna be a f*cking bear.

Hopefully the dragon(s?) can just cremate all the bodies, and they can just shovel the ashes away. 

Bone meal and blood meal are both high N fertilizer and all that bone meal should greatly enrich the soils.  

The ice king could bring cold frigid wind at will, does this mean a warming of the north and deserts for Kings' Landing?

[Giselle]

1 minute ago, enoughcats said:

Bone meal and blood meal are both high N fertilizer and all that bone meal should greatly enrich the soils.  

The ice king could bring cold frigid wind at will, does this mean a warming of the north and deserts for Kings' Landing?

They can also make bone china.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Giselle

[AuntieMame]

11 hours ago, Popples said:

Back in like Season 3, when the Brotherhood sold Gendry to Melisandre and Arya got angry, Mel held her face and told her that she sees the eyes Arya will shut forever, brown, green, and blue. Night King had blue eyes, and Arya shut them.

Except if you think too hard about this, it doesn’t make sense. If Melissandre knew that Arya was to defeat the NK, then why did she continue to look for leaders and potential NK slayers in Stannis and Jon. 

I was caught up in the excitement and the spectacle of the episode but even while watching I felt that the political heart of Martin’s work had been sacrificed. Seven seasons about the existential threat of the Night King and the White Walkers and legends about the long winters when they hold sway and it only takes one battle and one death to defeat them? Making Cersei ultimately right in her tactics? 

I also think of Tywin drily telling Tyrion that one can accomplish a lot by mail these days including the murder of your enemies and compare it to the blockbuster using all of the standard tropes that we got and I am a little disappointed even though I realize how unpopular this opinion will be. 

I did love Arya using her Chekhov’s Assassin skills, I just think it could have been more subtly done. 

[GodsBeloved]

2 minutes ago, Giselle said:

But the GOAT is Tom Brady!

[Drogo]

4 minutes ago, AuntieMame said:

If Melissandre knew that Arya was to defeat the NK, then why did she continue to look for leaders and potential NK slayers in Stannis and Jon. 

She had no strategy, she only did what the LoL told her to do.  When she saw the AotD in the flames, she convinced Stannis that it was his destiny because the LoL told her it was; he abandoned the IT for the time being and went North, executed Mance opening the door for the Wildlings to align with Jon for Hardhome/BotB and putting Jon at the forefront of the Battle against the Dead, leading him to Dragonstone/Daenerys.  The LoL doesn't give her all the pieces to the puzzle, only what he needs her to do at that moment.  There were quite a few times (Blackwater and the ShireenBBQ included) where she was disappointed in the outcome of executing her LoL orders she believed so strongly would "work." 

One thing about Melisandre last night... she looked like a total badass riding up solo to the gates from the pitch darkness, and a total badass walking out into the light alone to die.

[Sakura12]

I don't think Melisandre knows exactly what her visions mean. She just guesses until she figures it out. Luckily she figured out the blue eyes meaning before they all died. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 minutes ago, Giselle said:

But the GOAT is Tom Brady!

Nah, that's Muhammad Ali and/or LL Cool J!

[Moot Smoothie]

7 minutes ago, Giselle said:

But the GOAT is Tom Brady!

Mariano Rivera, thankyewverymuch!

I'd like to have an opinion about the episode but like so many others I couldn't actually see 90+ % of it.  Too bad there's already a show named 'What We Do In The Shadows' because that could be a really good descriptive subtitle for so many Game of Thrones episodes and last night's was the biggest offender I can recall.

[missyb]

I just noticed ( DUH) the inside the episodes topic.  Great stuff.

[Tyro49]

OMG!!!!

Is anybody left to fight Circe??

Just who is left, anyway?

As to be unable to see much of it, I guess that was to indicate that a battle is chaos and you can't really see what's going on much of the time. (My husband thinks the night shoot was to save on SFX.)

[Giselle]

2 minutes ago, Moot Smoothie said:

Mariano Rivera, thankyewverymuch!

I'd like to have an opinion about the episode but like so many others I couldn't actually see 90+ % of it.  Too bad there's already a show named 'What We Do In The Shadows' because that could be a really good descriptive subtitle for so many Game of Thrones episodes and last night's was the biggest offender I can recall.

We watched the east coast feed on the west coast. Had to turn off all the lights and close the curtains just to see in the beginning. It got better as the show went on.

[Popples]

18 minutes ago, AuntieMame said:

Except if you think too hard about this, it doesn’t make sense. If Melissandre knew that Arya was to defeat the NK, then why did she continue to look for leaders and potential NK slayers in Stannis and Jon. 

I don't think she knew specifically Arya was going to kill NK at that time, she just saw the eyes of the many people that she would (Arya's killed loads of people, odds are that some of the Freys had blue eyes). Then she just reiterated her statement to spark Arya into action.

Edited April 29, 2019 by Popples
Redundant statement was redundant

[TobinAlbers]

17 minutes ago, Giselle said:

But the GOAT is Tom Brady!

[millennium]

The musical score during the tense final moments was haunting and beautiful.   I suspect it has a long life ahead and will forever be associated with this episode.

I don't understand how this episode fits into the vision of the Iron Throne covered in ice unless we're headed for a nihilistic, dust-in-the-wind ending in which it is revealed that everything that has gone before is folly because eventually all men must die and the only certainty is that winter will keep coming. 

Have a nice day.

[Giselle]

4 minutes ago, TobinAlbers said:

Love it!!!!

Go Pat's!!!

Go Aria!!!

[DarkRaichu]

2 minutes ago, millennium said:

The musical score during the tense final moments was haunting and beautiful.   I suspect it has a long life ahead and will forever be associated with this episode.

I don't understand how this episode fits into the vision of the Iron Throne covered in ice unless we're headed for a nihilistic, dust-in-the-wind ending in which it is revealed that everything that has gone before is folly because eventually all men must die and the only certainty is that winter will keep coming. 

Have a nice day.

The throne was covered with snow...  Now, which Snow could it be?  Jon is not technically a Snow anymore 😉

[Giselle]

1 minute ago, DarkRaichu said:

The throne was covered with snow...  Now, which Snow could it be?  Jon is not technically a Snow anymore 😉

If it's not Aria she should at least be Hand of the King and teach Water Dancing on the side.

[TaraS1]

I'm not an Arya fan, so I was very blah on her getting to kill the Night King.  I was hoping it would be Dany since she's my favorite, but hey, someone had to do it, so I'm just glad it's done.

And as much as I'd like all our main folks to live, add me to the chorus of people who think the episode would have carried a lot more weight if at least one of them had died.

[Moot Smoothie]

2 minutes ago, Giselle said:

We watched the east coast feed on the west coast. Had to turn off all the lights and close the curtains just to see in the beginning. It got better as the show went on.

I watched in a darkened room too and I have a 4k Samsung so don't think my tv is the problem.  It was like trying to watch a freaking audiobook.  Later tried watching on laptop held up to my nose so that I could turn the screen when scenes changed to get better view but didn't help much. 

Read an article this morning about how the makers have been purposely using only "natural" light for past several seasons in order to be more authentic because they didn't actually have giant electric lights back in 'those days' which never happened anyhow and people were too poor to be burning candles inside!  WTF?, just sounds like such lazy bs excuse-making because most of the interior scenes are shot in castles held by people who can likely afford wax because they can surely afford face-fuls of what appear to be professionally applied cosmetics amd the services of some really first-rate tailors and dress-makers so....

It just seems counter-productive to spend so much money, time and effort to make what should be a visually great series and, at the same time, make it so hard to actually see. 

[TaurusRose]

11 hours ago, ulkis said:

After a certain point, I, um, got kinda bored because I knew by then they weren't gonna kill (too many) major characters in this episode. (And I am not complaining about that part.) I did not expect Arya to save the day/night though. Go Arya. Farewell, Theon, Jorah, and Jorah's major chemistry with Dany.

Sam's plot armor was really fastened on tight.

I thought Melisandre was gonna immolate herself to get the gate on fire.

Wow, surprised they didn't have wight Ned and Lyanna.

Beautiful episode though, visually.

I am so glad this didn't happen.  It would have been wrong on so many levels.

9 hours ago, gorgy said:

It's great to find people who dislike Sam as much as I do. I thought I was the only one

Nope.  I've never liked Sam really and his arc with Gilly always bored me to tears.

9 hours ago, Jextella said:

I gotta stand up for Kit Harrington as an actor.  Some say he's one-note, but I think the character he plays, Jon Snow, is one-note.   Jon walks a pretty straight and narrow path. 

I agree.  I think most of the "Jon hate" stems from the fact that Kit Harington is pretty and has wonderful hair, AND the character he portrays is stoic and heroic.  

4 hours ago, Advance35 said:

But look at what happened to Lyanna.

There is no door prize for bravery and honesty.

At present, Sansa's dream is to have House Stark independently rule a part of the entire continent, Dany's existence and Jon bending the knee, have turned that dream into ash.  If she wants any power or clout in the North she'd be better served sticking to her guns and hoping that the North, like Kings Landing, is a "What have you done for me lately group."  

Not sure what you're trying to say here.  Without bravery and honesty the world would sink into chaos fed by humanity's worst instincts.

3 hours ago, loki567 said:

One of my great regrets about this series is they cast the perfect Jon but just as a different character. I thought Joe Dempsie would have absolutely nailed the role. Hell, I could have probably name half a dozen actors in this series that would have made a better Jon. Harington is the worst. 

In fact, he's so bad that I seriously wonder if it affects the writing of Jon. 

Based on what?  Your opinion is valid for sure, but I don't think Joe Dempsie is any superstar in acting prowess.  I think the casting on this show has been pretty  well perfect.  My opinion of course.

[Wendy]

2 hours ago, BooBear said:

That is what is so ballsy about this plot point. But you can argue that it still was Jon. Without him sounding the alarm and keeping at it... no one would have been there. Also remember Arya was going to head to Kings Landing before she heard Jon was back at Winterfell. Without Jon she wouldn't have been there.

It is actually interesting thinking about it (I think) that Melisandre never said that Jon or Dany was the Prince. She simply said they had a role to play. 

One thing I hope we see in the next episodes is Dany realizing just what she has in the North and with the Starks.  Seriously, Bran can tell her what is going to happen. Arya can be her personal body guard and Sansa knows Cersi better than anyone. 

I do agree. 

I am still hoping for a partnership between Dany and the Starks. Just for starters. 

Honestly I am really hoping that at the end all the seven kingdoms have some kind of independence and Dany acts just like the president of a council with representatives of the 7 kingdoms, there is so much good she could do. When I first heard her speech about "breaking the wheel" that is what first came to my mind, how awesome would it be for Dany to bring some kind of democracy or at least institute some changes so the Queen/ King do not have absolute power because absolute power corrupts absolutely and all that. Those were the times when I was rooting for her with everything in me. 

Dany went on the wrong track IMO, but I am still hoping that she goes back to her roots and even if she has to sit on the IT, at least she could be a different kind of ruler, there is nothing that would make me happier than to start cheering for her again. 

[DarkRaichu]

8 minutes ago, Giselle said:

If it's not Aria she should at least be Hand of the King and teach Water Dancing on the side.

Nope, she should be Spy Master with Water Dancing schools (franchises?) all over the Seven Kingdoms.  Perfect cover for spying missions 😄 

[Giselle]

4 minutes ago, Moot Smoothie said:

I watched in a darkened room too and I have a 4k Samsung so don't think my tv is the problem.  It was like trying to watch a freaking audiobook.  Later tried watching on laptop held up to my nose so that I could turn the screen when scenes changed to get better view but didn't help much. 

Read an article this morning about how the makers have been purposely using only "natural" light for past several seasons in order to be more authentic because they didn't actually have giant electric lights back in 'those days' which never happened anyhow and people were too poor to be burning candles inside!  WTF?, just sounds like such lazy bs excuse-making because most of the interior scenes are shot in castles held by people who can likely afford wax because they can surely afford face-fuls of what appear to be professionally applied cosmetics amd the services of some really first-rate tailors and dress-makers so....

It just seems counter-productive to spend so much money, time and effort to make what should be a visually great series and, at the same time, make it so hard to actually see. 

We couldn't see anything in the screen. Once the room was dark I said "Oh, soldiers!"

That coupled with the digitalized snow, ash, or whatever made it seem pixelated at times. 

I don't think they will earn any Emmys for lighting. 

[Wendy]

2 hours ago, Drogo said:

Your whole post, bravo.  Bran's someone who's "seen the movie before but isn't going to spoil it for anyone."

He can't tell her what's going to happen without impacting what's going to happen.  Bran may know what will happen, but he's unable to share that information without corrupting the future course of events.  All he can do is check periodically to ensure things are happening as they should. 

I agree, the old TER warned Bran about the fallacies of trying to change the course of things that needed to happen. "You think I wanted to sit here for 100 years watching the world from a distance as the roots grew through me?" 

We live in a society of such immediate gratification that we only see the value on the people who are warriors, soldiers, dragons, but we forget that it takes all kind of people to make this world go round. 

Bran's performance in my mind went perfectly okay with his mission. If he would have pulled a dagger out of his back and killed the NK himself I would have laugh because that is just not who Bran is, he knew all along it would be Arya but never told her, she needed to get to that conclusion herself. 

[FormerMod-a1]

Sansa had just seen the Dothraki wiped out quickly, and had just seen Dany coming to help and bringing down wights, and she saw that they still kept coming.  She also saw the Unullied still unwavering.  All before she went down into the crypt.  I thought she looked rightfully freaked out.  She could only make eye contact with Tyrion at that moment and he understood what it meant.  That's why he kind of crumpled a little and started drinking,  I think she was too freaked out to much comforting. She just tried to be stoic and I think that's a lot.  She did manage to hold it together.  That said, that's also why I was a bit taken aback at her little barb at Tyrion about Dany.  She had just witnessed the Dothraki and Unsullied fighting to their sure death, for the North which are complete strangers to them, because of their loyalty to Dany.  She had just seen Dany in the thick of battle working to protect them, too.  I don't know why she'd still be wary of others being loyal to her.

[kieyra]

Briefly ...

I actually wasn’t too shocked by the low body count.

The Hound still has CleganeBowl.

Jamie still has arcs with Cersei and Brienne that aren’t finished.

Sansa/Jon/Dany still have unresolved leadership tension.

Gendry is still a secret Baratheon.

Sam has all this citadel knowledge.

Tyrion / Dinklage is their Emmy winner.

I expected Theon, Jorah, Greyworm and Tormund to die. I’m not clear on the last twos’ status.

I actually wasn’t sure Arya or BR4N would make it, but I had a mental theory going that BR4N would die and Arya would inherit the Ravenness so the NK couldn’t end life.

I forgot Melisandre existed and totally didn’t see Arya’s role coming (derp) so that was badass.

(I did expect Arya to encounter zombie Ned Stark and have to dispatch him, though.)

EDIT: Damn, no idea how I forgot about Lady Mormont. She was the big shocker death, IMO. Went out like a champ though.

Edited April 29, 2019 by kieyra

[QuinnM]

12 minutes ago, Moot Smoothie said:

I watched in a darkened room too and I have a 4k Samsung so don't think my tv is the problem.  It was like trying to watch a freaking audiobook.  Later tried watching on laptop held up to my nose so that I could turn the screen when scenes changed to get better view but didn't help much. 

I am watching on a 4K Sony.  Last year's Sony not even the fancy new one.  The only difference I'm hearing from everyone else is some fancy techie did the balance on my tv.  He laughed that he uses GoT to get the darks.  I am able to see everything and last night was no exception.  So it's possible to get the right set up but I can't help you.

[Giselle]

11 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

I'm not an Arya fan, so I was very blah on her getting to kill the Night King.  I was hoping it would be Dany since she's my favorite, but hey, someone had to do it, so I'm just glad it's done.

And as much as I'd like all our main folks to live, add me to the chorus of people who think the episode would have carried a lot more weight if at least one of them had died.

WHAT!!! 😠😠😠

Them's fighting words!!!

😉😎

[Sakura12]

I can only hope that Bran was calling the Night King's attention to him so they wouldn't notice Arya. 

[Drogo]

How wrong is it that I LOL'd a little when the wights started laying down kamikaze-style to put out an area of the fire perimeter and compromise the castle? 

It was just soo quiet... then plop, plop, sizzle, plop plop. 

[sumiregusa]

My issue (and clearly unpopular opinion) with this show is that the writers have removed all sense of wonder and unpredictability from the storytelling. The only thing keeping me on my toes is having to dodge so many plot anvils falling from the sky. Everyone is talking about how blown away they are and how magnificent everything is. While I do agree that the show has fabulous actors and is visually stunning -- it's pretty hard to argue simple facts -- that isn't enough.

Things have been going downhill since S5, with the exception of Hardhome. The writing is clunky, the tropes are obvious, the surprises really aren't that surprising. Inside The Episode doesn't even feel like D&D are revealing anything because their explanations aren't necessary to me. Maybe I'm too jaded, maybe I've expected too much from the story given how well, for the most part, D&D adapted the content from the books. As far as creativity is concerned, I am giving the show writers a big D leaning towards an F. Congratulations guys, you are hitting all the beats, you're checking things off the writer to-do list. Just show me the ending already. I'm bored.