S08.E03: The Long Night

[CeeBeeGee]

14 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Hypothesis:  Most of them cut out their own tongues on purpose so he wouldn't try to fucking talk to them anymore. 

You know, so he doesn't come over on deck and say Iron Bullshit like:

• I'm going to build that fleet, and I'm going to gallivant right over and give it to Daenerys Targaryen, along with my big cock.
• Does she like it gentle...or rough? A finger in the bum? Shh, not now. We'll talk later.
• It was glorious watching you cut down my entire family, like a dance! The place was getting crowded, I enjoyed watching it, I truly did.

I will admit I thought Euron's clowning of Jaime was hilarious. Jaime absolutely wanted to kill him right there.

[Drogo]

3 minutes ago, CeeBeeGee said:

I will admit I thought Euron's clowning of Jaime was hilarious. Jaime absolutely wanted to kill him right there.

I also enjoyed Loras mic-dropping Jaime here:

[tv-talk]

42 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Hypothesis:  Most of them cut out their own tongues on purpose so he wouldn't try to fucking talk to them anymore. 

Priceless!!

[terrymct]

51 minutes ago, AnnaL said:

For me this episode was beautiful because it highlighted the fact that people do panic when facing death, they freeze, but hopefully they recover and try to fight back even if it cost them their lives. 

Exactly right.  I don't care if the trebuchets should have been located elsewhere.  I'm here for the characters.

[TaurusRose]

8 hours ago, Oscirus said:

If one gives up all claims and titles can they take them back just because they found a loophole by returning from the dead?  Theres a debate to be had here.

Well, if you’re referring to Jon, he had no claims or titles to renounce when he joined NW. He was just Ned Stark’s bastard. Presumably, the reason he joined in the first place was because he had no status at WF or in the Stark household.

[TaurusRose]

3 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

I'm on the fence here. I agree that realism shouldn't be a narrative obstacle (in transmitting what's happening to the viewer, not in "anything goes, no rules," ways...fantasy stories like all stories need to have rules and boundaries within which to act). But the complaints about how dark this episode was have gotten under my skin a bit. This was a television episode on a network that does not have advertising revenue. Put another way, I pay for the ENTIRETY of HBO content (all movies, all shows) through my monthly subscription fee that costs FAR LESS than taking my family to see a single movie (four tickets to Solo last summer and the snacks cost enough to pay for six months of HBO). I give the filmmakers a lot of credit for making something small, like interior sets in Winterfell, FEEL much larger through the use of lighting, camera work, etc. The special effects shots in this episode were rampant! They didn't have enough money to show Ghost for the better part of two full seasons, and this episode is how that money paid off. Yeah, it can be frustrating to watch if you watch it during the day, but I'm not sure what else I could have asked. If they'd done something like add a long tracking shot, as a way to establish where characters were in relation to each other, my biggest quibble, those are insanely expensive and complex to do...and for what? Shit the Dothraki arakh lighting alone cost a ton of money to produce I'm sure. 

I'll accept a lot of criticism of this show and of this episode, but I do not agree that the show did us a disservice by being too dark. They simply cannot afford to show all of the things we wanted to see more clearly. Respect for how much they DID. ETA the shot of the two dragons flying above the clouds into the moonlight in search of Viserion and the Night King...that shot is entirely CG, and it's feature film quality. That costs money. I'd rather have that shot than a better look at the wight army's numbers. 

Applause.  Applause.

[paigow]

Westeros will end up looking like "NYC, post Thanos Snap" Probably half the population dead, so whoever is on the Iron Throne has an opportunity to re-draw the map.... Who says that 7 Kingdoms will remain a viable governance model, or that KL is still the optimal location for the Iron Throne....

[JonasArm]

23 hours ago, dreamcatcher said:

Was she risking her life though? She was up in the sky, riding a dragon the whole time and the plan was for her to stay out of the battle to begin with. I was glad she went in to help, but she was just as useless when she was forced to fight and got Jorah killed defending her. I don’t see anyone blaming Dany for not knowing how to fight, especially considering she’s the Queen and Sansa isn’t. 

Yes she was risking her life. She helped burn a large number of wights until she got caught in the storm and she fought the night king who wa riding a dragon he had had no trouble killing. She did all she could in the sky, she managed to get the NK off the dragon and when Drogon flew away she did not stay idle but fought the best she could and actually killed another number of wights.

Danny used her weapon, her dragons, and once weaponless she kept fighting.

[Oscirus]

30 minutes ago, taurusrose said:

Well, if you’re referring to Jon, he had no claims or titles to renounce when he joined NW. He was just Ned Stark’s bastard. Presumably, the reason he joined in the first place was because he had no status at WF or in the Stark household.

Yea he did, he was always the heir. Ignorance of his status is no excuse, when he said his vows, he renounced his claims.

[QuinnM]

41 minutes ago, terrymct said:

Exactly right.  I don't care if the trebuchets should have been located elsewhere.  I'm here for the characters.

There was so little dialogue and yet it told such a complete story.  The little bits of Jaime moving the men around, 'archers to the highest point'.  The look from Davos at Arya.  The horror of every inside Winterfell as they watched those Dothraki lights go out one by one.  It visually told each characters story.  Jaime once commanded an army.  No one meets the Dothraki on an open field because they would swamp them.  And for each character from A to Z (with the exception of Torment who is going to swing till the end) you can see and feel how overwhelming and exhausting this battle is.  So I loved the story, loved the darkness, loved the sound everything.  And at this point I won't nitpick whether the death of the NK was good or  bad.

I review movies by asking if I got my money's worth.  Well Episode 3 gave me that in spades.

[tv-talk]

26 minutes ago, taurusrose said:

I'll accept a lot of criticism of this show and of this episode, but I do not agree that the show did us a disservice by being too dark. They simply cannot afford to show all of the things we wanted to see more clearly.

So does that mean they purposefully made the show too dark to follow? I think it was purely the result of the CGI because if you watched it in a dark room it was much clearer. Hard to envision they intentionally put in scenes that were too dark to follow.

At first I was getting pissed because I thought I might miss Jamie or Brianne or Tormund get run thru and killed, but then when I realized they were going for the old 'main characters are invincible' tact I didnt care so much as what you couldnt see was just filler anyway.

[TaurusRose]

25 minutes ago, Oscirus said:

Yea he did, he was always the heir. Ignorance of his status is no excuse, when he said his vows, he renounced his claims.

I disagree. How can you renounce something you don’t know you have, no one knows you have? This may be the start of another debate that goes nowhere. If so... Peace out.

Edited May 3, 2019 by taurusrose

[CeeBeeGee]

1 hour ago, Drogo said:

I also enjoyed Loras mic-dropping Jaime here:

So many truth bombs were dropped at that wedding! It was like my slumber party in the eighth grade.

[Oscirus]

Just now, taurusrose said:

I disagree. How can you renounce something you don’t know you have, no one knows you have? This may be the start of another debate that goes nowhere. Peace out.

If you renounce all claims, that's known and unknown. Don't want to risk lose perspective claims? Don't take the vows.

[taanja]

2 hours ago, AnnaL said:

 Now I am more than ever hoping that GRRM finishes the books because I know that all those pesky details that didn't make sense will come together, I want to know what each of these character were thinking and feeling. In summary I will continue waiting for his books like a GD stalker. 

Beautiful post! Yes! To everything you wrote!

Except... sorry. He's never going to finish it. That ship has sailed.... it ain't gonna happen. Sorry.

[Uncle JUICE]

9 minutes ago, taanja said:

Beautiful post! Yes! To everything you wrote!

Except... sorry. He's never going to finish it. That ship has sailed.... it ain't gonna happen. Sorry.

This makes me feel like Jorah must have felt when he was repeatedly relegated to the Friend Zone. Ouch. LIke I just saw Danerys with Daario and had to hide the mix tape I was on my way to give her because of course she'd rather do that dude. It feels...too real. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Uncle JUICE

[Kate47]

40 minutes ago, Oscirus said:

Yea he did, he was always the heir. Ignorance of his status is no excuse, when he said his vows, he renounced his claims.

This is also why Ned tries to discourage him a bit at first when Jon wants to take the black. Jon is young, and he may want to take a wife at some point in the future, or hold a land. Obvs nobody can predict what might happen in their lives, but a hot blooded noble youth may find more reason to break his vows than a seasoned man of 30 or more.

Edited May 3, 2019 by Kate47
Clarity

[enoughcats]

2 hours ago, AnnaL said:

Now I am more than ever hoping that GRRM finishes the books

You are where I was nine years ago when I put aside reading the first novel.  I put off finishing it until he published a second.

Well, joke's on me. I'm seventy three and I may not have enough years left to read the small print that Martin might be using.  I lost patience with his publishing 1 or 2 of his Targarian history. 

Right now, I'll stick with the story told.  If I get dementia, at least things might still be sort of logical.  I don't need to try to put together two time lines. 

I hope that we find out what happens or has already happened to the other thrones.  House Mormont- needs a resolution that makes me satisfied. My husband thinks that Cersei still has the woman alive down in the dungeons because he zeroed in on the "I'll have you force fed if necessary".

(And my question: when did the white walkers start having juicy blood?  why?) 

[terrymct]

19 minutes ago, Kate47 said:

This is also why Ned tries to discourage him a bit at first when Jon wants to take the black. Jon is young, and he may want to take a wife at some point in the future, or hold a land. Obvs nobody can predict what might happen in their lives, but a hot blooded noble youth may find more reason to break his vows than a seasoned man of 30 or more.

Also remember that the Baratheons took the throne from the Targeryans.  It's Guidry who actually has the right to sit on the throne at this point.

[BitterApple]

6 minutes ago, terrymct said:

Also remember that the Baratheons took the throne from the Targeryans.  It's Guidry who actually has the right to sit on the throne at this point.

Which begs the question, how will Gendry prove his lineage if he desires the throne? 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 minute ago, BitterApple said:

Which begs the question, how will Gendry prove his lineage if he desires the throne? 

"This super old witch told me before she covered me in leeches! I would have her tell you too, but she took off her necklace and turned into dust. No, I'm not drunk!"

[terrymct]

2 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Which begs the question, how will Gendry prove his lineage if he desires the throne? 

He may not actually *desire* it, but could have it thrust upon him in some kind of compromise.

[Efzee]

4 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Which begs the question, how will Gendry prove his lineage if he desires the throne? 

Bran could probably tell him how beautiful or ugly his mother looked on the night Gendry was conceived...

[Kate47]

All claims to the throne are legitimate through immediate bloodline or conquest.

I suppose if Gendry or Jon (or Cersei) wants to claim the throne and has enough power and supporters backing them and can be the last one standing, they get to keep that ugly monstrosity. But they would be tearing the kingdom apart even more than it is at the moment.

IMO, if Dany wants the throne and nobody else does, and she's not completely bonkers, I say she's welcome to it at this point.

[Affogato]

5 hours ago, Efzee said:

They did pretty much state that Edd, Sam and Jon were the only ones left. Now it's only Jon, who died and therefore is no longer bound by his vows & Sam who abandoned his training at the Citadel and has his own family (in Gilly and Lil' Sam).

Not sure there's anything to disband.

  the common folk may  hold Jon accountable, or Sam if he becomes Lord Tarley. 

[Efzee]

3 minutes ago, Affogato said:

  the common folk may  hold Jon accountable, or Sam if he becomes Lord Tarley. 

I doubt the common folk would even know who they are and that they ever joined the NW.

[CeeBeeGee]

34 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

My husband thinks that Cersei still has the woman alive down in the dungeons because he zeroed in on the "I'll have you force fed if necessary".

(And my question: when did the white walkers start having juicy blood?  why?) 

The show has dropped the Dorne subplot completely. What the hell is happening down there? Who is ruling? Surely the Dornish people did not take kindly to having their prince murdered by his paramour-in-law? They have an army that was ready to support Dany--who is commanding that army? They still hate Cersei presumably so the show needs to pick that thread back up.

Re: the juicy wights: it actually makes sense if the body is relatively fresh.

[Constantinople]

3 hours ago, AnnaL said:

Now I am more than ever hoping that GRRM finishes the books...

Sweet summer child

[Uncle JUICE]

47 minutes ago, terrymct said:

Also remember that the Baratheons took the throne from the Targeryans.  It's Guidry who actually has the right to sit on the throne at this point.

The Gator?!? Louisiana Lightning himself?!?!?!? 

[dreamcatcher]

10 hours ago, Oscirus said:

If one gives up all claims and titles can they take them back just because they found a loophole by returning from the dead?  Theres a debate to be had here.

I doubt anyone in this universe cares, especially because no one brought it up before making him KITN or even rallying behind him in the fight against the (then) warden of the north. And even if they did care, royal pardons can be used to pardon actual crimes, so if Dany gives him a royal pardon he’s still fine. Not that anyone cares enough to have her ‘pardon’ him.

5 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

You could argue that his obligation to the NW ended with his death, but he was able to resume his  position as Lord Commander after his resurrection, and keep it until he resigned, as no replacement had been chosen.    

Even if you want to argue it was technically "murder" bfd.   He "murdered" a gang of lawless mutineers who had assassinated the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch.  It wasn't really different than killing the mutineers at Craster's Keep who murdered Lord Commander Mormont.   I don't recall them receiving a trial.    

Well,no one seemed to care so I don’t even see a reason why this should even be a debate. He was still their lord commander and he wasn’t forced to stay or go. It was up to him. And whether he is a NW or not, they got sentenced for betraying and killing him. Their crime isn’t written away just because the subject is dead....

1 hour ago, Oscirus said:

Yea he did, he was always the heir. Ignorance of his status is no excuse, when he said his vows, he renounced his claims.

Again, no one seemed to care when they proclaimed him the KITN. Doubt they will suddenly care if he decides to go after a different crown.

47 minutes ago, terrymct said:

Also remember that the Baratheons took the throne from the Targeryans.  It's Guidry who actually has the right to sit on the throne at this point.

But Gendry is a bastard, so he’s not really a baratheon heir. Sure Dany can legitimize as she needs loyal lords (or just lords really) anywau, but he has even less of a claim than both Dany and Jon.

23 minutes ago, Affogato said:

  the common folk may  hold Jon accountable, or Sam if he becomes Lord Tarley. 

Again, if anyone (common folk or noble) actually cared, they would have said so during his campaign against the Boltons, while he was KiTN or when he returned with Dany and they had every reason to turn against him. It is established that no one cares, so having them suddenly care would be a huge let down. I mean in this universe, everyone is fine with a Lannister Queen mother proclaiming herself Queen after having the actual Queen (and the King himself in a sense) and half of the nobles killed, right after being publically shamed for her sins. Oathbreaker Jon would actually be an improvement.

[Bali]

1 hour ago, Kate47 said:

This is also why Ned tries to discourage him a bit at first when Jon wants to take the black. Jon is young, and he may want to take a wife at some point in the future, or hold a land. Obvs nobody can predict what might happen in their lives, but a hot blooded noble youth may find more reason to break his vows than a seasoned man of 30 or more.

Yeah, but at this point, who is going to force him to live up to those vows- if he DOES still need to keep them? It was the Stark's job to decapitate anyone who didn't keep them. Is Sansa going to cut her brother's (or cousin whatever) head off? Also, as others have posted- what is the purpose of the Guard at this point anyway?

[TaurusRose]

2 hours ago, Oscirus said:

If you renounce all claims, that's known and unknown. Don't want to risk lose perspective claims? Don't take the vows.

This makes no sense. You cannot make an informed choice without all of the information. If Jon knew his true identity he may not have joined the NW, but if he knew and then took the vow, that’s a different matter.

[Bryce Lynch]

2 hours ago, Oscirus said:

Yea he did, he was always the heir. Ignorance of his status is no excuse, when he said his vows, he renounced his claims.

But, you could argue that based upon the lies his "father", actually uncle, told him, he couldn't give informed consent to renouncing his claim and taking the black.  

Also, he was renouncing the inheritance and titles of Jon Snow, the bastard of Winterfell, not Aegon Targaryen, the heir to the Iron Throne.  

[Bryce Lynch]

40 minutes ago, Bali said:

Yeah, but at this point, who is going to force him to live up to those vows- if he DOES still need to keep them? It was the Stark's job to decapitate anyone who didn't keep them. Is Sansa going to cut her brother's (or cousin whatever) head off? Also, as others have posted- what is the purpose of the Guard at this point anyway?

Right.  Besides that, the Night's Watch seems to be a thing of the past.  Most or all of the NW are dead and now that the NK and his army are dead, and the Wildlings are either dead or loyal citizens of the North, there is nothing left to do at the wall, except look out for grumpkins and snarks.   

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

They can probably dig up the proof of the annulment and marriage at the Citadel

I would think that was one of the books Sam stole from the Citadel.

8 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Not in this show (crypts!) LOL! But I agree - they still could have come up with a better plan that ultimately had to fail so that Ninja Arya can save the day. It would have been more of a tragedy than this assembly of Darwin award contestants.

I'm not saying the plan was a good one, but I'm not really sure what one would have been better.  They were kind of doomed, given the nature of the army they faced.

6 hours ago, Bali said:

Uhm- depends on the 10 to 13 year old girl. LYANNA MORMONT FOREVER

Well, she was pretty exceptional.

[Bali]

1 minute ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Right.  Besides that, the Night's Watch seems to be a thing of the past.  Most or all of the NW are dead and now that the NK and his army are dead, and the Wildlings are either dead or loyal citizens of the North, there is nothing left to do at the wall, except look out for grumpkins and snarks.   

Well, the NK was pretty awful. It's entirely possible that the grumpkins and snarks are even worse.

[Bryce Lynch]

1 hour ago, CeeBeeGee said:

The show has dropped the Dorne subplot completely. What the hell is happening down there? Who is ruling? Surely the Dornish people did not take kindly to having their prince murdered by his paramour-in-law? They have an army that was ready to support Dany--who is commanding that army? They still hate Cersei presumably so the show needs to pick that thread back up.

Re: the juicy wights: it actually makes sense if the body is relatively fresh.

I'm not sure, but I got the sense the the Dornish supported Ellaria Sand killing Doctor Bashir Prince Doran.   As he was dying she asked when when the last time he had been outside the palace was and told him the people were disgusted with him because his weakness and lack of response to the Lannisters having The Mountain kill Elia Martell, her children and Oberyn Martell.  

I took her statement to be true, but who knows?

8 minutes ago, Bali said:

Well, the NK was pretty awful. It's entirely possible that the grumpkins and snarks are even worse.

You sound like Old Nan.  :)

[proserpina65]

5 hours ago, Kate47 said:

That feels like an argument to train them specifically in close combat tactics, or put maybe one soldier down there with them, or give them all *something* to help keep them safe. Instead, everyone is like "LOL, if they break into the crypt I'll be too dead to care, byeeee!"

I think the idea was that if they needed to be kept safe from outside attackers coming in, it was too late to matter.

1 hour ago, CeeBeeGee said:

Re: the juicy wights: it actually makes sense if the body is relatively fresh.

That's what I was thinking.  Maybe that was someone who'd died at Last Hearth?

[Bryce Lynch]

12 minutes ago, proserpina65 said:

I would think that was one of the books Sam stole from the Citadel.

I'm not saying the plan was a good one, but I'm not really sure what one would have been better.  They were kind of doomed, given the nature of the army they faced.

Well, she was pretty exceptional.

I'm not sure if Sam stole that book.  IIRC, it was one of the books Sam had to make a copy of as part of his "reward" for curing Ser Jorah of grayscale.   He probably returned it after he finished copying it. 

Edited May 3, 2019 by Bryce Lynch

[ShellsandCheese]

6 hours ago, AnnaL said:

Sansa and Tyrion panicked but then got out and killed a WW

This wasn’t shown in the episode. 

[WatchrTina]

8 hours ago, Constantinople said:

10 hours ago, terrymct said:

Speaking of Melissandre!   Ok, why was she approaching Winterfell from the north if she was returning from overseas?

She rode north to Winterfell, passed by the castle on her left, hung a louie and then hung another louie.

I think it's interesting that people think the gates of Winterfell face north.  I've always assumed they faced south and that the army of the dead went around the castle and assembled facing the gates (so team dead was looking north.)  I can't tell you why I thought that but I suspect that that is the mental geography I have had ever since the scene of the King's entourage arriving through the gates in the first episode.  They came from the south so I thought the gates faced south. 

[kelslamu]

Ned Stark went to Gendry about who his mother was.  I thought he got some of the info about the bastards of Baratheon through the book he brought.  Could that still exist to prove his lineage or did it just point to the bastards but not prove anything?

[Constantinople]

1 hour ago, kelslamu said:

Ned Stark went to Gendry about who his mother was.  I thought he got some of the info about the bastards of Baratheon through the book he brought.  Could that still exist to prove his lineage or did it just point to the bastards but not prove anything?

The book that Ned read was the about the lineages of the great houses of Westeros. All the book said was "black of hair" when describing the appearance of every (legitimate) Baratheon in the family tree...until it got to Joffrey

Edited May 4, 2019 by Constantinople

[LadyChaos]

On 5/2/2019 at 12:51 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

If it comes down to Jon vs. Dany  the North would  back Jon.  But, I suspect Jon has no interest in sitting on the IT, and will back Dany.   I believe only he, Dany, Sam and Bran currently know his true identity.  I think he might try to keep it a secret.   I don't think he has even told Sansa yet, and I suspect that is intentional. 

It is possible that Sam will leak the information out of bitterness towards Dany for roasting his POS father and his brother Rickon Dickon (Ha!)

Agreed! I think Jon will try to hide it, he won't want anyone to know. 1) because he doesn't want to be King and 2)because he would want to jeporadize Dany's claim to the throne.

I absolutely think that Sam, being hardcore camp Aegon, will out Jon's parentage in front of everyone so he can show them there is another option.  

On 5/2/2019 at 12:57 PM, tv-talk said:

I'm really hoping for a scene where Sam points out to Dany that if she doesnt bend the knee to Jon she's committing treason. In the end I'm sure Jon will convince everyone to back Dany but getting from A to B on that would make for some great scenes.

I think Sam will bank on another  case of the Lord Commander election, and being named KitN.....he won't want it, but if they want him, then he will do it.  I do think, that despite everything that Dany has done for the North, they will back Jon if it comes out. The North suffered much the past 40 years from the King/Queen on the throne, they will want someone sympathetic to the North on the throne that may allow them their independence again.

On 5/2/2019 at 1:05 PM, tv-talk said:

The dragon will listen to Jon rather than her and not roast Sam. That's how she and everyone else will know that indeed Jon is the King.

I don't see any reason yet as to why they would listen to Jon over Dany......but I do find it interesting that they are showing a growing connection with Jon and Rhaegal.

On 5/2/2019 at 1:32 PM, tv-talk said:

The thing is, by Dany's OWN RULES- she needs to bend the knee to Jon. All her claims of being the rightful heir to the IT instead apply to Jon and she would be a hypocrite for not bending the knee to him. That's what I want to see them fully address with no way to wiggle out of it. Jon, not Dany, is the rightful heir and I really want to see how Dany copes with that- especially in the North amongst Jon's people where she's not the ironfisted ruler she's been for awhile now.

I want them to do justice to this fight.  It cannot be as simple as Jon backing down and Dany taking the throne.  That is a cop out in my opinion. I want to see Dany decide whether she truly wants the throne or if she was taking the throne back simply because she thought she was the last Targaryren.   I want to see Jon decide if this is something worth fighting for.  I want to see them address it, instead of just 'Oh here Dany, you can have it, I don't want it.'

[Dobian]

10 hours ago, tv-talk said:

There's only so much oil to burn and so much dragonglass to use- everything else is ineffective. And it wasnt mindless to plow into the fire, it was their tactic to get across and it worked. Then they pile onto the walls and eventually there is a mound. They also fight 24hrs a day, litreally NO REST WHATSOEVER for the humans. Think about what you are saying, that an army of undead who cant be killed aside from burning or dragonglass and is headed by some demonic being and his generals would be "easy pickings" for some random king in 1137 France. Sorry that doesnt comport, the humans dont have unlimited resources and unlimited stamina and once any of the undead breach the walls and start killing all those kiled become additional soldiers. Win in a few weeks? In a week maybe an undead giant shows up and smashes the outer walls to pieces. I didnt see any indication that a few more trebuchet volleys was all that was needed. Also they massacred the Dothraki's who were obviously the equivalent of Mongols...who annihilated all the best medieval fighting forces of their day and actually eliminated the vaunted Knights Templar at Legnica. So although we didnt get to see it, clearly the undead fought very well.

Well, they annihilated the Dothraki because when you run light cavalry into the face of a massive number of infantry you are going to lose every time.  This was talked about up-thread.  You could have the greatest snipers in the world (if sniper rifles existed in Westeros) stand in the field and headshot a few dozen of the 100,000 or so white walkers as well, before the mob overran them.  That would have been a misuse of your snipers.  The Dothrakis lost not because the white walkers were great fighters, it was because a light cavalry unit isn't supposed to do frontal assaults.

If you fortified your castle properly - which in Winterfell's case was questionable - and this undead army had no dragon backing it up, you could hold out against them.  In history, there have been a handful of sieges that lasted a whole decade.  A castle can hold enough food, weapons, and resources to hold out that long.  And unlike human armies, the white walkers lacked siege weapons and ranged weapons, so they would be very exposed and vulnerable.  All the humans would have to do is keep them from coming up the walls and they could safely kill them like fish in a barrel.  Some spikes along the base of the walls would have helped.  The white walkers followed basic commands from the NK, but didn't seem sharp enough to build ladders or know how to sap walls.  If they could do those things then it would be very problematic for the humans.

[LadyChaos]

I'm kind of wondering if Dany and Jon will agree to a split.  Jon, King in the North and Danerys Queen of the 6 Kingdoms.

[Law Mom]

The clues are there! The Iron Throne is the wheel that Daenerys will break. The biggest clue of all is right in the name: Game of Thrones. Thrones. Plural.

Also, just saying, Euron Greyjoy is the reason I don’t internet date.

[Constantinople]

1 hour ago, Dobian said:

And unlike human armies, the white walkers lacked siege weapons and ranged weapons, so they would be very exposed and vulnerable.

Why?

Who says if the Night King besieged Winterfell, that he would place the wights and Walkers within striking distance of Winterfell's walls?

[Andromeda]

On 4/29/2019 at 8:51 AM, Joimiaroxeu said:

I'm going back and forth on who I want to kill Cersei. One minute I want it to be Jaime and the next I want it to be Arya. It'll probably end up being some random person that no one predicted.

I'm hoping for a team effort. Something like they dispatch Qyburn, and Arya wears his face to lure her to a place that Jamie/Tyrion/whoever can confront and dispatch her.

[Mardo2044]

I love that Arya is the Night King Slayer, completely appropriate twist!  But, I sort of had a thought of everyone dying by the end of the series and in the last episode her walking away from the devastation 6 months pregnant with Baratheon baby and a small band of misfit survivors.  Maybe her and Tyrion being the only surviving primary characters and a few known secondary characters.  Now that she is the NK slayer, I think my dream ending unlikely.