SPOILERS for Game of Thrones
How many times have you watched The Long Night so far? I watched it for the second time yesterday, and yes, it was too f–king dark. But I did pick up some things that I missed, like WHY Jorah rescued Daenerys and how he knew she was in trouble – he was inside Winterfell and he heard the dragons screaming. But yeah, the episode was a mixed bag – I feel like it wasn’t as well-thought out or as well-executed as Hardhome and the Battle of the Bastards. It was Arya who saved the episode. Arya and Melisandre, honestly.
So, what’s next? The war with Cersei, of course. As I said yesterday, the preview for the fourth episode was just such a tonal shift from The Long Night. The idea that the final three episodes will be about “dealing with Cersei” and her dumb ass just seems like a let-down from ice zombies, ice dragons and the cowardly Night King. The Long Night was the big fight – everything else with Cersei and Kings Landing just seems so small and parochial.
Ideally, Daenerys would quickly learn about Arya’s heroics and Dany would adjust her plans accordingly. Why think of this as a battle between two armies when surely Dany could simply ask Arya if she’d like a free dragon ride to Kings Landing so she can kill Cersei? Arya would totally take her up on that. That’s my hope for the next episode – some good Dany-Arya scenes where they’re plotting together and understanding that they have several goals in common. People are making a lot of Melisandre’s brown eyes/blue eyes/green eyes prophecy and wondering if Cersei has green eyes. Like, Arya has killed hundreds of people at this point. I’m sure a few of them had green eyes.
Of course there’s the issue of Jon Snow/Aegon Targaryen. I have no idea what will happen there, but of course I keep thinking back to Dany’s vision at the House of the Undying – snow on the Iron Throne, and Dany never touches the throne or sits on it. Take that as you will. Ultimately, Cersei has got to die. Ultimately, someone else will sit on the Iron Throne. I don’t think it will be Dany.
People I’m looking forward to seeing in the final episodes: Yara Greyjoy, hopefully. A Man, I pray to the Many Faced God. And yeah, we’ll probably see Cleganebowl.
Photos courtesy of HBO/Game of Thrones.
I think the next 3 episodes will wreck us more than the first 3. We’d also have to have an exact number on Dany’s forces. But this will be a true War of the Roses battle.
Also: House Giantsbane of Bear Island. Too soon?
Yep…and people keep saying we only have one ‘villain” left. Can’t imagine Dany will just hand over the throne to Jon r heck even Gendry if challenged. Think she will be challenged if not by Jon but by her own people, like Tyrion. Which she should defend honestly.
ITA with you. I came out with the conclusion that there was a twist. The big fight IS Cersei, not the Night King. I don’t feel let down but I WILL be if the fight is not epic.
There has to be something major that happens in the next three episodes. It cant end with just a “run of the mill” battle with Cersei. We definitely need a twist.
No, it won’t be easy. Cersei is ready. She’s ready for the dragons. She’s ready for the unsullied and dothraki (who are now decimated and tired, while her golden company warriors are fresh). It’ll be a fight.
can someone remind me how many dragons there are left? did Jon’s dragon die in the last episode?
both dragons are still alive and so is ghost…the preview shows it! Hope that helps…I know I’m relieved 🙂
Yep…think at least one of the dragons is a goner.
Is there a reason Dany and company can’t take a breath to regroup and rebuild her army before marching on King’s Landing?
King’s Landing will come marching to them.
I’m wondering if Euron has the dragon horn…
Did anyone read Albert Burneko’s “Cersei Lannister Is Smarter Than All These Morons” article on Deadspin? I know people love to hate on Cersi, but it sums up my thoughts on her, and the series at this point, perfectly.
I’m sure this will not be a popular take, but after Arya, she was the next MVP of that episode. Turns out, she was 100% right not to send her army. And I just really hate that she won’t have to face the NK, or any consequences, for her decision.
Well Cersei also had the advantage of being in Kings Landing. It’s not as of the people in the North had much of a choice; the AOTD was there, on their doorstep. It’s easy to sit back and do nothing when the threat is so far away. You can gamble and take your chances. And it’s so obvious now that at least with the showrunners the AOTD was a big fat red herring. They’ve always planned for the last of the season to be about Cersei, so I would imagine it will actually be harder to take her down and out. Also, nobody is sitting on the Iron Throne. My guess? Some sort of Commonwealth system with shared laws, rules, treaties – and a figurative head; but beyond that, people are going to be independent.
I’m with you about the throne. I don’t want anyone to take it.
I feel the same way about the Iron Throne. I feel like the speculation about who will sit on it/who deserves it misses the point of the series–that absolute monarchy is a bad idea that causes a lot of death and destruction and does nobody any favors.
I think Jon, Dany and the throne itself will be casualties of the next three episodes, and my prediction is that Tyrion crawls out of the wreckage and starts trying to implement the rudimentary democracy he’s been talking about since last season.
I read it. I think it’s slightly inaccurate because the only reason Cersei didn’t send her army North was because she figured she’d rather her enemies die and she remain on the throne for a few days longer… she’s that petty. And better still… she figured her own death and the death of Westeros itself, was preferable over 1) dying with her enemies or 2) surviving with her enemies but with a decimated army and far from her throne.
She literally chose the end of the world over the possibility of losing her throne to someone else.
If that doesn’t set up the story for a mind blowing ending I don’t know what would. This is Game of Thrones, not the Night King’s Super Fun Time Show. I don’t get the anti-climatic complaints.
the Night King’s Super Fun Time Show
I’d watch the hell out of that though
I think a plot twist is coming. If the NK is dead, why is Bran still alive? Maybe he is the ultimate villain.
@Megan ITA with your assessment. A plot twist of some kind with Bran. Heck, I’m still mad that all Bran did was warg into a raven while death was at their door. WTAF Bran??
I just rewatched the first scene in the series (from episode one). It’s all about the white walkers and the “something bad” beyond the wall etc. if you had never read the books, your first introduction to the subject matter was that – not Cersei, not the starks – but beyond the wall. So, I don’t think people are crazy for feeling like that was the bigger overarching story for the series.
I do think that once the writers ran out of GRRMs source material, they lost their way a bit.
@ChristineM, my favorite comment regarding Bran that I ran across :
Real Talk- Did Bran actually DO anything in this battle besides escape into his oculus rift for like 45 minutes enjoying his crow-o-vision warm under his lap furs?
@Giddy – I think Bran was definitely doing something, and I’m not sure it was for the good of the realm.
@megan and ChristineM – I agree, SOMETHING has to happen with Bran. I thought he would die in the last episode, because now that he doesn’t have to worry about the dead army anymore, shouldn’t he be able to take over Cersie’s mind and have her kill herself, or bend the knee, or whatever? That would be TOO easy. So either Bran has to die, or there is still some big secret we don’t know about. Otherwise, if it just plays out as a battle between Cersie’s army and what’s left of Dany’s, and Bran just sits on the sidelines even though he could end the war immediately, that would be a big let-down.
Bran had time with Tyrion to tell him things right before the battle, so maybe that will come up in these next few episodes.
The only way Cersi will be took out is by assassin or poison…or being set up. She is smart, Tywin said so himself. She is Twyin in female form good luck in taking her out it won’t be easy. She is smarter than Tyrion in a way but more greedy for the throne and that will be her downfall as the others before her.
@lindy79
Hahahaha! Actually, I’d watch it over GoT too hahahaha!
Agreed Cersei is smart & calculating. But lets not forget, I really think that Sansa is the new Cersei. She was trained by Littlefinger to out-think everyone & all outcomes. I think she will be the new queen (if there is to be one). This whole overarching Sansa storyline seems to be her training to be the smartest one. But I could be reaching. How satisfying would it be tho for Sansa to come for Cersei after all the Joffrey crap that Cersei put her thru…all the humiliation and her father’s beheading?
Cersei is a drunk, too, and totally bereft if anyone who loves her. Her spite may do some damage, but really? This will come down to a struggle between Jon, Daenerys, Sansa, Tyrion, and maybe even Gendry (last Baratheon). Arya may kill Cersei, but think it’s more likely that Jaime, Brienne, Tyrion or even that nutty Euron might do it. It will be a tangled three eps for sure. Just hope that Grey Worm & Missandei bail on all of them & head for Naath.
Will all this buzz I decide to watch the last episode with my husband. Since it is a second episode of the entire show for me, what I can say is that the lighting crew definitely slept through all those night shoots. And where do you go and what do you do after you defeated the army of the dead plot wise? Seems like to much time and energy to fight one ice queen.
They didn’t sleep through the lighting issues. I read an article/interview the other day with the showrunners. They chose to only use fire light for this season–so whatever natural light they have, fire, and some candles and torches. They are using NO other lighting–even auxiliary lighting that would normally be used in filming. They did this on purpose to shift the show to winter. Winter is dark and long. The show is now also very dark to look at. When you are inside the buildings, windows/shutters are no longer open because of the cold and winter weather, so they are relying solely on the light provided by candles–and not a lot of them since in that world candles are an expensive luxury.
Yeah…it was a whole involved article just on this. They actually recommended that people adjust the contrast on their TVs if it was too dark, but said that it was a conscious choice to do it this way so we felt, along with the characters, shut in, closed off, and in the dark.
I think that was a dumb choice, but there you have it. That’s their thinking. It’s on purpose.
I also read that HBO streams at a low pixel rate (or bpi or whatever it’s called) than they could, and that screws up the image even more. No matter how high quality your TV screen is or your settings are, it’s going to pixellate. (I didn’t let it bother me too much. Hell, it was dark out.)
If Cersei dies she will take to hell with her as much enemies she can.
So i think Dany is pregnant – and will probably die in child birth. i’m not sure of the time frame of this-how long does it take to get to KL?? So their child may rule with Sansa as Regent??? I don’t know – i spend entirely too much time trying to figure this out.
I do think one of Cerseis brothers kill her AFTER she eliminates someone from their life – for Jamie thats Brienne – for Tyrion its Sansa?
I agree with your theory about Dany. Sweet little incest baby coming up!
I thought she couldn’t have children? That’s why the dragons are her children?
There was one episode where we were reminded in multiple ways that Dany cannot have children and then she banged Jon (another “dragon”) and I think that’s where the storyline was headed. That said, I feel like that was a long time ago (considering all their movements etc) and she would know by now. I guess she could know and it hasn’t been revealed yet.
Or Bronn manages to kill Tyrion or Jaime so the other brother kills her.
I hope not. I know he’s a mercenary but I sure would like him to turn out to be a good guy.
Where is Bronn?! They sped up traveling on this show I was expecting him to show up mid-fight on Sunday.
There are too many redemption stories. Bronn is out for Bronn. Siding with Tyrion and Jamie is the better bet.
She’s said over and over again she can’t have kids – which is why I think there’s gonna be a surprise baby. A little twist.
Yes, and as Jon (and all of us!) pointed out- don’t you think the witch might have been lying?
I think the fight at KL will just be as full on as the one at Winterfell. I wonder if that battle will rage over 2 episodes? The NK threat has been dealt with rather soon in the series so I think the main battle/betrayals/deaths will be a Kings Landing.
As I said yesterday don’t count out Euron, he wants the Iron Throne and he will kill Cersei to get it. He’s playing her and has a plan to conquer.
The first thing he is going to do after he marries her is kill her. If we can see this, I’m pretty sure this ruthless intelligent queen, not to mention Qyburn can also see it.
Well, he told Yara that was his plan ages ago so that’s how we know.
She’s not going to marry him, she’s stringing him along in the respect – regardless of what happens he is going to kill her and those around her in a coup. The Golden Company are HIS backup, not hers.
Also, Euron refers to Jaime as brother in one scene.
Euron is such a one-note character to me. He was fine in his brief scenes, but I can only take so much of him. I feel like he was introduced way too late to make any major plays here.
He was introduced quite late in the books IIRC, I wouldn’t rule him out he’ll strike when he see’s the opportunity.
In the books, either Euron or Victarion (his bro) is in possession of a dragon horn that can control the dragons. I doubt they will introduce it on the show so late, but that could definitely be a plot twist.
I think episode four will be the set up for the next big battle. Episode five will be the big battle and episode six will be the aftermath and denouement – unless the show just ends or ends on a cliffhanger. LOL. There are still plenty of spoilers going around that Dany will be the ultimate big bad but I just don’t see that happening, because quite frankly, there isn’t any time. We are down to the final four hours or so of the show. If it turns out the Dany suddenly goes batshit, it would be for shock value only and wouldn’t really serve the existing story or plot. But we shall see.
I am also of the opinion that once DD ran out of source material and progressed past the books there was a notable decline in coherent storytelling. But that could also be attributed to the fact that the old guard is gone. Tywin Lannister was a master playmaker, as was Olenna Tyrell and none of the youngins even compare. I miss Tywin.
Like I said yesterday, I no longer think that Dany will be the “big bad.” I just think if she was going to do that, the battle would have been the perfect time for her to cross the line (take her dragon, fly to KL, kill Cersei, gain the throne). She certainly could have killed Jon Snow very easily had she wanted. So, still not a huge Dany fan, but I don’t think she is going to “go bad” like we had thought.
and yes the old guard being gone plays a big role I think. Its why everyone is like “tyrion is so smart!” Tyrion and Varys are probably the smartest two left at this point (Arya is smart, but in a different way.)
After facing certain death together I really hope Brienne & Jamie get a hot love scene. Some non incestuous sex for Jamie would be excellent since he’s definitely dying soon. I have been feeling like Varys has decided Dany isn’t the best choice for the realm & he’s going to have a big roll in the next 3 episodes.
I’d be happy if they just admitted their feelings about each other. Or, maybe a morning after shot, like Arya and Gendry.
Yep…them just telling each other they love one another and have feelings for one another is enough.
YES! She lived so there’s plenty of time for a Brienne/Jaime romance if that’s what she wants.
Brienne and Thormund!!!
Re Brienne and Jamie, I don’t see any sexual chemistry between them. Only deep respect and goodwill. 😑
Seconded
absolutely. And if they survive, friendship
Thirded! Or fourthed? Jamie held nothing but contempt for Brienne when they met, but Thormund has worshipped everything about her from the moment he laid eyes on her (even though I know a lot of people think he comes across as creepy). Brienne just has no idea how to handle genuine interest in herself as a person.
nah…the way Jamie looked a her when he saw her naked…ever since then he has been soft/kind with her. There are sexual feelings at least on his part.
Agreed with Isabelle. In the books, he most definitely goes from repulsion to being totally into her (as he stops being into Cersei and sees her for the cold-hearted, calculating bish that she is), it’s harder to show in the series since he don’t have access to the characters’ thoughts (and well, the writing hasn’t been that great) but the way he looks at her, Jaime wants her for sure
I can’t imagine Brienne having sex outside of marriage. She’s incredibly conventional regarding things that reflect on her own sense of honor.
I don’t only because I think Brienne deserves so much better, lol.
I’m so over people complaining about it being too dark. This was a 15 million dollar television scene. The dark was not only intentional, but necessary. Besides, did you expect spotlights out there or something during a winter and nighttime battle?? Come on now.
As for Cersei, she’s smart, she’s calculating, and she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She’s proven this time and time again. She thinks Tyrion is going to cause her death but I’m thinking it’s going to ultimately be Jaime. Sansa would be more satisfying though.
I get what they were going for with the darkness.
However, someone posted a clip of the dragon battle that they lightened up and it made a HUGE difference. I didn’t realize that ice Viserion got so close to Jon that he actually snatched his cape right off. Some of the elements and tension were lost in the darkness.
The difference in the lightened version is incredible, they did also slow it down in the version i saw so it was easier to see the action. I really wish they had not made it *as* dark as they did overall.
My partner watched it while I was at work and said it was so dark. When I watched it later that night, I increased the backlight and the brightness on my tv. He watched it a second time and picked up on some important visuals that he couldn’t see the first time. 4K would have made all the difference though.
It’s not so much the darkness than the less-than high quality of the streams that HBO/HBO-providers have given us. If it was shot in 4K, then give us a 4K stream not a 720 one. The dark looked like big pixels and that’s why it was hard to see anything. I re-watched the episode last night tweeking contrast and light a hell lot and it was easier to watch, but you shouldn’t have to make such an effort, it should be brought to us in high quality.
@Arpeggi – exactly. the pixilation was a big problem. Like I said below we rewatched it last night too, and made some tweaks (although we tried on Sunday night to tweak it as well) and it made a difference, but not a huge difference. There’s a difference between “dark” and “poor quality.”
If you watch the behind the scene’s video they released it was deliberate, they wanted to create a certain atmosphere – the talked about breaking it the episode down into genre’s it starts off being a drama, then a horror movie, then an action movie etc.. It has a great interview with the actress who play badass Lyanna Mormont who said she was pleased that she got to go out in style.
I absolutely get what they were going for – but at the same time, mass amounts of people shouldn’t have to adjust their tv settings to be able to see what was happening. There’s a happy medium out there, and they missed it.
@Erinn – yes. There is atmosphere, and then there is just missing things completely. I get wanting to create a sense of chaos and confusion, to mimic what the characters were experiencing, but I literally could not tell if I was seeing smoke in some scenes or just weird pixel issues with the black sky, etc.
In one of the comments in the Book Recap on Winteriscoming.net they posted an article from Slate about why the scenes look dark. Very techy but it definitely explains it. Pretty much comes down to HD cameras and how you should set up your viewing room (block out all light) & your TV settings.
Interesting, I’ll search it out
If half your audience has a problem, you screwed up. For me, it wasn’t so much that it was dark, it was the lack of clarity in the darkness. There was a distinct muddiness to some scenes, especially the ones heavy on CGI.
I’m sure it’s a bummer for the cinematographer after 55 nights and I get why the guy is defensive in interviews but … it’s still a problem. At least they can tweak the blu Ray.
As an aside, don’t think Sapochnik’s direction was as tight as Hardhome and BoB either. Or the editing.
I watched it in a darkened room so really didn’t have a problem except in the snowy dragon scenes, which I do think was deliberately filmed that way(blizzard conditions).
I rewatched it last night after reading all the comments yesterday and actually liked it even better…. I loved the musical score in the last half. Everyone needs to go back and have a listen!!!
@Sandra – the music was PHENOMENAL in this episode. Incorporating elements from one of my favorite pieces of music from the show, “Light of the Seven” – from the sept/wildfire explosion. SO GOOD!
For people complaining about the “pixels”. Perhaps it was actually snow, because you know, NK brought a blizzard with him.
No, it wasn’t, lol.
Well I for one didn’t have any pixel issue. And my TV, is a 45″ screen Sony Bravia and is several years old so it’s only 1080p.
What I had was more of a contrast issue but that was to be expected being that I OD’d on the brightness.
When I watched on my 36″ LG which is less than a year old I didn’t have pixel issues either. Could also be the provider/streaming issue.
It was less “pixel” and more contrast, I think, but it was definitely an issue. We have a 4k tv, less than a year old, 60 inch. We tried it through HBO go last night, through HBO (live, xfinity) on Sunday. Still issues last night.
The Slate article someone posted indicates that it does have something to do compression and streaming and stuff like that.
I just think its a flaw on HBO if the answer is “play with all your settings, turn all the lights off, and try a different TV/app/whatever to make sure you can have the barest idea of what is going on.” Like I said below, upon rewatch I could definitely tell which parts were supposed to be dark, chaotic, unclear, etc and which parts were the result of something going wrong with the process – streaming compression whatever.
It’s okay, I survived lol, but there were definitely some legitimate issues, for whatever reason.
I actually imagine, given the wide variety of complaints, that the cable providers probably had a LOT to do with it. That would explain why some people had no issues, and others did, despite tweaking their settings etc.
I posted this as a reply to a comment below, but I’m dropping it here too:
They didn’t sleep through the lighting issues. I read an article/interview the other day with the showrunners. They chose to only use fire light for this season–so whatever natural light they have, fire, and some candles and torches. They are using NO other lighting–even auxiliary lighting that would normally be used in filming. They did this on purpose to shift the show to winter. Winter is dark and long. The show is now also very dark to look at. When you are inside the buildings, windows/shutters are no longer open because of the cold and winter weather, so they are relying solely on the light provided by candles–and not a lot of them since in that world candles are an expensive luxury.
Yeah…it was a whole involved article just on this. They actually recommended that people adjust the contrast on their TVs if it was too dark, but said that it was a conscious choice to do it this way so we felt, along with the characters, shut in, closed off, and in the dark.
I think that was a dumb choice, but there you have it. That’s their thinking. It’s on purpose.
Unpopular opinion: I was underwhelmed by the outcome of the battle, not the battle itself but the outcome. I was expecting red wedding type of death, the deaths we got didn’t pack a punch for me. They hypep up the Night King for 8 years and I felt like he didn’t deliver and he was dispatched way too easily. I hope we get more out of the remaining 3 episodes.
Your opinion is not unpopular, rest assured.
The Night King is the James from Twilight of GOT.
These were my thoughts exactly. The WW have been built up to be the “true” villains and the “actual” threat, but all they gpt away with was killing secondary characters everyone assumed would die. Hell, they didn’t even kill everyone I thought they’d kill.
I want to say that maybe it was intentional – that the show wanted us the viewers to think the ice zombies were the real problem, when the reality is a human with power is much more terrifying than that. But tbh… No. D&D are terrible, TERRIBLE writers and I don’t think they’d do something like that. GoT was brilliant the more closely it stuck to the books.
I see this point, but I do not think that this story, even in the books, was ever gonna end with the battle with the zombies. For one, interviews with Martin show he cares about the afterwards of fantasy battles, the more realistic stuff. Besides, in real life, humans tend to go back to petty squabble right after defeating what was supposed to be the big evil threat ( see Nazis, the black death, etc.). It may feel less rushed in the books though.
I thought the Night King was the end all be all and I kept waiting for something BIG to happen but then they rolled the credits and I was like, that’s it?? I did however love the suspense of the battle, like you could feel how on edge and afraid everybody was and I agree that due to the low visibility some of the battle’s beauty was lost on the viewer. I am still super excited for the rest of the season but I wished episode 3 was…more.
I suspect they let us off light (re deaths) in this episode, because people were expecting a high death count and it would have been predictable.
Also, if they had thinned the cast out too severely, who would be left (that we care about) to carry the show to the end?
I think the real punishment will begin in the next 3 episodes; especially now that they’ve had some time to rebuild our investment in these characters (mine is Arya and Gendry)……they’ve survived the Great War, so now they’re safe right? Ha!
Get ready for the real culling to start.
That’s what I’m saying. There are 3 more episodes left people!! Were they supposed to kill everyone and leave nothing for the rest of the season? That’s ridiculous.
And the characters that did die weren’t extras. They were people many of us had some type of emotional investment or attachment to. Theon for all of his faults had a beautiful ending. Jorah has been Dany’s biggest cheerleader from the first season when he saw her emerge from the fire. He also gifter Dany the dragon eggs and without those, she’d have been at the dosh khaleen wasting away with the other ex-khaleesi’s a long time ago.
And Lady Mormont. We all loved her at fist sass. She wasn’t just anybody.
I think the reason Theon’s death wasn’t a bigger deal was because I think we all knew that was coming as soon as he said he would defend Bran (and Theon knew it was coming too. He wanted to die with honor, and he did.)
I did feel upon rewatching that Jorah’s death was a bigger deal, I think having him disappear for a while with the grayscale kind of severed my emotional ties to him though. I almost would have been sadder had he died from grayscale two seasons ago? Which is messed up, lol. But also, at the time of my first watch of it, I didn’t really absorb his death because I was so focused on what was going on with the NK and then with Arya killing him and THAT aftermath, Jorah dying was just kind of like “oh okay but the NIGHT KING!!!!” but upon rewatching it I “felt” more at his death.
I definitely felt Jorah’s death more, between Emilia’s reaction and then Drogon coming down and curling around them, it hit right in the feels. You kind of forget that bar when he went to be healed, he’s been with the dragons since their birth too.
@Lindy,
That’s scene of Drogon curling up around Dany and dead Jorah gave me so many feels. 🙁
I re-watched it last night and I cried harder for Jorah the second time around than I did the first.
@M.A.F., same! Emilia did so well in that scene, too. She played it perfectly. I was also struck by how badass Jorah was. He took quite a beating, and kept trying to get up (sob).
I was absolutely distraught over both Jorah and Lyanna. Jorah protected Dany to the very end, dying for his queen. I was holding on until Drogon came down to protect Dany, maybe taking Jorah’s place as her chief protector.
Agree and I found the whole thing unrealistic (and not in the normal suspension of reality way). Like when Jon as well as Dany and Jorah were alone fighting after NK raised the dead, the dead were basically coming for them one at a time so they could fight them off. Like why wouldn’t the dead all rush at them at once instead of waiting to take turns? Just one of many problems I had with the episode including the fact that most main characters survived against all odds and why send Dorthraki off by themselves at the beginning of the battle?
If they kill everybody off at once, who’s left for the rest of the show? I don’t know anything about strategy in old school battle but don’t they usually send the cavalry in first? Plus Dothraki fight on horseback not hand-to-hand. That’s what the Unsullied are for. Somebody’s got to protect the castle.
This happens all the time in action sequences in shows/films, the villains always come at re good guys one at a time, it’s so unrealistic but it’s the only way to ensure the good guys survive!
Their confidence and celebrating in the trailer seems misplaced. If it hadn’t been for Arya (which I’m sure they know now), they’d have all been killed eventually and as it stands they are tens of thousands down in numbers with 2 fairly badly wounded dragons. It’s played exactly as Cersei planned.
As an aside, I get that the Hound and Arya have the better connection but is no one but me a little miffed Sansa and the Hound haven’t had so much as a conversation in the 2 episodes before the war? Nothing romantic (ew) but he was a huge part in her story in Kings Landing and a turning point in her story when she stayed there rather than go with him, plus she must know by now what went on with him and Arya.
I was looking forward to a reunion of them given how much has happened and how changed they both are, her more so.
Totally agree on Sansa and the Hound. Just like Ayra, he did look after Sansa. She would’ve been assaulted, and possibly killed, if he didn’t step in during the riot in King’s Landing.
He rescued her from gang rape in the King’s Landing riot. He stopped Meryn Trant from beating her up on Joffrey’s orders. He offered to take her with him. If she had gone, Ramsay would never have been part of her life.
Exactly! I hate that it’s just been brushed aside. I get time is short but given she’s playing such a large role in this season and his connection to Arya, especially after episode 3, if we don’t get so much as a conversation between them, honestly I’ll be pissed. He had more of a reconnection with Brienne (which was great don’t get me wrong).
Even a bloody conversation between Arya and Sansa about him?? Nothing?
He even had a pet name for her. He called her little bird. Yes I was disappointed they didn’t have a little reunion and a way for her to realize how he did look out for both sisters and say thank you.
I think Sansa will end up with Jon. Dany will surprise everyone by sacrificing herself to save Jon. After which Sansa will seduce him (he’s no longer her brother).
They end up together and rule the 7 kingdoms together (with Arya and Gendry Baratheon holding Storms End).
I’m afraid the hound must die. He’s too miserable for anything else. Where would he even go?
I do think the Hound will die as part of his revenge on his brother. Was one of the reasons I figured he was 100% safe at Winterfell.
I don’t get the Jon/Sansa thing at all. They may not be blood related but they grew up together so they’re as good as plus I genuinely don’t get that vibe off either of them.
I disagree about Sansa and Jon. All they’ve know all their lives is that they are siblings. This new revelation won’t change the dynamic they grew up with.
The Hound however I agree. Once he stepped up to the Mountain and told him “You know what’s coming for you. You’ve always known.” I feel that just sealed it.
And I think it would be hilarious if the mountain had the dwarf’s head Qyburn took for ‘his work.’ lmao
Nope! They might no be step-siblings but they are cousins and more importantly, they’ve kind of hated each other their whole life. If both of them survive, Sansa will likely end up with Tyrion. In the books, Sansa never marries Ramsey (that poor Jayne!) and while she’s promised to Robyn and Littlefinger and the creepy bard are most definitely trying to have her (sooo many rape attempt!), it likely never goes anywhere and, technically, Sansa is still married to Tyrion. Sansa spent her childhood dreaming of the handsome prince she’d marry and it turned out that he was a hellish monster, might as well go for the guy who looks like a monster but actually respects and care about her. They can be Warden of the North together.
Gendry is a bastard, his mother wasn’t high-born: he’ll never be naturalized or made Lord of Storms End. He’s likely going to die anyway. Arya never wanted to be a Lady and spend her days raising children, that was never in her plan. She’s also likely going to die, her face being claimed by the House of Black and White
Arpeggi,
If and that’s only IF Jon somehow ends up on the throne, I can see a scenario where he legitimizes Gendry and rewards him with Storms End for his bravery in battle and helping them win back the throne. After all, Jon more than anyone knows all about being a bastard and wishing to be recognized.
Sansa’s only just started thinking of Jon as her real sibling/family; she didn’t like him growing up and even now it still feels as if she struggles sometimes (to see/treat him like a brother). I actually see the potential for chemistry between them – plus she’s jealous of Dany’s hold over Jon.
Me thinks there’s genuine potential for them to shock us with a Jon/Sansa arc.
With regards to Storms End/Baratheon name, I would actually be shocked if they don’t reward Gendry with it. Remember, he’s not only the last living Baratheon, he helped them mine the dragon glass; was instrumental in their quest beyond the wall to catch a wight; spear-headed the forging of all the dragon glass weapons; and fought bravely on the frontlines.
He did all of this and still found the time to (clears throat), service the youngest Stark daughter, who then went on to execute the indestructible Night King.
As long as they can arrange a mechanism by which he recuses himself from any claim to the throne once he’s been legitimised; I don’t see a problem.
In fact, Arya is probably due a reward or prize for saving mankind, I can imagine her asking for Gendry’s legitimization as her reward.
@Bella,
Re: servicing the youngest Stark daughter, lol I know you meant that as a little joke, but I just remembered the conversation Bronn and Jaime had last season before they sacked the Reach.
Jaime ponders what they are all fighting for. And he posits its for love. I’d say in that moment, cold-blooded assassin Arya actually found another motivation to keep fighting to stay alive. Love. I know I’m reaching, but it could be yet another way things said in previous seasons come full circle.
I completely agree, Regina. 💕😘
That extra determination to take on death came from finally tasting the love of a good man. 😊
I might be the minority here, but I am glad that the zombie plot is done now. I’m glad the army of the dead won’t drag on all season. I’m much more intrigued with what they’re planning to fill 3 more episodes with. And I also loved The Long Night, almost everything about it. I hope this next episode will answer some questions though, like why was Bran warging the whole time?
Also, what if Dany’s vision wasn’t snow, what if it’s ashes in King’s Landing? My husband thinks Cersei will blow up all of KL including herself before she’ll let them take the iron throne. Ashes in Cersei’s mouth?
Questions like where oh where is Ser Bronn of the Blackwater?
I asked that every same question above.
I’ve had the same theory as your husband ever since Cersei blew up the Sept. She’s aware that lots of people want to kill her, and she won’t give anyone that satisfaction. I think Cersei will go out in her own terms, and with a bang. Literally.
Everyone is talking about Dany possibly becoming a “Mad Queen”. We already have a Mad Queen and she’s been sitting on the throne for a while now.
This! Also for all the talk about who has a legitimate claim to the throne, can talk about the fact that Cersei has none. She put herself on the throne because there was no one there to stop her. It was cunning, ruthless, and smart but it still doesn’t change the fact that she has no business being there.
I also think she will blow up KL. There’s no way around it unless they kill Cersei first. She would rather raze the city than see her enemies rule.
‘I will burn CITIES to the ground before I let that happen!’
I always saw it as ash seeing how the throne room was destroyed by what looked like fire.
I think the vision could be ash or snow; she does walk out of the throne room, through the Wall, and then into the hut with Khal Drogo. So snow makes sense, because of the Wall, but she is also visibly cold at that point, which she isn’t in the throne room. So ash also makes sense, especially considering the destruction.
I watched it a 4th time standing in front of the screen and with the brightness all the way up. And I think I pretty much was able to make sense and get through all of the chaos of the action. I think they got it right. Every part. And for those who say the NK was easy to kill, he actually wasn’t. Dany and Jon tried but he brought a thick storm with zero visibility.
Jon actually charged at him on dragon back thousands of feet up in the air as each dragon ripped at each other. Then Danny knocks NK off and he still survived. She hits him with fire, he still survived.
Jon on foot goes to square up with him one on one and NK smartly enough I guess knows how vulnerable he’d be to Jon’s Valyrian steel sword, so he cock blocks him by raising the dead. He was ready for all of it.
It made sense that the only way to catch him was off guard and in stealth mode. Arya ambushed him using the element of surprise. She stabbed him directly in the heart.
Anyway, Dany and Jon’s armies are tired from battle.Their army a lot smaller than before. Killing Cersei will NOT be a breeze. Her army is fresh and rested and ready to go. They have another Scorpion which may take down a dragon before its all done. And possibly wildfire.
Use the dragons in the dark.
You are so right. The dude was indestructible for goodness sake….he was smirking after a good long blast of dragon fire!
And you forgot to add Theon’s (pointless) charge to your list as well.
I think people were hoping for some sort of long, drawn out physical exchange, sword fight or even hand to hand combat….maybe to see what the NK is made of in close quarters….like Oberon vs the Mountain, The Hound vs Brienne, hell even Brienne vs Arya. That would have satisfied more people, I think.
Totally forgot to add Theon’s last stand. Thanks
Also, had Arya failed and gotten her neck snapped, it was only a matter of seconds or minutes that everyone else would have died. Dany would have been overrun without Jorah the meat shield. Jon alrwady seemed like he thought it was a wrap for them when he faced down Viserion for one last stand. Forget about the rest inside the walls and the crypt.
HAHA Jorah the meat shield. At one point, I think she was helping him up and he moved to stop her getting stabbed but it honestly looked like she pushed him into the line of a spear/sword.
@Lindy
Omg I thought it was just me that thought at one point she totally moved him right in front of her to stop from getting stabbed. Lmao
@Bella,
I too wanted to see a good hand to hand combat with someone and the NK, but upon thinking about it, and by the way he was acting, I think he knew how vulnerable he’d be to Valyrian steel. He saw Jon kill one of his generals with it at Hardhome. His strategy was to keep himself surrounded. Theon was only equipped with a dragon glass spear which wouldn’t have killed him either. He kept Jon at bay by using Viserion to keep him from getting to the Godswood. He just never expected “no one” to run up on him.
@ Jorah the Meat shield 😂😂
@ Regina
I also thought I was the only one misreading it…..she *absolutely* stepped behind him and pointed his body just so, to take the knife in the gut. In fact I think that’s the most ruthless thing I’ve seen her do so far.
that is a good point; I think Arya killing him seemed “easy” but several other people tried to kill him, and couldn’t. Dragonfire – no. Jon couldn’t get to him. Theon couldn’t do it. Those last few minutes of the battle are so full of despair because everyone knows at that point that they have no chance left. I was even saying to my husband – “oh my god what now?? they cant kill him. There’s nothing they can do.” I think that’s why Jon was just yelling at Viserion. Useless, yes, ha, but that was probably how he felt at that moment.
Arya was a split second away from being killed by the NK. It was only through her extensive training that she was able to defeat him.
Dany’s armies took a massive hit during this campaign, and that’s an ugly story choice for a well-intentioned character, as compared to Cersei’s more calculated decisions. That’s something people who criticize her presence in the North should keep in mind when it comes to the conflict of Northern independence. They may get it, but it certainly came at the expense of others. The power dynamics are not so simple as the story is playing them up to me, and the writers need to not forget that.
Yes, the Northerners wanted Dany to take her army and dragons and go home. I hope they realize now that they’d all be dead without Dany’s army’s great sacrifices (Missandei said something like that to Sansa, but it wasn’t strong enough, imho). The North wants to be a separate kingdom, but they were much stronger united. And if they think Cersie will leave the North alone after she defeats Dany, the Northerners are even dumber than I thought. I think this past battle teaches both side about cooperation and not, as Davos says, squabbling over a throne.
I was sadder than I thought I’d be to see the Dothraki so annihilated. 🙁
Visually it was stunning and terrifying, the gradual silence and the lights being extinguished but strategically, it made no effing sense whatsoever to have them charging into darkness like that. I understand after Visceron they may have wanted to keep the dragons out of the firing line as much as possible in case they lose them too but get Drogon to do a quick fly by into the forest, light it up so they could at least see what they were charging, or to draw them out into the catapult fire but nope, 1000s of dothraki fighters charging at what they knew was well over 100k undead, it was stupid.
It didn’t make sense militarily, but from a budgetary perspective, it saved the show millions $$, having to shoot hours and hours of footage with horses in the mix as well as all the other expensive elements like the dragons and zombies.
True, true.
@Bella – that was kind of my thought with the Dothraki. It was “beautiful” in terms of cinematic effect, with the swords lighting up, and then you could see everyone felt a little bit of hope at that point, and then the lights going out. But I also think part of it was to avoid shooting a large battle with the horses lol.
Yep a very big flaw. Have the dragons go in first. Wipe out as many dead as possible and then attack.
I was more angered by it than saddened. It’s not just a matter of the implications of wiping out a huge segment of POC in the cast, it’s the fact of how they were treated by Northerners and how it’s framed later. If the show treats the Dothraki like a minor loss, when in reality the North needs to be reconcile the desire of their independence against the sacrifice made by a foreign armies for their safekeeping, I’m going to be very irritated.
@Veronica – I’m pretty sure its going to be treated as a minor loss by everyone except Dany.
I’m afraid that’s exactly what’s going to happen, and it’s going to be infuriating. Not the least because they effectively destroyed any idea of “breaking the wheel” by wiping out any non-European adjacent cultural agents under Dany on a metatextual level.
@ Veronica – I agree. I thought Missandei’s comments to Sansa weren’t strong enough. People like Grey Worm were out their risking and sacrificing their lives to protect ungrateful northerners — the Northerners who, days earlier, wanted Dany’s armies to leave. I don’t understand why so many people think the Northerners are these good, smart people — they have actually been shown to be rather dumb and ungrateful. I would like the show to acknowledge the sacrifices made to protect them, but I doubt that will happen.
I wasn’t bothered by the dark. I thought it was sort of a genius way to make us work to see what was happening similarly to how anyone fighting would have to work to see that night. I rewound and rewatched multiple parts to get a full view. And ultimately, I think this show was always going to come down to this damn throne. The NK served his purpose. The alternative would be that what?-the NK wins and heads to Cersei…and wins again? Eh. Family and politics is where GoT started and where it’ll end.
I’m not sure that Clegane Bowl will actually happen. The Hound has changed mightily since the beginning of the series. I’m not sure his heart is really still in it.
Arya, on the other hand, still has the Mountain on her list. Something may come from that.
The Hound does seem to be more into the protector role (how awesome was he when Beric pointed Arya out, he didn’t even think twice) but he seemed well up for it at the Dragon Pit last season, so maybe now the undead are no longer a threat he will probably step up. I cannot see D&D not giving the fan service.
I really feel like there’s going to be some twist, it won’t just end with whoever taking down Cersei…
And people complaining about the darkness – either fix your tv settings or get your eyes checked? It was a night battle and was masterfully lit.
We watched the episode again last night. I liked it more the second time, because I was less anxious and so could appreciate things more, like the timing, the music, Lyanna mormont’s courage, the moment between Sansa and tyrion.
We played with the settings on our TV more and made it like 1% better, which is ludicrous. But what was clear, is that there were obviously things you weren’t supposed to be able to see, because of the darkness (like when Jorah returns from the Dothraki, you aren’t supposed to be able to tell if he’s alive or dead, injured etc, or when the dragons are caught in the snowstorm) and some things that I think you were supposed to be able to see, that you couldn’t because of the lighting. So no, upon rewatching, it is clear to me that its not as simple as ‘you weren’t supposed to be able to see.’
Anyway, I do feel like the battle with Cersei is going to be a letdown now, so I am interested to see what they do with the next three episodes.
The music was phenomenal
It really was, and there was a point where for a fairly extended stretch of time there was a beat that sounded like a heartbeat. Then, as the tension increased the beat speeded up. It was great…so primal.
Came here to say the same thing. The music was incredible. I’ve watched the episode 3 times and my favorite part is the first 4-5 minutes when everyone is getting into place and the music sounds like a heartbeat. The first time I watched the episode, I actually thought “is that music or my own heartbeat?” – because the tension was so thick, my heart was beating out of my chest! I also loved the music at the end of the episode. Beautiful bookends on an incredible episode.
Cersei might not the final problem. Dany stands a real shot at it herself.
She’s been displaying worrying tendencies for quite some time. Add to that the fact that she knows only how to conquer – and that was with armies she no longer has – and has not shown any aptitude at actually ruling.
With the loss of said armies she’s going to have to rely on Westerosi men to fight for her in her name. How long would it really take for the flush of success of following besting the army of the dead at Winterfell to turn to discontent? Especially considering it was a Stark that saved everyone, one who seems to have placed her trust rather firmly in her rightfully distrustful sister.
And, yes, there are two dragons left, but one has accepted Jon. If Dany pointed her paranoia at someone close to Jon – Sansa, Arya, or Sam come to mind – then who does he stand by?
@ Terra
You know, I have to be honest, I don’t see what worrying tendencies Dany’s been displaying? Let me quickly run down the ones people seem to complain about the most:
1) She executed Lord Tarly and son with dragon fire. And? She gave the treacherous mofo 3 choices: kneel, go to the wall or burn. He INSISTED on burning and his son invited himself to the bonfire.
2) Her reaction when Jon told her of his parentage. I’m not sure how people expected her to receive the news that the promotion she’d spent her life working towards would be handed off to someone else, solely on the word of his personal peeps. Pfft!
Are you kidding me? Was she supposed to jump for joy at the news because Jon is a good kisser and has such pretty hair?
In general, I think people forget the magnitude of the task she’s taking on here. She a beautiful, teenage girl, aspiring to rule 7 kingdoms, parts of which are led by the most ruthless, brutal, monsters imaginable. (Ie the standard patriarchal society on speed). Nothing she’s done so far even compares in any way to the sh*t others have done. Examples:
– Tywin & the rains of Castamere
– The Frey’s and the brutality of the red wedding
– The Boltons and their countless atrocities
– The Mountain and his many atrocities
– Cersei and the blowing up of 1,000’s of people in the Sept.
There is no way a young, petite, aesthetically gifted (i.e. easily dismissible) girl like Daenerys has a chance of winning and holding on to power over a place like Westeros, teeming with patriarchal poison, without showing she has a spine of fortified steel and can be as ruthless as the worst of them, if need be.
If anything, personally, I think she’s been quite restrained, actually.
You summed this up perfectly! I’m sick and tired of this misogyny regarding Daenerys!
Your list of other people with atrocities on the ledger? Yeah, I agree. The only one on that list I didn’t want dead, like, immediately was Tywin and that was because he was such an interesting character. But just because one person has done a bad thing doesn’t mean they’re the *only* person who has.
I don’t want to get into nitpicking about individual actions all over the place, but let’s stick with a recent one which I think says a lot about her character: she refused to fight unless Jon gave up his crown to her – until *she* felt invested for herself. Screw all those innocent people – they were only worth saving if they were going bow to her.
You’re asking her to risk her life, her children and the lives of tens of thousands of hard fought for army and followers……for some random war…and then afterwards what? She skulks back to wherever she came from with whatever’s left of her wretched army, empty handed??
I don’t think so…… I think it’s a fair exchange. 🙃 😊
I did think Dany’s story could take that route, but that ship has sailed. Some seasons ago she had a discussion with Tyrion about Daario, and she said something like “I cast away a man I loved and I felt nothing”. At that point I thought maybe Dany is just another Targaryen like the rest of them.
But that ship has sailed, if Dany truly were a “Mad Queen” there’s LOTS of things she could’ve done differently. And from a writing point of view, what’s the point of doing that to her character? We already have a Mad Queen, one who is ruthless, corrupt and machiavelian – Cersei. What would the point be, turning Dany into another Cersei?
They were asking her to fight for all of humanity, not in ‘some random war.’ If the dead won there would have been no throne for her at all. And a ruler who is not willing to fight for their people is one not worthy of the honor.
And, yes, if people *want* to bend the knee that’s fine, but what about personal choice if that’s *not* what if a person or a kingdom wants to do? But for Dany it was bend the knee or die. Funny, but that’s how Cersei feels about things, too.
Dany doesn’t do anything particularly worse than any of the men in the story. And I am fine with her having flaws and making mistakes and having to learn to be a better ruler (she was, what, fourteen when the story starts?), but it’s the way it’s been framed in the narrative and by the actors/writers that infuriates me because they single her out for criticism in a way that none of the men are. (Don’t even get me started on the treatment of Sansa story-wise.) That’s where I think the misogyny really stands out.
In the case of the NK fight, what really bothers me is this continued notion people have that Dany is consistently in the wrong, that somehow Sansa has something over her because Arya killed the Night King. But realistically, she just lost a MASSIVE portion of her army fighting the Night King. And yes, it ultimately was for the protection of the whole world, but the Northerners were first in the path. This is their eradication that was stopped first – and it wasn’t THEIR troops on the front lines, even after we saw how terribly they treated the Dothraki among Dany’s troops. They don’t get to go home, but the North certainly will. Which makes the argument that Sansa has the upper hand ridiculous to me. The argument for Northern independence is not so simple, and the story needs to stop treating it as such at this point.
I’m surprised about such harsh criticism of The Long Night from people online, OK the episode was flawed in some ways but the more I think about it the more it makes sense and the more I appreciate how they tied up clues from previous episodes/seasons.
I suspect Cersei might play with wildfire. But I think instead of a cinematic spectacle the finale will be more of an emotional wrecking.
Also, Littlefinger had green eyes. I would hate it if it were Arya to kill Cersei, that would be too much.
I think people were just so hyped up to see some deaths, and the fact that the only “big” deaths we got were Jorah and Theon seemed almost disappointing, which is messed up, lol. But I know for me, I was prepared to be a mess on Sunday night and then I was just like, “oh okay, yay for Arya!” It also seemed slightly unrealistic, like some of those people 100% “should” have died.
But upon rewatching, I appreciated the actual battle a lot more, and the sense of chaos and confusion. It wasn’t the best episode of GOT in my opinion, but it was really good.
The scene with the dragons above the clouds was beautiful.
I agree everyone really on the front line should’ve died – Sam to begin with – though I think many of those characters’ deaths are being saved for later for storytelling purposes. I was surprised at how emotional I was about the fate of secondary characters that didn’t interest me much previously – like Grey Worm and the Unsullied, or Lyanna Mormont who was becoming annoying in previous episodes. And of course Theon and Jorah. So Brienne or Jaime or Tyrion not dying didn’t diminish the emotional impact, for me. Frankly, if we’re talking about realism, Jon should’ve died in the widely acclaimed Battle of the Bastards, or beyond the wall when they lost the dragon, so it’s nothing new that some characters have plot armours.
And Melisandre
Is there any wildfire left? I thought it was all used in the battle of blackwater and the rest when she blew up the sept.
There are supposed to be caches set up all over the area from when Aerys was king, but even if they didn’t go by that story, I’m sure Qyburn and his alchemists would be able to produce more.
@Anitas,
Yep, if anyone can recreate wildfire, Mr “I can reanimate a dead Mountain” can. He is a Maester after all.
Qyburn isn’t a Maester, the Citadelle kicked him out before he could get the title because he’s a pervert who loves to play with corpses (and people that are very alive still, I’m afraid) a little bit too much. There are things you can’t do in the name of science (and I say this as a scientist myself!). But yes, if it’s deadly and a little bit crazy, you can bet that Qyburn will have tried, and probably succeeded, at replicating it. That’s one character I hope Arya gets to kill.
@Arpeggi,
I worded that wrong but yes you are correct he’s a disgraced wanna be Maester lol. What I mean is that he possesses lots of knowledge from being there for however long he was there.
I’ve read the battle with Cersei might be the next 2 episodes (build up and actual battle) then the last will be between Dany and Jon and that resolution, which does make sense but I honestly have no clue.
It does make sense and I think that’s likely what will happen. I think next week will be setting up the tying things up at Winterfell, leading up to the KL battle, potentially Bronn trying to assassinate Tyrion and Jaime and maybe Yara taking back the grey islands before coming to join the main battle.
I think Cersei is the harder battle. Not only does she have a massive army now, but there’s complicated emotions at play. I’d rather they get to that than drag out fighting the undead. The Night King was obviously the immediate threat but that doesn’t make him the biggest one. Cersei is diabolical and desperate for power. Throw in Jaime and all of the other people she’s hurt and it’s a much bigger situation than the NK imo
The Nk was also an “easy” battle in that it was an absolute. It’s easy to decide to fight against an army that is “absolutely bad.” The NK was just bad. No gray areas to him, no backstory really, etc – all of which is okay, but it took a lot of emotion out of the battle. I mean it was still emotional, but there were no questions of divided loyalty or possible backstabbing or anything. Those are things we will see with Cersei.
As much as I hate Cersei and am ready to see her die, killing her will not be an easy task. She’s very clever and a survivor. Luckily for her though she has a weakness, her arrogance. I hope Jaime or Tyrion are the one to kill her.
*pushes glasses up* I believe Melisandre said “brown eyes, green eyes, and even blue eyes”… which I took to mean white walkers/the Night King. Can Arya wear his face?
I think a lot of us are getting screwed by our cable providers. The first time I watched it (verizon fios), the quality was so bad that I thought our TV was done. I watched it the second time on the HBO app and it was perfectly clear, still dark but clear. I’ll be watching all the episodes that way from now on.
Just throwing this out there since everyone is wondering where Bronn is – Cersei told him not to let her brother’s back in King’s Landing. I don’t think that means go up to Winterfell and kill them, I think that means watch for their return and your only job is to take them out.
I would have loved to have seen the dead destroyed by Wildfire my only sadness that they never reached Kings Landing.
I cant find the specific comments now, but Cersei will definitely kill herself if she doesn’t defeat Dany (if no one kills her first.) remember – “you win or you die.” She’s going to make sure that if she doesn’t win, she dies. and we all know she is not going to die quietly.
I agree, if she looses the battle she’ll kill herself and take everyone in KL with her.
If the the final conflict is going to come down to two women battling to be queen, with them acting as foils where the drive for power is a corrosive force that must be morally rectified, then I can tell you right now that if Jon Snow winds up on that goddamn throne, I am going to flip shit. If any man winds up on that throne, I will flip shit. I don’t care if it’s Dany or Sansa or Arya or, f*ck me, if the Iron Throne is gone altogether by the end, but if it ends any way beyond that, I’m going to be furious. I have had my fill of D&D’s sexist AF storytelling at this point that if they blow it that badly by the end, I’m going to personally call up GRRM and tell him to get his ass on the typewriter because he certainly could not do worse at this point.
I’m laughing at your response but I kind of agree with it. There are so many strong women on the show, women who have fought for their families, for their position – if it goes to jon snow – that would be……well, kind of a slap in the face.
My guess at the beginning of the season was that it was going to be jon snow on the throne, I’m not so sure after the battle of winterfell.
Trust me, I cannot believe I’ve allowed this dumb fantasy series get my goat like this, but after years of listening to the writer’s idiotic sexist comments and ego-fluffing (despite their mediocre writing), it just make me all the more irritated at the thought of male characters benefiting from the work and suffering of the female cast who strove to get to the end. It just magnifies that sense of the fantasy being out of women’s reach in fiction, that even in a world with dragons and magic, we can’t end the story on the throne as the Good Queen with the handsome man on the arm.
If they survive, I think Jon and Daenerys will wed, and that will solve all problems. She can be the first queen, he’s her husband, they’re all one big happy family with whomever is left alive. Royalty that suits pretty much everyone.
I agree that it felt a little anti-climactic to have had so many of the main characters live, but we still have half the season left to go! More, actually, if you consider that the second half of the season has episodes that are nearly twice as long as usual. We did lose a bunch, though: Jorah Mormont, Dolorous Edd, Lyanna Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Theon, Melisandre, nearly all of the Dothraki, and The Night King…not to mention all of the other deaths of characters whose names are unknown or are lesser known. That list is not actually small potatoes.
And now that they’ve been culled, the losses will hit harder and harder as the episodes progress.
Melisandre is still alive, she can be seen in the preview.
Melisandre dies at the end of episode three. She removed her necklace walked out into the snow, withered, and died. It was the last scene of the episode.
Also, count me as one who will be pissed if Dany vs Jon is the big twist and final battle. But the more I think about it, realistically, I don’t see anyone on the throne. The person with the strongest claim (Jon) doesn’t want it and at this late in the game folks may not believe that he’s the son of Rhaegar Targaryen anyway. I really don’t think it’s going to be Dany. And there is literally no one else. There really is no logical reason to have the Iron Throne suddenly given to Bran, Sansa, Gendry, or anyone else. It’s just not how those things work.
I’m excited for Cersei being back on the scene and seeing where this goes. She’s stronger maybe in troops, but she’s not surrounded by the same strength in brains. Euron brings the crazy, though, and sometimes that helps a lot.
Bran has been the bookies favourite to somehow rule Westeros for a while. Not necessarily on an Iron Throne. I thought that was very odd but now I wonder if it’s due to some inside info. Sure people sign NDAs but does that prevent them from betting on the outcome?
I don’t want either Dany or Jon to ‘win’. He’s dull and has a martyr complex, she’s entitled and lusts for power.
guess i gotta embargo your site since you cannot bother to keep spoilers out of your GOT story headlines, good job!