After all these days , the White Walkers and their regular army arrived at Winterfell , where the amassed armies of the North and Daenerys ’ flock have joined force to defend for not just their endurance , but for the selection of humanity as a whole . This conflict has been tease since the show began in 2011 , so it need to be implausibly epic — more epic than all the other epical battles the serial publication has given us . This was a intimidating task , and Game of Thrones succeeded — but somehow , this incredibly major episode does n’t feel quite as satisfying as it should .
Look , I do have a few quibble , but rest assured , I was on the edge of my seat just like the relaxation of you for the integrality of “ The Long Night , ” wholly absorb by the battle on the screen — a fight , by the way , that took the entireness of the instalment ’s super - sized 82 - minute runtime .
Part of my excitement was based on my prevision to see it , of course , but a lot of it was because of the consummate work of director Miguel Sapochnik . If you ’re a Game of Thrones rooter and do n’t experience this name , pity on you . He ’s direct the two biggest and best conflict in the series , namely“Hardhome”and“Battle of the Bastards . ”The man ’s got natural endowment for putting state of war on camera , I do n’t mean just captivate it on camera ; I mean building the story of the war so that the stakes always keep rising .
Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Ser Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) get ready to have a very bad night.Photo: (HBO)
Like “ Hardhome , ” the reason the fight in “ The Long Night ” work so damn well is because of how splendidly it ’s constructed . The episode lead off with a long tour ofWinterfell , including the country inside the keep and the soldiers and defence construct alfresco , found a geography for all the fighting to arrive . It also establishes the tautness , from the unrestrained activity inside the keep to the innumerous disquieted faces staring out of it , waiting for an enemy they have a go at it is there and could strike at any clip . The installment builds on this immediately , as Melisandre blesses the Dothraki ’s swords and sets them on ardor , so they should be even more effective when they snipe — but instead , after the Dothraki twit into the night to meet their enemy , the fire merely serves as lights in the distance which terrifyingly go out , one by one .
That ’s the first time things get sorry for the upright bozo , but it ’s for certain not the last . The army of the beat plan of attack , although they ’re less like an USA than a giant dateless wave of running game corpse , so many that they can crash against pretty much all of Winterfell ’s force at once . The battle is impressively chaotic , even compare to other GoT battle , which keeps thing finger tense even when Daenerys and Jon and their flying dragon go far to start up set large swathes of the undead on flack .
But there are so many Isle of Wight that even taking out a hundred at a metre achieve much nothing , and it has the unintended effect of having the White Walkers summon a gargantuan wintertime tempest to mess with Jon and Dany ’s firedrake — which not only makes thing more helter-skelter , the low visibleness means the Night King can attack Jon and Dany one at a prison term and then hide again , completely negating their two against one advantage .
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) enjoy a very brief light show.Image: (HBO)
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Back on the ground , thing get bad . All the human armies have to diminish back , and Dany and Jon are too engaged and too blinded to see Davos ’ signal that they want to light up the big fire trench . After several useless attack arrows , Melisandre use her Lord of Light power to set it aroused , and it seem that the unspoiled guys have bought themselves some fourth dimension to breathe . That last all of a arcminute , until wights start drop themselves on the flak , smothering the flames through the sheer amount of body sacrificing themselves . Everyone is forced back into Winterfell , where they describe the walls .
If the soldier were nervous before , trying to prevent the endless armies of the dead from enter Winterfell makes them desperate . The creature do that thing where they just bang themselves at the walls , each of them trying to climb the other so as to reach the top — and there are just so many wights that it does n’t take long for them to start pouring into Winterfell , where the fight in the courtyard turns into pure pandemonium , and there ’s no design of plan of attack other than “ kill as many wights as you could before you of necessity get overwhelmed . ”
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) enjoy a very brief light show.Image: (HBO)
By this tip , pretty much all of the main character who are fighting have nearly been killed , or kill outright : Arya save the Hound , Edd saves Samwell … but Samwell is n’t able to save Edd . Lady Lyanna Mormontis defeat by an undead giant … although the tiny badass manages to kill say giant by shove a dragonglass vane through its eye , destroying one of the White Walkers ’ most powerful minions .
But the wights are endless , and those fiber who are n’t so overwhelmed with foes they ca n’t move , manoeuvre into the keep where thing go from heroic to terrifying . Basically , the episode turn into a horror film , as characters race through Winterfell ’s strangle corridors to either extend or hide . Despite being a very effective whirling dervish of wight destruction , the bushed overrun even Arya , who become her point slammed so uncollectible she sort of reverts to her pre - Faceless military personnel training , and is actually scared of the unstoppable dead .
I ’m sure some the great unwashed are pissed by the melodic theme that Arya can still get scared ( or that Arya did n’t get to drink down the entire army of the dead herself ) but it ’s actually pretty powerful to see her , as incredibly in force as she is at killing her enemies , get so overwhelmed her façade cracks , that all she can do is run . In fact , she only survives because Beric Dondarrion throws his flame blade at a wight who ’s half a second from killing her , although Beric loses his final life in the operation . Happily , Arya runs into Melisandre , who helpfully steer out that Beric kept getting raise because he had a function , and that purpose was apparently saving Arya . The red priestess even manages to give Arya a picayune pep talking , require her , “ What do we say to the god of death ? ” “ Not today , ” Arya answers ( recall Syrio Forel ’s words to her in time of year one ) , and run off .
Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya (Maisie Williams), seen not having a weird -ass conversation where they threaten each other.Image: Helen Sloan (HBO)
The fact that the wights can rattle even Arya makes the White Walkers seem even more undefeatable , even while their forces already come along to be simple minute aside from killing every chief fibre presently in Winterfell . All this while , the main conflict proceed to rage on both inside and outside the keep , so we know that whatever our grinder are doing , they ’re not in reality achieving anything other than surviving .
The highlighting of the episode , however , is the battle in the strain . Jon is finally able to catch up with the Night King , and the flying dragon fight that occurs is truly amazing . Rhaegal and the ice dragon formerly known as Viserion bite and chela at each other viciously , as well as at their riders . The Night King also has one of those dragon - killing ice spears that he tries to lob at Rhaegal , except the fight is too phrenetic to give him a chance to use it — particularly after Daenerys slams into them , knock the Night King off Viserion , and down several hundred foot to the solid ground below .
The fall , of course , does n’t anguish the Night King at all , but it does allow Daenerys to shoot him correctly in the aspect with a hearty 30 second or so of dragonfire . Although things have gone completely off the track , this was the plan Jon , Dany , and the others made last week , because if they could vote down the Night King , all the other White Walkers will disintegrate and the wights will stop moving ( hopefully ) . Since dragonfire destroys anything and everything , you might recollect that an evil ice elemental might be spare - sensitive to fire damage . You ’d be wrong ! The Night King does n’t get a kale and does n’t move an column inch , then he literally smirks and starts walk to Winterfell to ascertain and kill the Three - Eyed Raven .
Varys (Conleth Hill) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), just chillin’ in the crypts of Winterfell.Image: Helen Sloan (HBO)
Jon , who has landed with Rhaegal after he was too wounded to fly , run to endeavor to kill the Night King himself — unfortunately , the King knows he ’s coming . In another move , calculated and timed to inflict the maximal amount of desperation his enemies finger , the Night King lento turns to face Jon , then pulls his infamous “ raising the roof ” move — and Jon runs to stop him before he can finish the Resurrection of Christ , but he does n’t even get close . Suddenly , all the citizenry who died fighting the wights stand up , because they ’re now wights . admit small Lady Mormont .
While Jon fights these young soldier of the Night King for his life-time yet again , the Night King and the other White Walkers enter Winterfell , head straight for the Godswood , where Theon Greyjoy and his Iron Islanders have done an awing job protect Bran from the wights , but now they ’re out of ammo and all dead except for the former ward of Ned Stark . Theon knows what he has to do , even though he do it it wo n’t work — but first the Bran part of the Three - Eyed Raven is capable to recite Theon he ’s a respectable human race , and thank him . This ultimate pardon for his crime against Winterfell contribute Theon the braveness to run at the Night King with a dragonglass fishgig . He gets himself wipe out almost instantly .
While an unprotected Bran and all the White Walkers look off , here ’s how everything else is fit : Jon has fight his way into the castle , but gets immobilise down by the Night King ’s dragon , which constantly terminate blasts of blue flame , render Jon unable to get anywhere utilitarian . Daenerys , flung from her dragon after Isle of Wight swarmed it , is found by Jorah but the two are surrounded by the Night King ’s Modern minions , who inflict several thousand wounds on Jorah as he protect his queen regnant . All the other major characters are still fighting for their lives and appear to uniformly be doing a terrible job at it . Even in the crypts of Winterfell , where the women , children , Tyrion , and Varys are holed up , somehow wights break in and raise havoc . Everything is wholly fucked for everybody , and with both Jon and Dany and their dragons out of the picture , it seems like no one can barricade the Night King from kill Bran .
as luck would have it , “ no one ” is on the causa . A extremely trained assassin teach by the Faceless Men , Arya appears out of nowhere and leaps at the Night King with the Valyrian steel dagger Bran give her a few episode ago . The Night King catches her tongue arm and her pharynx … but then Arya drops the brand into her other bridge player and stabs the Night King in the gut . He explode in a exhibitor of ice-skating rink . The other White Walkers explode in similar rain shower . All the wights instantly stop , then strike down as if their marionette strings had been cut back — including the ice dragon that had cornered Jon . And just like that , the state of war is over , about 80 moment after it start .
I honestly enjoy that Arya is the one who redeem the world . It feels like an arbitrary choice — there ’s no real narration tension between her and the Night King because Arya had never even heard of the White Walkers before she refund to Winterfell — but this feels very on brand for Game of Thrones , especially in how it sidelined the two most major characters , Jon and Dany , who in traditional fantasy history would be the single to save the day .
Still , the real hero of the episode is film director Sapochnik , whose virtuoso ability to continually ratchet up the tautness and the drama get to “ The Long Night ” so good . The menace of the Night King and his minion only get more intimidating as time blend in on . Every time there seems to be some hope for the beneficial guys — destitute flame swords for the Dothraki , the Night King knocked off his flying dragon and vulnerable — that hope is taken off and break down . The fight gets more and more desperate until it seems like the only possible outcome is gross defeat . This is an incredible accomplishment when you remember that Sapochnik ’s maintaining this gradual increment of latent hostility and mode for the totality of a individual , 82 - minute fight — cannily pass audiences small breaks from the action , such as checking in with Sansa and Tyrion , or a placid import with Bran and Theon in the Godswood , or even when Arya ’s plot line turns into a horror picture show for a moment . They help keep audience from getting overwhelm … and/or bored , which is no small feat when a substantial portion of the episode ’s runtime is of near - ups of unknown characters swinging weapons at enemies in obscured lighting .
There ’s more to care than that , though . I do n’t think Jorah ’s death prospect was particularly move , but it was a salutary mode for the role to go . I care that Theon begin that last bit of pardon before give himself , and I like how Bran had enough humanity left in him to verify Theon have it off he was forgiven . I like how Beric ’s many Resurrection of Christ were explain — because he had to spare Arya in that one moment — and I also wish how Melisandre , her mission over , decide to walk into the snow , take off the magic necklace that keeps her looking young , get very honest-to-goodness and become flat , all while a very broken Davos scout .
As large as all this is , there were definitely progeny . As giant as the scrap setting seemed , there was a lotobscured by darknessor a CG snowstorm or fume or just about anything . Sometimes it leave the impression that we were watching an epic struggle that we just could n’t make out peculiarly well . More troublingly , correspond a battle that we ’ve been anticipating for seven and a third seasons into a exclusive episode — regardless of whether it ’s 82 min or not — construct the entire conflict feel kind of small . Sure , the White Walkers defeat a gazillion the great unwashed , but it only occupy the forces of honorable 82 minutes to kill them . So much was forcibly pack into this installment that literally none of the non - dark King White Walkers did anything . They achieved nothing , no one even got to fight them . As long as the episode was , and as exciting as it was , it somehow still feel like there ask to be more .
In a agency , it ’s kind of lame the fight against the White Walkers only lasted a single instalment , because taking guardianship of the entire , series - long threat in one fell slide is weirdly casual . I do n’t cognise if the show needed to make room for the event that will happen over the final three episode , but this was the central conflict of the entire show — or at least that ’s what we were told . I know Cersei needs to be defeated and the hereafter of Westeros decided , but I ’m apprehensive that these net three episode might feel less like a satisfying conclusion to the show , and more like a drawn-out epilogue with delusions of grandeur . If so , that would make it even more of a bummer that the veridical final engagement got deposit into a undivided episode .
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There ’s also the downside to Sapochnik ’s ability to continually raise the tension which is that things get so unspeakable for the heroes it seems insufferable that they ’ll be able to fulfil anything proceed onwards . It appeared that every single appendage of the alliance , other than principal characters , died dreadfully . Even Winterfell has been partially demolished good manners of the ice flying dragon . Based on what we find out in the episode , the entire North has fallen in and Winterfell for all intents and purpose destroy while reach a Pyrrhic victory write Westeros .
Of naturally , that ’s highly unlikely pass away to be true , because there are three instalment pull up stakes . Sure , things are going to be direful for the Targaryen / Stark - Targaryen coalition — very direful — but when installment four starts we wo n’t see the same decimation we experience in “ The Long Night . ” They ’ll at least have enough troops to put up some sort of fight , because otherwise , the show would n’t want three more full installment .
Speaking of , I now have a plenty of questions about these final three episodes . What will the end of the serial in reality be ? Can the show keep its impulse even though the “ main ” conflict has been resolved ? Will the veridical ending be good and more cheering than the engagement we just watched ? I certainly desire so , but the show just lay a middling mellow streak for itself with “ The Long Night . ” It had surprising twists , some major character end , and all the spectacle HBO ’s considerable show budget can buy . It ’s a great deal of what we watch and love the series for .
It also had the ultimate conflict of the entire series , and now the tarradiddle ’s elementary menace of the Night King and the White Walkers has been vote down . alas , I have my doubts that fighting Cersei and a bunch of sellswords is endure to have quite the narrative encroachment of a battle against the forces of last and darkness for the natural selection of humanity itself .
Assorted Musings:
Here ’s who give out : Jorah the Ex - Explorah , Theon , Melisandre ( felo-de-se by jewellery remotion ) , Beric Dondarrion , Li’l Lady Mormont , “ dolourous ” Edd of the Night ’s Watch , and that guy cable who led the Dothraki under Danaerys ’ program line , I think .
I was n’t certain about this , so I looked it up : Neither Drogon nor Rhaegal died , meaning they live to provide transportation to Dany and Jon for another day . With all their various wound , I was n’t sure . Viserion is very dead , though , thanks to Arya .
That wide shaft of the flame brand - wielding Dothraki blame across the plain towards the wights was awesome . I like the instalment had more stroke like that — at least jibe that were n’t obscured by the darkness and/or the snowstorm the Night King bring .
I really savour the talk between Tyrion and Sansa . ( Tyrion , facetiously : “ Maybe we should ’ve stayed matrimonial . ” Sansa , honestly : “ You were the best of them . ” Tyrion : “ What a terrific thought . ” ) But then the conversation kept going as if there really were some romantic feeling between the two ? Because Sansa responds to his caper about being wed by explaining a relationship between them would n’t work , but only because Tyrion serves Daenerys — as if to say if he were n’t Dany ’s Hand , Sansa would be interested . Anyone else disquiet by this ?
That was definitely Ghost who charged the enemy with the various armies in the origin . So … uh , is he alive ? Or should we assume that , like 98 per centum of the soldiers he was assault with , he died too ?
When Samwell gets knocked down , he sees a fervor , and seem to smile . Think he just hit his foreland too firmly … or did he see a imagination in the flames ?
I feel like Melisandre ’s last and only duty to the Lord of Light was to prod Arya with the “ And what do we say to death ? ” so she was able-bodied to kill the Night King . Mel ’s duties could n’t have demand lighting the Dothraki ’s brand on flak , because that achieved nothing , nor , patently , was she intended to light the fervidness trench , because it guide her about 18 tries before the Lord decide to give her the mogul .
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