Wow! Got 8.3 was as good as advertised. The Battle of Hardhome is still my favorite battle episode, but the Battle of Winterfell was just as good, if not better. It’s like watching a movie, but better. Lots of good stuff, lots for me to nitpick about as well. The writers did a good job of setting the scene in the beginning. You could sense anxiety, dread, fear, and even resignation, about what the good guys’ fates were going to be. Then out of the darkness, hope comes in the form of the white knight, rather red priestess, setting the Dothraki weapons on fire. It’s like Melisandre stoked the fires of hope. The Targaryens’ view from the cliff of the Dothraki fiery charge was magnificent, as was the tragic dimming of the flickering lights. Then the feeling of resignation sets in again in the faces of the infantry, as a few stragglers from the cavalry charge come back defeated. My nitpick about these scenes is that writers’ fantasy took over sound military principles. The show’s military advisers must have been disappointed that cinematic prerogative took over reality. The cavalry charge was doomed because they couldn’t see the enemy. And you don’t send the cavalry without softening up the battlefield - inadequate artillery barrage. This must have been like the doomed Polish cavalry charge in WW2 attacking Wehrmacht Panzers - both ended in tragedy. Dothraki charge was an idiotic utilization, and annihilation, of an effective fighting force. I doubt any military commander would have done the same. The defensive matrix of Winterfell was a shambles. The terrain was flat and featureless - ideal for a horde of mindless zombies. No series of interlocking trenches, just that one. The Czech hedgehogs were rendered useless because it did not effectively funnel the enemy into a killing zone for the archers and infantry. But what the hey, most people think the battle of Winterfell made for good cinema. And it was. As long as you ignore sound military principles. They were able to round up a column of Unsullied to protect Melisandre to light the trench, and she takes her sweet time walking out. Jeez, a couple of guys with torches would have taken less time to get the job done with that protection. lol I thought i was going to get battle fatigue watching this episode, and I’m a fan of battlefield gore and blood. I thought the writers did a good job of focusing on the characters’ struggles in lieu of rote blood and gore. I thought the writers did a good job of turning the halls of Winterfell and the crypt into a zombie horror show, breaking up battle fatigue. And still focusing on characters’ battles, especially Arya’s. The crypt turned into a death trap for the non-combatants. Lol Curious as to why the Night King was not incinerated when lit up by the dragon. Night King - first of his name, the Unburned, the first Targaryen ancestor?!?!? On Arya vs. Night King, this Arya fanboy screamed: FCUK. ARYA. YEAHHHHH ! That’s why, as I mentioned before, Arya’s my favorite character As to why the Army of the Dead have been offed in episode 3. Remember there are only 6 episodes. And there are two baddies - one to the north, and the one to the south. 3 episodes to deal with the northern enemy, and 3 episodes to deal with Cersei, seems like an equitable split. I realize the Night King and the Army of the Dead are essential baddies to this show, but to me, they are not as enjoyable an enemy as Cersei. Dragons, Night king, Army of the dead - they’re not real Bad people, like Cersei, now those are real. We deal with them everyday. Just like the show, bad people could be family or by marriage. [looks over shoulder] And that’s why I love this show. Not because of the CGI, dragons, and other nonsense. It’s a show like no other, where the women characters are strong and pivotal, and this is why 43% of this show’s audience are women [notwithstanding the gratuitous sex and rape scenes]. It deals with human strengths and frailties, and relationships. Witty dialogue, especially the truly priceless jabs and ripostes from and between Tywin and Olenna. In the back half of the season, will we see more CGI or will we go back to the witty dialogue between the characters that defined this show before the dragons and CGI took over? In the end, Brandon will become the root of the godswood beyond the Wall. Have I said that Arya’s my favorite character? Lol Does Dany still have an army, now that the Dothraki and the Unsullied, and the Northmen, have seemingly been annihilated? Jamie’s role will be pivotal now that the focus shifts south. Peace in the kingdom can be achieved once alliances are formed. There can be peace between Houses Stark and Lannister should Sansa accept Tyrion. Houses Stark and Barratheon seem to be united with Arya and Gendry. Houses Stark and Targaryen might be a little bit complicated since there are only 3 degrees of separation between the Targaryens. 4 degrees of separation - hell yeah they can fcuk their brains out. Lol
It just goes to show that Danys is not a military leader. She saw her Dothraki get wiped out and had a reaction to it that ruined their plans. Her and Jon were to sit and wait until they had to light the trenches. She ruined that when she stormed off to get on her dragon, and then Jon felt like he had no choice but to join her. I loved that scene where she had her dragon just blast the Night King with fire and he just stood there smiling.
The dagger meant to kill Bran saved his life. Whew pic.twitter.com/32kdP6lc6E— Laemedowne Velaryon (@sassnsmiles) April 29, 2019 I hadn't thought of that yet.
I was surprised with Arya to be honest, I thought it was someone else but you just knew something was going to happen when the one White Walker turned his head to look like he had heard something. Then she just jumps out. Fun fact, she stabbed the Night King in the same location the Children of the Forest stabbed the guy with the dragonstone that created him. That was also the same dagger they thought was used to try to assassinate Bran all those seasons ago.
I didn't get why Bran was suddenly warging/dreaming, until I realized that he needed to so that the Night King would know his exact location within Winterfell. This is also how he screwed the original Three Eyed Raven and the remaining Children of the Forest, but this time he used it to his advantage.
#RIP Jorah. He died as he lived: in the Friendzone.— Your Tiny Journalist Friend. (@thewayoftheid) April 29, 2019
Also: what exactly was Jon Snow's plan right before Arya killing the Night King saved his bacon considering the fact that facing off with wight Viserion like that would not have ended well for him?
Paul George says Arya took a bad shot #GameofThrones— David Steele (@David_C_Steele) April 29, 2019 LMAO! I think my favorite GoT tweets have been the NBA ones.
I think he knew something had to be done, he has a Valyrian steel sword, which kills those things so he had no problem sacrificing himself to rid of the dragon.
House Mormont was the bravest of them all. 💔 #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/oyeWACArmK— Jamie Jirak (@JamieCinematics) April 29, 2019 Is anyone left now? I guess not?
BTW, if you remember, Arya already used that "let the dagger switch hands" move on Brienne when they had their little sparring match last season.
Yeah, but even if his plan was just "I'm going to face down this dragon just with Longclaw", he could have gone about it in a smarter way.
Dudes obviously never read their Byron... https://www.aresearchguide.com/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade.html But more so. It's like the light brigade turned and fought for the Russkies when they died, isn't it.
So who were the "eyes" Melissandra spoke of with Arya? Blue I assume is the Night King. Still mad at the writers. 1). Couldn't see shit; 2) What's with the lost dragons in space?
I read that the bad visuals in some scenes were due to video compression and the fact that many TVs aren't automatically set to the right setting to properly screen such (dark) scenes. Those are two things that are out of the control of the show's creators. Although I guess it's a creative choice to stage this battle during the nighttime.
I was also super upset there were no fights with the White Walkers. In the entire show, we saw what...2-3 fights with them and in this episode...ZERO! All this Valerian steel and no fights with WWs. Sad.
That's not where it started, it started with ice zombies that weren't supposed to exist slaughtering Night's Watchmen. The point of all the family drama was in how ultimately pointless it all was compared to that society-ending threat. And yeah, the showrunners eventually got caught up in that being the most important thing, tv being tv and all, and they probably realized that's what a lot of people enjoyed and decided to finish with that. But it was most definitely not where the show started.
I guess I see the army of the dead as a metaphor for those things completely outside of human control that are gonna have their way no matter what stupid games the humans play with each other. So yeah, the political drama is entertaining and impactful in that it sets up which people are actually going to be around to deal with that existential threat, but it's ultimately meaningless in and of itself. That to me is a lot more relatable to what's actually happening in our world today, for example with political factions bitching at each other while the effects of climate change etc are happening regardless.
The main problem with it is that you cannot tell everyone for seven seasons long that "this war is the only one that matters" and then make that war the undercard for the stuff that you argued all along was meaningless. If the other stuff was always more important, then acknowledge that throughout and stay consistent to it.