Well. What can I say? Have you started breathing properly yet? I wouldn’t be surprised if the CO2 levels of the world dramatically decreased for the 90 minutes or so that “The Long Night” was running, because I honestly think I took maybe 4 or 5 breaths before THAT ending. After a weekend that started with Avengers: Endgame’s tour de force of emotions, could “The Battle of Winterfell” end things as effectively as they began?
All of the build, all of the speculation surrounding this climactic conclusion to one of the key plot threads of Game of Thrones is finally here. But did it meet the expectations of the world? And more so, does anyone actually survive The Great War?
**Spoilers for The Long Night ahead**
After last week’s beautiful eulogy to some of Game of Thrones’ most beloved characters, we all knew things were going to be escalated. Escalated to this degree, however? Maybe not.
From the off, Winterfell sombrely waits for the horrors they are surely about to face. Shrouded by a haunting veil of darkness, all anyone can really do is stare into the abyss and hope to find an answer to the old question known to man. How do I defeat Death?
Outside the walls, legions of Dothraki, Unsullied, Wildlings and Northern soldiers steel themselves before the battle they are about to behold. However, instead of a wave of ravenous undead minions, we are reintroduced to Lady Melisandre in the most badass way possible: she ignites every scythe of the Dothraki army. A stunning introduction to a war that quickly reveals something more harrowing ahead.
Visually, this episode is a triumph in guerilla cinematography. Using only the light of fire and moon, the sensation of impending doom is quickly evident. The fear of the unknown once again imposing itself on the will of mankind.
ROUND 1
From about 15 minutes in, the gates of hell are literally opened upon Winterfell and with it some unfortunate gaps in logic. I counted on at least 3 occasions a situation where at least one surging character was inescapably overcome by wights, only to find them shortly after in a more advantageous predicament.
Away from the action, there were a number of sentimental touches that helped this episode complete the circle on a lot of stories. Arya’s “stick them with the pointy end” to Sansa, Tyrion and Sansa sharing a heartfelt union before their moment of heroism and Theon’s absolute redemption encompassed a sensation of accomplishment otherwise lost on other battles such as this.
Back to the gates, where the Unsullied do their best to stave off the oncoming horde while all others frantically attempt to retreat behind the wall. This is where the action becomes increasingly claustrophobic. Trapped on all sides, the only option left for many is to fight or die. Once again, step forward Melisandre. By igniting the trench a chance is more than most needed to survive this onslaught.
So, in reaction to this, what do the dead do? Lie down on the burning trench of course and continue the surge toward life. There really is no stopping these things is there?
After some posturing from Tyrion and Sansa, those still breathing take a minute to recoup themselves after Round 1 while Bran takes a jaunty flight among a flock of birds.
ROUND 2
Once the dead realize they can venture beyond the flames, a more frenetic level of defense begins. With Wights desperately scaling the walls and rampaging through the doors, all that is left to do is swing until there is nothing left to hit – there is always something to hit.
I’m not going to describe much more of the battle as, in all fairness, once you’ve seen one person swing a sword at a dead thing, you’ve seen it all. However, what I will say is that Lyanna Mormont and Arya Stark are the heroes this episode greatly deserved. Lyanna stood up to a Giant and Arya killed the Night King for God’s Sake! I mean come on!!
If I’m being hyper critical I’d say that the loss of Theon didn’t hit the chord I was expecting it to. His naivety of charging the Night King could’ve been better executed had he fought to his last breathe to defend Bran. It would’ve redeemed his character much more than seeing him get a heartless farewell from a person he has betrayed on at least 2 occasions.
Overall The Battle of Winterfell was a complete and utter assault on the senses. Visually the action left little in the way of disappointment, the score (or sometimes lack thereof) introduced the perfect balance needed to invoke the necessary emotions for each individual scene. And the other senses? Well, my emotions were so fraught by the end I think I’d chewed through my fingers so much I’d become numb to the smell of tears and anxiety in the room with me.
It’ll be interesting to see where Game of Thrones goes from here given we still have 3 episodes left and Cersei Lannister is now in a better position than she could have ever dreamed of.
