Winter Is Coming...The Game of Thrones Thread *spoilers*

[Kingfan24]

I enjoyed last night's episode but thought more should have died and had "Hollywood" savings. The last dragon fight was a bit confusing but it looked as though one good one died while it killed the other

Both good dragons survived, you can see them in the promo for next week.

[Kingfan24]

I enjoyed the episode (although a 3:30am finish time when I have work in the morning is a killer...)

The one thought I had repeatedly was, The attacks were literally like a wave of water crashing down on the defenders. As the majority of leading characters were front and center, it was ridiculous to believe any could have survived the onslaught. They would literally have been crushed underfoot before they could have swung a sword.

Ugh don’t get me started on the battle. The tactics involved made zero sense. Sending your light cavalry on a charge into the darkness against an enemy you can’t see? Your trebuchets outside the walls with no defense? Your elite infantry units in FRONT of the moat? And no defenses on the walls of the castle? I mean come on.

[Merlin1958]

I enjoyed the episode (although a 3:30am finish time when I have work in the morning is a killer...)

The one thought I had repeatedly was, The attacks were literally like a wave of water crashing down on the defenders. As the majority of leading characters were front and center, it was ridiculous to believe any could have survived the onslaught. They would literally have been crushed underfoot before they could have swung a sword.

Ugh don’t get me started on the battle. The tactics involved made zero sense. Sending your light cavalry on a charge into the darkness against an enemy you can’t see? Your trebuchets outside the walls with no defense? Your elite infantry units in FRONT of the moat? And no defenses on the walls of the castle? I mean come on.

Man, has a point. I was thinking the same thing when the show began.

[Shannon]

I have been on internet blackout since Thursday. Rose and I have Avengers tickets for today at 3:50pm (less than two hours away!) and I am N-O-T!!! getting spoiled. But I had to come in and see what you guys thought of the episode.

I liked it, but I didn't like that they left so many people alive. Like you said above, these people were front and center, first in the fight yet ... they're all still kicking at the end? Bullshit. And also, did anyone else think the snow/night time/fog/cold front was just a little too much? My TV is pretty damn good and the ghosting the "filters" caused was a little frustrating. It reminded me of the movie Alien vs. predator 2 that was made so damn dark in order to hide the special effects and costumes.

And lastly, can anyone tell me why Bran is so damn important? Besides being the worst character in the show and zoning out to go fly some birds, I just don't get it.

[allasorte]

I enjoyed the episode (although a 3:30am finish time when I have work in the morning is a killer...)

The one thought I had repeatedly was, The attacks were literally like a wave of water crashing down on the defenders. As the majority of leading characters were front and center, it was ridiculous to believe any could have survived the onslaught. They would literally have been crushed underfoot before they could have swung a sword.

Ugh don’t get me started on the battle. The tactics involved made zero sense. Sending your light cavalry on a charge into the darkness against an enemy you can’t see? Your trebuchets outside the walls with no defense? Your elite infantry units in FRONT of the moat? And no defenses on the walls of the castle? I mean come on.

I agree. Why not wait and be on the defensive? We heard in previous seasons a siege of Winterfell is difficult. Maybe they had too many soldiers? I felt it was like ruining the Dorne book storyline with the unsullied and Dothraki. Just have them do stupid things to get them off the playing field. Some battles were pretty amazing and I liked the gritty shooting where they had a hard time seeing, so did we as the viewers. What about the whole "prince that was promised to fight the dead?" That went out the window. And if Bran is so powerful, why didn't he have any solid input? Overall regardless of the poor fighting tactics, I truly enjoyed the episode.

[webstar1000]

What a let down. Not to mention It was Brutally dark. It was like I watched it at night with sunglasses on. Could have been way better....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Still Servant]

LoTR was so great because it had a defined story to tell. It didn’t suffer from “epic fantasy syndrome” like wheel of time and GoT. It’s hard to care about characters that are constantly dying with little to no development. It feels like GoT just kills people for the shock value.

The Ice and Fire series is so much better than the Wheel of Time series it's not even funny.

And lastly, can anyone tell me why Bran is so damn important? Besides being the worst character in the show and zoning out to go fly some birds, I just don't get it.

Bran is essentially the keeper of memories at this point. Killing him is like truly deleting history.

I had a lot of issues with some of the battle scenes. There were a ton of quick cuts that makes it hard to follow the action. It was also a tad on the dark side, like many have mentioned.

As for the main characters surviving, we have to remember it's still a TV show. Nobody gives a shit if the 4th Dothraki from the left is still alive and kicking at the end of the day. That stuff doesn't bother me.

In general, I think we are spoiled as a fanbase. What we saw last night, even with its warts and blemishes, is on a different level from anything else on TV right now. That kind of CG and action is only something you can find on the big screen.

Overall, I really enjoyed the episode.

[webstar1000]

I just cannot believe after all this time waiting for this...:that was what we got... I just can’t shake it. So disappointed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kingfan24]

I just cannot believe after all this time waiting for this...:that was what we got... I just can’t shake it. So disappointed


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

100% agree. Feels so cheap.

[fernandito]

Ok so the battle was pretty good. I understand the stylistic choice of shooting it against a dark setting as it ties in perfectly with the whole 'Winter is Here/The Long Night' theme.

The aerial dragon-dog fights were cool. Some great shots there.

Now then, onto the Night King/White Walker resolution.. what the actual fuck!!?!?

So you mean to tell me that they've been building up a Jon vs NK showdown only for Arya to fly in out of nowhere and deal the fatal blow? Jon and NK aren't even going to cross swords once? REALLY????

It pains me that we'll get no further information/background on the White Walkers (whom did nothing in the battle btw, it was all the Wights) as Bran has been pretty useless this entire season (what was the point of him warging? NK already knew where he was) and can't be counted on to delivery anything expository.

The last couple of minutes were frustratingly anti climatic.

[Kingfan24]

Ok so the battle was pretty good. I understand the stylistic choice of shooting it against a dark setting as it ties in perfectly with the whole 'Winter is Here/The Long Night' theme.

The aerial dragon-dog fights were cool. Some great shots there.

Now then, onto the Night King/White Walker resolution.. what the actual fuck!!?!?

So you mean to tell me that they've been building up a Jon vs NK showdown only for Arya to fly in out of nowhere and deal the fatal blow? Jon and NK aren't even going to cross swords once? REALLY????

It pains me that we'll get no further information/background on the White Walkers (whom did nothing in the battle btw, it was all the Wights) as Bran has been pretty useless this entire season (what was the point of him warging? NK already knew where he was) and can't be counted on to delivery anything expository.

He didn’t even get to unsheathe his sword! Complete joke.

[allasorte]

The white walker storyline is gone with one stab of a blade. That is a let down as it would have been amazing to see some of the main heroes fall to the walkers and or kill them thinning out the wight herds. Yes anti-climactic with that storyline. There has to be a better storyline from the books. However, we will never be able to read those in our lifetime as Martin will die shortly from scarfing too much cheesecake and apple pie without taking a breather for some milk. Regardless I overall really liked the episode even though some of the battle scenes didn't make sense like I mentioned before.

[webstar1000]

The white walker storyline is gone with one stab of a blade. That is a let down as it would have been amazing to see some of the main heroes fall to the walkers and or kill them thinning out the wight herds. Yes anti-climactic with that storyline. There has to be a better storyline from the books. However, we will never be able to read those in our lifetime as Martin will die shortly from scarfing too much cheesecake and apple pie without taking a breather for some milk. Regardless I overall really liked the episode even though some of the battle scenes didn't make sense like I mentioned before.

At all. I had no idea what I was watching half the time. And when it started to snow it beaver laughable. The white walker story line was one of my favourites and your right... just a sad ending to long, wicked ride. 2/10 for me.... just horrible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kingfan24]

The white walker storyline is gone with one stab of a blade. That is a let down as it would have been amazing to see some of the main heroes fall to the walkers and or kill them thinning out the wight herds. Yes anti-climactic with that storyline. There has to be a better storyline from the books. However, we will never be able to read those in our lifetime as Martin will die shortly from scarfing too much cheesecake and apple pie without taking a breather for some milk. Regardless I overall really liked the episode even though some of the battle scenes didn't make sense like I mentioned before.

At all. I had no idea what I was watching half the time. And when it started to snow it beaver laughable. The white walker story line was one of my favourites and your right... just a sad ending to long, wicked ride. 2/10 for me.... just horrible


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ugh yeah. The blizzard thing was laughable.

[Still Servant]

I'm shocked by all the backlash, honestly.

I thought Arya getting to kill the Night King was great. Wanting to see Jon v. Night King is natural, but Game of Thrones has always thrown curveballs when it comes to fantasy tropes. If they were sticking to the norm, Ned Stark would be the one throwing down with the Night King.

As I mentioned before, I was also annoyed by the dark fight, but my only theory is they didn't want to give us two epic day battles. I'm assuming the battle against Cersei will be during the day. It makes sense to make the two battles look differently.

I think you all just got your expectations up too high. I suppose the silver lining is we still have another big battle left.

[Kingfan24]

I'm shocked by all the backlash, honestly.

I thought Arya getting to kill the Night King was great. Wanting to see Jon v. Night King is natural, but Game of Thrones has always thrown curveballs when it comes to fantasy tropes. If they were sticking to the norm, Ned Stark would be the one throwing down with the Night King.

As I mentioned before, I was also annoyed by the dark fight, but my only theory is they didn't want to give us two epic day battles. I'm assuming the battle against Cersei will be during the day. It makes sense to make the two battles look differently.

I think you all just got your expectations up too high. I suppose the silver lining is we still have another big battle left.

We had our expectations too high for a battle that we knew was coming since season 1 episode 1? And show runners still failed? Call me crazy but for arguably the biggest show in history it felt rushed, cheap and unfulfilling.

[Garrell]

Although I found faults, I still greatly enjoyed the episode. I look forward to the last 3 and I am sure I will enjoy those and find small faults with them.

[fernandito]

I'm fine admitting when my expectations were too high, but that's not the case here.

I just wanted what had been promised to us for many seasons now. Every encounter between Jon and NK seemed to be building toward a crescendo. I expected that to pay off somehow, even a 2 minute sword fight might have done it.

All that build up, prophesizing, resurrecting, and for what? Nothing. Jon was the only character that willingly put his life and reputation at stake to thwart the WW from minute 1 and it was Arya - someone who hadn't even SEEN the NK - that took him down.

Just because something is unexpected doesn't mean it's good. What a waste.

[Melike]

I literally jumped in my couch when I saw Arya in the air. It was so weird. A jaw dropping, heart stopping moment. So exciting. But I am with Ferny here. What will happen to Azor Ahai? So many waste of all prophecies and character developments. Dumbest war plan ever made, worst idea to hide children and women in a cript when the enemy is a king of resurrection. And I could hardly see what was happenning all the time. I pulled my hair while Dany and Jon were flying blindly in the snow storm.

But still Arya moment was so damn exciting and fullfilling in a way.

[Melike]

And they said it would be a greater war than the Helm's Deep!!! Not even close. Not even close.

[Earl of Popkin]

Someone pointed out to me that the first thing Snow said to Arya upon reuniting at Winterfell was “I didn’t even hear you how’d you sneak up on me?”

A pretty cool detail in hindsight...

[cit74]

But after Arya left clegan and said “not today” I knew she was going to kill the NK - was just waiting for her to jump outta somewhere; but dragon fighting in the dark was horrible - couldn’t tell a thing

[Heather19]

But still Arya moment was so damn exciting and fullfilling in a way.

Yes!

I had to stay off the internet yesterday because I didn't get a chance to watch the show until last night This was kinda my worry with only have a small handful of episodes left and so many stories to tie up. I can see people's frustrations with it. I feel like this was a battle that everyone has been waiting for since episode one, and to have it all quickly wrapped up in one episode I felt like didn't do it justice. I was also surprised that most of all of the main characters are still alive. As much as I hate to see some of them go, I felt if we lost a some of them it would have been a little more realistic. I also didn't like how dark the episode was. I thought it was just my tv, but I guess not. I couldn't see a lot of what was happening, and all the quick cuts, I honestly had no clue who was fighting who.

That said I still did enjoy it. It had some great moments. And that final scene when Arya comes out of nowhere was amazing. I knew I loved her for a reason.

[Merlin1958]

A couple alternate perspectives........................



https://www.aintitcool.com/game-of-t...poilers-82084/



https://www.aintitcool.com/game-of-t...3-recap-82081/

[fernandito]

This review perfectly encapsulates my frustrations:

There's no catharsis or payoff in anything that happened in "The Long Night." Yes, it was cool to see Jon and Dany tearing through the sky on their dragons laying waste to the army of the dead with massive gouts of flame. But this episode felt weirdly self-contained, like everything that's happened leading up to it didn't matter. Every fan theory I've seen about the battle with the dead--whether it's a theory from the books 20 years ago or from Reddit last week--is immeasurably more interesting than what actually happened.

One of my favorites until now was that the Night King wouldn't actually show up at this battle--that the attack on Winterfell was a feint, and he was flying to King's Landing to roast Cersei on her throne. There was a ton of evidence for it, but it still would have been a shock. And even better, it would have fit that ultimate series theme--that the fight for the throne was a petty squabble, and the people who failed to see the big picture (i.e. Cersei) would pay a price for it. Instead, the Night King took the bait at Winterfell and died like an idiot. He took his entire race with him, and we never learned anything about them besides "White Walkers=bad."

There are so, so many things that will just never be paid off now. Dany unified the Dothraki tribes and brought them to Westeros so they could die, one and all, in a single ill-conceived charge (seriously, what was the strategy there?). What was the point of Melisandre's entire storyline--the Lord of Light, the resurrections, the Prince that was Promised? Was it really all so she could light some swords on fire and tell Arya to go stab a dude?

Even within the confines of this episode's story--Night King is just a dumb Big Bad Guy after all, he comes to Winterfell, he gets killed--there are endless more rewarding ways it could have gone down. Remember when Dany magically survived Khal Drogo's funeral pyre in Season 1? Now imagine Jon hadn't told Dany about his true identity last season, and instead she had realized there was more to him than she thought when he stepped into her dragonfire, unharmed, and stabbed the Night King in the back. Or it's Arya--but instead of nonsensically jumping onto the Night King's back, she employs her Faceless Men magic to pose as Bran. Bran stabs the Night King, removes his face, bam, it's Arya.

That's payoff. This was boring.

Gamespot Review