How’s your “Game of Thrones” death pool looking? Though the 85-minute episode “The Long Night” – which was the brutal Battle of Winterfell in its entirety – robbed us of some of our favorites (SER JORAH!) for the last half of this final season, it feels like we got lucky overall. It could have been so much worse. Many of our beloved (SER BRIENNE!) survived, but this relief will likely not last long.
After taking a season off from “Game of Thrones,” ace director Miguel Sapochnik returns to the Seven Kingdoms with tonight’s epic battle episode, which somehow exceeds even his previous contributions in “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards.” The Emmy winner described this episode as “survival horror,” and while we know he was talking about the residents of Westeros, our heart rates were elevated too. Tell your doctor that watching this hour of TV is just as good for your cardiac health and see what they say.
Anyway, the tiles in the opening credits signify that the army of the dead is almost at Winterfell, and the nervous hands of Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) in the opening shot indicate exactly how close they are. “Get down to the crypts!” someone shouts, and Sam moves, with the single take switching its focus to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) as he prepares to go to the depths of Winterfell and relative safety (maybe).
Cut to Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) and then Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) as they stand on the walls, waiting, while dragons Rhaegal and Drogon circle overhead, ready to fight. We move out to the ranks outside the walls, first on the Unsullied and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), then to the remains of the Night’s Watch. Sam arrives at the front, much to the (dampened) relief of Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton), who is as happy to see him as he gets.
Melisandre (Carice van Houten) arrives from the east, and she commands Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) to tell the Dothraki to lift their swords. They do, and she lights each of their weapons afire. We actually see Edd smile, which feels like a minor victory on this night.
“Valar morghulis,” the Red Woman says to Grey Worm, and it’s an unnecessary, perhaps cruel reminder to the audience that yes, everyone must die, and many will fall in this episode.
“There’s no need to execute me, Ser Davos,” Melisandre says to her old foe (Liam Cunningham). “I’ll be dead before the dawn.” Men begin crying out, and the fight has officially begun. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) watch from afar, as Jorah, Ghost, and many we love ride into the fray. Trebuchets fling fire at the hordes.
A command of “cease fire” goes up, and we cut to the left flank with Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer). They’re watching the fight, and suddenly all the fires are extinguished. Horses gallop in a panic toward them, along with far too few survivors. It’s all shot so darkly that we can barely tell who has returned, but Jorah is among their meager numbers. The army gets louder as it approaches, and our soldiers ready themselves. At least as ready as you can be for ice zombies coming your way.
“Stand your ground,” Brienne commands, but she is soon knocked down and Jaime runs after her.
Rhaegal spits fire onto the dead army, with Dany on his back. Jon is on Drogon, and this is the first moment that it seems like we may have a chance as swaths of the wights are vanquished. Arya and Sansa watch in awe. I wish I were as impressed as they are; even the dim light can’t hide that these dragon flying special effects aren’t the show’s best. Jon flies toward the Night King, but he can’t see through a wintry wind.
Back inside Winterfell, Arya orders her older sister to go down to the crypt, and she hands her a dagger to defend herself. Sansa doesn’t know what to do with the weapon.
“Stick them with the pointy end,” Arya explains to her, just as Jon told her so many years ago.
Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) are in the Godswood, while Ser Jorah is outside, chopping off heads. Though we saw Brienne fall under a group of wights, she is somehow still alive, in a moment that challenges everything “The Walking Dead” fans know about when someone goes down, but the rules are different here.
Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane (Rory McCann), Samwell, Edd, and others fight, and Sam is on the ground. But it isn’t Sam who dies: Dolorous Edd is our first casualty, stabbed through the back as he tells his friend to get up, and Samwell runs away.
We meet Sansa as she descends into the crypt, meeting Varys (Conleth Hill), Tyrion, and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel). Tyrion takes a swig, which is a pretty relatable reaction, honestly.
Outside, Jon flies through the forest, and the two dragons clip each other in flight since there is no way to see anything. This is chaos. Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Brienne tell everyone to fall back, and Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey) issues the command to open the gates, letting in the human armies. Grey Worm and the Unsullied stay outside to protect their fellow soldiers’ retreat. The Unsullied battle bravely, but it’s a mess.
Zoom out and we can see the sheer number of approaching undead. They’re falling on the battlements meant to keep them out, but not enough of them are dying. Arya saves the Hound with a flaming arrow as he retreats, and he turns around and fights. The Unsullied begin their own retreat, and Grey Worm sends out the order to light the trench. Davos waves a signal, but Daenerys can’t see the flames through the thick smoke. The Unsullied ready themselves at the gate for the advancing army’s onslaught. Melisandre begins casting a spell (how’s your High Valyrian?), chanting over and over as the fight grows ever closer. She pleads desperately, but nothing happens until the last moment with the trench finally ignites around Winterfell. The Hound and Beric lie between the wall and the trench, with the Dead just beyond.
“At least we’re already in a crypt,” Varys quips in a bit of gallows humor from inside. Tyrion wishes he were out among the soldiers and could help, but his what-ifs are cut off by Sansa, who knows better. But her (rightfully) dour mood quickly softens.
“You were the best of them,” Sansa says to her ex-husband. “What a terrifying thought,” Tyrion replies with a laugh.
In the Godswood, Theon begins to apologize, but Bran says that without those actions he wouldn’t be here at Winterfell where he belongs, his home.
“I’m going to go now,” Bran continues and his eyes go white as he wargs into a raven outside the walls. He flies over the battlefield, approaching the Night King. The enemy leader commands, and his soldiers begin sacrificing themselves and falling on the fire in the trench, making space for the undead to advance. Inside, the humans ready themselves again. The undead pour over, and Jon looks in fear at an advancing Ice Dragon with the Night King on its back.
Everyone within the walls prepares as the dead begin to climb and clamor over each other to get to the top. Gendry (Joe Dempsie) is the first to strike, and they keep coming. Forget David Fincher: this is our “World War Z” sequel.
Jaime and Brienne fight back to back and he saves her. Sam is as fierce as he can be, but they just keep coming. This is brutal stuff, but each moment is so fast and you can’t really dwell on the awfulness of a single death. I quit watching “The Walking Dead” for a reason. The Hound is still deep in this Mountain-induced terror of fire and is unable to move. Arya is coming, wielding her double-edged weapon like a boss, and the score builds. The Hound remains frozen, while Beric cries out for the gate and then reminds him that Arya needs their help.
A wight on a horse barrels through the gate and knocks Lyanna over. Soon a zombie giant comes in, and it’s a Westerosi version of David vs. Goliath as he grabs little Lyanna in his huge hands. He crushes her, but not fast enough as she stabs him through the eye and they both crumble. I literally raised my arms and cheered our bear’s bravery in her last moments.
Arya is inside the library and things are quiet, but it can’t last long. She’s not the only one inside the walls. Her training kicks in, but the sound of her dripping wound announces her to the walkers. She narrowly escapes after stabbing a girl wight, but a closed door isn’t enough to keep them out and they burst through like it was made of plywood. Bran the Builder, I expect better from your work.
We’re in the crypts, and soundproofing was apparently also not a strong point of Bran the Builder’s. Varys is all of us in his look of terror. Humans cry to be let into safety, and there are wordless shrieks from the dead, followed by an impossible quiet.
Beric and The Hound are now inside, with Beric’s sword lighting the way. A door opens and Arya bursts through, and he throws his sword at the wight on top of her. The Hound carries her off, as Beric is stabbed in sacrifice (and is positioned Christ-like across the hallway. Subtle.). He dies for what looks to be the final time, but Melisandre is behind him. There’s the promise of a resurrection in her appearance, but she says that he’s served his purpose and she doesn’t bring him back.
The reunion between Melisandre and Arya is likely not what the latter had thought, what with the Red Woman still on her kill list. But Melisandre reminds her of her prophecy that Arya will be responsible for many deaths, but this time it points toward her as a warrior against an army of blue-eyed zombies, rather than a murderer of humans.
“What do we say to the god of Death?” Melisandre asks.
“Not today,” Arya responds.
There’s more dragon fighting outside as the Ice Dragon takes on Drogon, and it seems like an unbalanced fight until Daenerys and Rhaegal arrive. They knock the Night King off his steed’s back, and Jon soon falls off Drogon’s back. Daenerys and Rhaegal stand over the Night King. She commands, “Dracarys,” but he still stands after the dragon fire should have consumed him. As one of his network brethren might say, “You come at the King, you best not miss.” Jon runs after him, hoping to finish the job, but the Night King raises all of the human dead around him. Brown eyes turn blue as Jon barrels toward him, but he’s not fast enough. His former comrades have turned into his enemies, and they’re not alone. Those inside the walls stand up, including Lyanna and Edd. The Borg were right: Resistance is futile. Surprise: the crypts are not the place of safety everyone had hoped, and the dead Starks begin to burst out of their stone coffins. Gilly (Hannah Murray) is screaming, as is everyone else inside.
Outside, Rhaegal is assaulted by the undead who have climbed on his back and are stabbing him, and Daenerys is unseated in his panic. Dead fall off his back as he ascends, and they come toward Dany on the ground. Ser Jorah comes to her rescue, Jon moves toward his brother/cousin Bran, and Brienne is still battling inside. The dead are everywhere, falling from the ceiling and coming from all directions. Theon works to defend his foster brother, and the slo-mo tells us he doesn’t have long.
The crypts are a massacre. Luckily, we (and hopefully the Northerners) don’t recognize any of the resurrected Starks. Tyrion and Sansa share a moment, before he runs out to fight.
The Ice Dragon besieges Winterfell’s walls, and Jon just escapes. A mournful piano solo from the show’s composer Ramin Djawadi scores the action. Jorah goes down defending his queen as was inevitable, but he fights on.
Brienne screams, Sam cries, and Theon continues his valiant defense of Bran. But soon, it’s quiet as the Night King approaches. Bran returns to himself and calls Theon’s name and tells him, “You’re a good man. Thank you.” The Night King takes a step toward Bran and Theon runs at him with a spear, and he goes down quickly, run through with his own weapon.
Bran turns toward him and they lock eyes. The Night King raises his hand toward his weapon, but Arya’s there first, leaping to attack. He grabs her by the throat, and it looks dire for our girl. She drops her dagger, but it doesn’t fall to the ground. Instead, it’s in her other hand stabs the Night King with the pointy end. He explodes into icy shards and all his army begin to fall.
Daenerys cries over a dying Jorah who spent all his last energy saving her, rather than being able to speak any final words. Her dragon joins her by her side in comfort. The Hound emerges alive, followed by Melisandre, who surveys what is left. Daybreak is here, and Ser Davos follows her out. She grabs her necklace and lets it fall to the ground. She keeps walking, aging and finally falling in death before dawn, just as she promised.
With the Night King vanquished, next week promises to return us to the human vs. human conflict of the title. But with Daenerys’ armies decimated, how will they be able to stand against Cersei’s forces? The deaths in “The Long Night” sting, particularly Ser Jorah and his cousin Lyanna, but the final three episodes (sob) will surely not be so kind.
RIP:
Dolorous Edd Tollett
Lyanna Mormont
Beric Dondarrion
Theon Greyjoy
The Night King
Jorah Mormont
Melisandre