GAME OF THRONES "THE LONG NIGHT" REVIEW

Season 8 Episode 3:

Hey everyone, a new episode of Game of Thrones is out, directed by Miguel Sapochnik, and in this episode we see the white walkers invade Winterfell for a full hour and twenty minutes and as we see a few characters bite the dust, or at least, we hear a few characters bite the bust. So spoilers ahead for the episode lets recap.

The white walkers are closing in on Winterfell, and the armies are prepared to fight. Melisande shows up and lights the first armies swords on fire as they run out in battle with Jorah and fight the white walkers as Jon and Daenerys go on the dragons and take out the white walkers further out. The white walkers manage to get past the armies and the fire trenches and invade Winterfell inside the walls. Arya hides as she fights some white walkers in the hallways alongside the Hound and Beric, who meets his doom.

Daenerys rides Drogon and rains fire down on the Night King who is coming for Bran. The Night King lives, and Jon goes to confront him, as the Night King raises his fallen brethren and leaves Jon to fight a horde of white walkers. Daneyere fights with a sword alongside Jorrah. The Knight King closes in on Bran and kills Theon. The Knight King pulls out his sword and is about to kill Bran and then Arya jumps out of nowhere and kills the Night King which destroys the white walker army, and the living win… barely. Melinsandra takes off her magical de-aging and walks into the snow and dies.

So the best aspect of this episode was the sound design. This episode sounded great, and that is the best aspect I could find because I couldn't really see anything to be entirely honest, and that is a flaw of the episode. There were some shots which kind of looked great with the orange backlight from the fire, however, I couldn’t see anything in the foreground. I am sure that there were fantastic shots with Breane and Jamie fighting alongside each other, however, I couldn’t see that. I, a person with no sight impediments,  watched this episode by myself in a closed room, with no lights on and my screen on full brightness, and I struggled to see and comprehend what was happening in this episode.

But nevertheless, aside from not seeing the episode too well, the episode played one thing really well and that was the momentum of the episode. Everything escalated really quickly. For an eighty minute episode, the white walkers broke through the walls really quickly, and it was great that there was non stop action which took place as a result. The fast-paced action really helped with the momentum, and the camera panning also helped with that. This all resulted in some great suspense really made this episode something to watch… or hear.

Okay, one of the biggest controversies with this episode was the death of the Night King. I would say that the biggest reason for me watching this show from episode one was the pay off with the Night King and the white walkers. The white walkers are a really interesting concept and showcase the idea of the living versus the dead. I personally thought that past the throne squabbles, that the endgame of the show was going to be everyone placing aside their differences and fighting for what they have in common, that being them standing on the side of life.

The Night King was also a very mysterious villain who I desperately wanted to learn more about. Why did he have a connection to Bran? What was his backstory? I felt like the character was a wasted opportunity, and I was excited to see how he would challenge all of our characters, but he didn’t. 

Also, how did Arya get past all of the other white walkers and stab the Knight King?

The cast of the episode was great, and there were a few characters who meet their end in the episode which included:

• Eddison Tollett
• Beric Dondarrion
• Lyanna Mormont
• Jorah Mormont
• Theon Greyjoy
• Melisandra

Out of these deaths, I would say that Theon’s death was the saddest. It was really sad seeing Theon accepting his death, “you’re a good man. Thank you, Theon.” Although Theon hasn’t been the best person in Westeros, he still died trying to protect Bran, seeking forgiveness from him, and in a way, be a hero.

Starring in the episode was Kit Harrington (Jon Snow/ Aegon Targaryen), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Ben Crompton (Eddison Tollett), Richard Dormer (Beric Dondarrion), Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane/ The Hound), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), Vladimir 'Furdo' Furdik (Night King), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Carice van Houten (Melisandre).

In conclusion, this episode was something that I was looking forward to, however, it didn’t stick the ending too well. What I liked about the episode was the pacing, and how that built up the intensity, even though we didn’t see much. The payoff with the Night King was in my opinion disappointing, and I am sad that he won't be the main villain of the finale (unless he comes from an alternate timeline… somehow).

Rating: 8/10

What did you think about this episode? Comment your thought and opinions down below. You can click on the left for more Game of Thrones, or on the right for Avengers Endgame, and also subscribe. As always thanks for reading, take care.