Surviving Winter

“Theon you’re a good man. Thank you.” — Bran

The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones kicked off on Sunday, April 14. Each week during the final season I’ll recap episodes, look at highlights and make predictions for what’s to come.

We knew it was coming, and still it managed to be both devastating and surprising. Jon (Kit Harrington) has been saying the great war is here for so long it was easy to wonder when and if it would really arrive. But after last week’s beautifully sweet episode set the table, we knew the battle would arrive this Sunday. And arrive it did. Miguel Sapochnik, who previously gave us masterfully intense episodes like “Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards” and “Winds of Winter” was given the reigns for this third episode of the final season. At 82 minutes, it is the longest episode in the show’s history. And possibly the most anticipated as the Night King brought his forces to Winterfell to square off against pretty much every character left we care about.

And in the middle of the episode, it seemed like Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and Drogon were gonna get it done. She found him on the field of battle, set up above the Night King and bellowed Dracarys! And the fire reigned down and ignited the Night King, or so we were led to believe.

It reminded me of a moment in the middle of Independence Day, the 1996 Will Smith flick about an alien invasion. The Americans decide to employ the nuclear option, despite the consequences, and fire one at a ship over Houston. After the explosion there are cheers as they think they’ve won. But when the smoke clears we hear the dreaded words, “the target remains.” Beating the alien invaders wouldn’t be that easy. More would have to sacrifice to win.

And so it was with the Night King. Drogon hit him with his best shot, and yet the Night King remained. And more of our friends died. But, in the end, the Night King turned his gaze toward Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) and made his move. Bran was guarded by Theon (Alfie Allen), who completed his redemption arc.

Earlier in the evening, Theon sought to apologize for all he’d done. But Bran stopped him, telling him everything he did was necessary to bring him to the point where he was; to bring him home. And in that moment, seeing the Night King coming at Bran, Theon charged. And he fell short. Cut down by the Night King, who proceeded toward Bran.

At the same time most of the rest of our heroes were facing peril. All hope nearly seemed lost. Jon even seemed prepared to sacrifice himself to an ice dragon (though I suspect he can’t be burned). And the Night King marched toward Bran, ready to draw his blade and cut down the Three-Eyed Raven. Then the breeze picked up and out of no where, salvation.

In the seventh season, when they reunited in the Godswood, Bran gave his sister Arya (Maisie Williams) a dagger that had been meant to take his life. He told her she needed it more than he did. So it seemed only fitting that, as his life appeared to be ending, Arya came flying out of the shadows, with that dagger, to cut down the Night King. I’m not gonna lie, in that moment I felt the same knot in my stomach I had when my Broncos were playing in Super Bowl 50. And when I saw Arya flying through the night, I leapt to my fight and screamed yes. I wager I wasn’t alone.

Arya plunged the dagger into his chest, and the Night King was destroyed. And, just like Jon had guessed, everything he created, his whole army, went with him. It was an emotional moment, and one that sets the stage for the back half of the season when the focus will inevitably turn back toward the living. But more on that later. First, let’s dig a little deeper into last night’s powerful episode.

An Unexpected Return

While Theon made his way home and wrapped up his arc, he wasn’t the only one that had to make it back to Winterfell one last time. Melisandre (Carice van Houten) came out of the darkness just before the army of the dead. She lit the swords of the Dothraki, which didn’t seem to help, and the trench protecting Winterfell, which lasted only a bit. She faced Davos (Liam Cunningham), assuring him she would die by morning. And she was there to give Arya some sage advice.

She once told Arya she would become a great warrior, slaying those with brown eyes, green eyes and, most importantly, blue eyes. And then she seemed to give Arya the final nudge to do what needed doing. She asked, “What do we say to the God of Death?”

To which Arya responded, “Not today.” Then she made her way to the Godswood to save, everyone. And as she’d promised, when the battle was over and dawn was breaking, Melisandre made her way out into the snow, shed her magical necklace, gained her years back and fell. It felt like a fitting end to a character that, while she didn’t gain redemption for BURNING A LITTLE GIRL ALIVE, at least proved her worth in the final battle.

No Safer Place

Last week, just about everyone agreed the Crypts of Winterfell were the safest place in the world. That despite the fact that, you know, the Night King can raise the dead and the crypts are, you know, full of the dead. We got some nice moments between Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Sansa (Sofie Turner) down there, as both lamented not being able to help in the battle. And then, unsurprisingly, the Night King raised the dead, and the crypts turned into a bad hang.

Happily, Tyrion, Sansa and the rest of the named characters in the crypts—including Gilly (Hannah Murray), Varys ( Conleth Hill) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel)—made it out unharmed. They will live to fight another day. Unfortunately we didn’t really see anything cool among the dead in the crypts, or find anything we’d hoped like, say, a harp. But there’s still time.

A Tribute to the Fallen

As I’ve noted, we lost Theon and Melisandre, who both seemed to earn some note of redemption. But they weren’t the only ones to fall in the Long Night. Unsurprisingly Beric ( Richard Dormer) and Edd (Ben Crompton) were not so lucky. Beric fell helping save Arya alongside The Hound (Rory McCann), while Edd fell alongside Sam (John Bradley), who seemed constantly in peril throughout the night. With the White Walkers dead and the Wildlings part of the community, there’s probably not a big role for the Night’s Watch, so poor Edd probably wouldn’t have had a lot to do anyway.

And some fates were seemingly a bit up in the air. Ghost finally had a meaningful role, charging forward with the Dothraki, but he didn’t come back. We didn’t see him die, either. So there’s probably still a little hope that he might have survived. And Rhaegal, Jon’s new dragon, took a beating, landing pretty hard. But if you saw the preview, it seems like he’ll live to fight another day. Others weren’t so lucky.

Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsay) has been a favorite since she first appeared. That plucky pre-teen had a lot of spunk, leading her small but mighty house. But her defense of the North was cut short when she encountered an undead giant. She did, of course, slay the giant. But at the cost of her life. I have to say, Season 8 hasn’t been kind to the youngest rulers of noble houses. And she’ll certainly be missed—most especially by Jon.

But it was a tough beat all around for House Mormont, who might be joining the ranks of noble houses erased during the run of the show. Our brave knight, Jorah (Iain Glen), risked everything to protect his queen. And while she remained upright at the end (despite my pre-season prediction), Jorah did not. In the end, he died fighting for, and beside, the woman he loved. And she wept over him, as did Drogon. It was a touching and emotional moment, and the loss of a character that was another fan favorite.

But for as tough as it was to see Jorah, Lyanna, Beric, Edd, Theon and Melisandre go, it could have been worse. Many feared that Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and possibly Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) would be lost. All three appeared to survive—at least for now—as they clearly have a role to play in the wars yet to come. Sapochnik directed episode five, as well, so I would suspect we haven’t seen the last of bloodshed.

The War Yet to Come

The previews talked about the fighting yet to come. Daenerys, Jon and what’s left of their armies will certainly turn their attention toward Cersei (Lena Headey) and her Golden Company, who hold Kings Landing and sat out the Great War. As Daenerys said in the trailer, “We won the great war and now we’ll win the last war.” I like her optimism, but something tells me it won’t be that easy.

There are just three episodes left in the series. The Night King is dead—though I suspect we probably haven’t heard the last about him. Maybe that’s just some left over dread from this episode. My belief is we’ll get a quieter episode next week before another epic battle, this time among the living and closer to the Iron Throne, in the fifth episode of the season.

But for now, let’s all catch our breath and quietly take a moment to cheer our hero—Arya. If I was Cersei, I’d start getting a little nervous.

Agree? Disagree? Have a bold theory? Fire it up in the comments and we’ll see how it all shakes out.