Game of Thrones, “The Long Night”, Review!

The shaking hands of Samwell, given a Dragonglass weapon, he nervously heads out for the final battle.  In the courtyard, soldiers march, Lyanna Mormont shouts commands to them.  Tyrion walks over to pick up a pack and Bran is wheeled away by the Iron Born.  We are getting good glimpses of where everyone is before the battle.  Ten soldiers?  They are going to need fifty.  Over the walls of Winterfell, we get Davos Seaworth preparing.  Sansa Stark watches from the wall.  She hears the dragons pass overhead.  There is endless solders, siege machines, and riders.  The Battle of the Pelennor Fields from Return of the King?  Ser Brienne waits with Jaime at her side.  Grey Worm is also ready.  I hope Grey Worm doesn’t fall.  Tormund Giantsbane with the Hound making his way to the front. Sam takes his place, the armies are at each corner of Winterfell, and there is Ghost!  Next to Jorah Mormont on horseback.  They look out to the darkness.  

GAME OF THRONES -- “The Long Night” -- EMILIA CLARKE, KIT HARINGTON -- Helen Sloan/HBO. 

Jon Snow is walking up to Daenerys looking from a snowy hilltop with the dragons.  Davos sees a bonfire out in the woods.  Melisandre (Carice van Houten) rides up to Jorah and says that he should tell the army to “lift their swords.”  He tells the Dothraki to take out their weapons.  She holds a blade and chants some spell.  It ignites their weapons in flames.  Wow!  Sansa sees the flaming weapons across the armies.  Jorah takes out his sword.  She rides past Grey Worm.  Davos calls for the gates to open for Melisandre.  He walks down to see her.  She tells him that she will die.  Melisandre looks at Arya at the wall.  Arya is going to kill her?  The army with flaming weapons charges with horses.  A massive arrowhead of flames moves seen by Dany and Jon from their vantage point.  Flames are lit with catapault balls that soar over the army.  Ghost races along with the riders.  Shouldn’t Ghost protect Bran?  The flaming charge is halted.  Sounds of battle as the flames are extinguished.  The other soldiers look out to the darkness and quiet of battle.  A stray horse and other survivors head toward friendly lines.  Jon tells Dany, “The Night King is coming.”  

Dany goes to mount her dragon, Drogon.  Screeches are heard by the Winterfell army.  The armies of the dead flood forward.  Hitting the spears of Dragonglass.  Jaime goes to aid Brienne who screams out.  Then, the flames from Dany’s dragon!  Sam watches as Jon’s dragon, Rhaegal, also lights up the battlefield!  Jon and Rhaegal are struck by icy winds.  The flames are snuffed out by the winds.  Arya tells her sister to go to the Crypts and gives her the dagger.  By the weirwood tree, Theon Greyjoy senses the shift in battle.  Sam is knocked down and has a blade shoved toward his eye until he is saved.  Sam runs.  Sansa sees the refugees in the Crypts.  Tyrion is there, not happy, and Missandei.  I think both will be needed to defend the Crypts.  Jon is trying to ride his dragon through the winds.  They strike ice.  Dany is also struggling.  The war leaders call for a retreat.  Lyanna calls for the gates to open.  The soldiers rush in with wounded.  Where is Ghost?  Grey Worm calls for his men to stand their ground to protect the retreat!  The Unsullied close ranks.  Bran sees the winds.  Jon lands Rhaegal.  The Hound is running for the retreat and he is saved by Arya who shoots a flaming arrow at a White Walker.  

GAME OF THRONES -- “The Long Night” -- CARICE VAN HOUTON MAISIE WILLIAMS, RORY MCCANN --  Helen Sloan/HBO. 

Grey Worm calls for the trench to be lit.   Davos uses torches to give the signal.  He realizes that the soldiers can’t see the signal.  Davos calls for flaming arrows from the wall, but they are blown out by the winds.  Grey Worm sees Melisandre.  The Unsullied form a box defense and Melisandre walks out.  She takes hold of one of the barricades in the trench and chants her spell.  The trench burns around creates a perimeter around Winterfell.  Dany and Drogon adds to the fire.  In the Crypts, reminds me of the Battle of Helms Deep in Two Towers, Gilly is there.  Tyrion thinks he could be there at the battle and see an important turning point.  Varys scoffs at his remark.  Sansa says none of them should be in the battle.  She says their marriage wouldn’t work because of his loyalty to Daenerys.  Theon waits with the Ironborn.  He tries to express regret to Bran, but he is told everything has brought him there.  Bran uses his vision as the Three Eyed Raven and flies over the battle through the windy skies to Viserion, the dragon with the Night King.  Arya and Davos see the White Walkers falling on the trench to make a way through.  Davos calls for manning the walls.  Jon sees the Night King and Viserion.  

Jaime calls for the archers at the highest wall.  The White Walkers are piling up like the Bugs in Starship Troopers.  Gendry uses his axe to slice apart a White Walker.  Brienne saves Jaime from a group of White Walkers and they fight together.  I’m not certain how the White Walkers can fight coordinated, I didn't see leaders.  The Hound is shaken at the siege.  Arya goes into a whirlwind with her Dragonglass spear.  Lyanna is struck down by a rider.  A giant made White Walker swipes through the barricades.  Berric screams for the Hound to join the fight, but he sees it as a loss.  He points out Arya still fighting.  Lyanna rushes towards the giant, but is caught by him.  He lifts her up to eat her and Lyanna strikes it through the eye, dropping it.  We draw back to the skies with the battle of dragons.  The battle is epic in Game of Thrones scale.  It is strange that the Wall had better defenses for opponents trying to scale or breach it and with battle there is standard siege tactics.  I think there was some strange dark scenes which were distorted with patches of pixelation.  There is great losses with the end of the battle, bittersweet, it's a great build up to the battle, but I think it should have been in two parts.  If any part of this army survives taking on an army of the dead, take that Walking Dead you don’t need guns, just flaming swords!, then I think Cersei doesn’t stand a chance. 

Four Shards of Dragonglass out of Five! 

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