Hey Collider fans! John Rocha here with a big assist from Allison Keene. Well the Battle
of Winterfell finally came for us last night in Episode 3 of Season 8 of Game of Thrones.
And as promised, The Long Night was dark and full of terrors….and deaths. And since so
many of you were upset at how dark the episode was, we thought we’d break down all the
deaths from it in case you missed any as you were adjusting the brightness on your TV.
There was a lot of purposefully confusing visual chaos to simulate the horror of battle
last night, but thankfully (or not, depending on what you wanted from this hour), not many
main characters actually died. In fact, no “marquee” characters died at all. That’s
right: Jamie, Sir Brienne, Tormund, Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Dany, Jon Snow, The Hound, Samwell
Tarly (and Podrick and Gendry) stayed alive for what we imagine are confrontations yet
to come this season. #TheCleganeBowl. Before we get to individual deaths, let’s pour
one out for the Dothraki and the Unsullied who were snuffed out by the Army of the Dead.
These sequences were some of the most harrowing of the entire episode, as swarms of zombies
overwhelmed the ranks. Having the Dothraki’s fire-lit swords quickly and almost silently
extinguished by the wights was terrifying, and a bit of on the nose symbolism. Seeing
the Unsullied continue to close ranks to protect those fleeing into the castle while they just
got wrecked by the Night King’s forces was especially sad. To add insult to injury,
they were all then conscripted into the Night King’s army, but for only a brief time before
he was ultimately defeated. Speaking of The Night King, he was slain by a stealthy Arya
Stark via a Catspaw dagger made of Valyrian steel, the Night King flexed a little too
much at the end, and waited just a minute too long to kill Bran Stark to achieve …. well,
we aren’t exactly sure (to destroy the history of men, Bran had postulated, but it was never
really clear). And now we’ll never know. Damn you, Benioff and Weiss!! Regardless,
the Night King was a badass who knew how to ride and control his dragon way better than
Dany ever did, (was anyone else shocked by this) and was a much better tactician than
any of the living. He was the Big Bad of the entire series, and … he kinda went out with
a whimper. Alas. Ser Jorah Mormont. Hold on. I may need a tissue for this one. No one could
have been surprised by Jorah’s heroic death to save his beloved Khaleesi, and honestly,
he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He saved her life, yes, but he also was given
back a Valyrian steel sword, Heartsbane by Samwell Tarly, (completing his narrative journey
of exile back to Westeros). He also came to terms somewhat with Tyrion being Dany’s
preferred advisor. You served your queen well and accepted your Friend Zone conscription
with grace and honor. You will be remembered as a hero, Jorah. And speaking of redemption….Theon
Greyjoy. Ok. Give me another tissue. Theon’s redemptive arc was, of course, much more specific
to Winterfell and the Starks, a home and family he had betrayed. He had a quasi-heroic finish,
protecting Bran from the wights and ultimately dying at the hands of the Night King’s spear
(both things were callbacks to earlier moments in the show, where Theon mentioned making
a stand in the godswood, as well as potentially dying by a spear to the belly in the Battle
of Winterfell — albeit the earlier one where he took over the castle for himself). Like
Jorah’s death, it was both sad and earned, and it felt like the satisfying completion
of a journey. Dolorous Edd. Ah, Poor Edd, he was essentially brought back to remind
us that he was alive just so he could be killed off. He specifically asked Sam Tarly to burn
his body if he died, something Sam did not do (running away in fear instead), which meant
Edd was briefly turned into a White Walker. He deserved better. And the lesson here is,
never save someone weaker than you in battle because you’ll eventually end up dying in
the next moment. A cliché that was well played here. Next up is Sir Flaming Sword himself,
Beric Dondarrion. Look, Beric dying is nothing new. We’ve seen him get reborn multiple
time. But him staying dead is something different. The follower of R’hllor, the
Lord of Light, he had lost his priest Thoros last season, which meant that he could not
be resurrected again. But, according to Melisandre, that was just fine — he fulfilled his duty
to the Lord of Light by saving Arya Stark, who eventually defeated the Night King. Beric,
most people who watched the show and didn’t read the books never fully appreciated you
in terms of your lore, but your flaming sword will always be dope AF. And continuing with
the Lord of Light theme, we also waved goodbye to the The Red Priestess of R’hllor Melisandre.
She showed up to light a few things on fire and give Arya a pep talk, but as she revealed
to Davos before the battle began, she knew she would be dead before the dawn. How she
was tied into the Night King and his own death is unclear, but remember that the Lord of
Light is a counter to The Great Other who the White Walkers are said to worship. So
maybe, just like Beric, she served her purpose as soon as the Night King was killed. Having
done so, we saw her walk out of the castle, thru the battlefield, shed her cloak, her
magic necklace (again with the on the nose light going out of the red stone in the center
of it), keep walking out into the snow, aging back into her crone self, and falling over
dead. What does it all mean? Who knows, but thanks for being a Deus ex machina in this
battle, Mel. And finally the death that broke me the most: Lyanna Mormont. Little Lady Mormont
was a formidable force. Series creators Benioff and Weiss said in the post show episode vignette
that she was only supposed to be one scene in the show, but Bella Ramsey’s performance
turned her into an instant fan-favorite for being smarter and braver than almost anyone
else on the show. They wisely kept her around, and gave her a hero’s death against a giant
wight, who crushed her — but not before she stabbed him in the eye and ended him first.
Proof again that ain’t the size of the person in the fight, it’s the size of the fight
in the person. Well that’s everyone that shuffled off this mortal coil during “The
Long Night” episode of Game of Thrones. Hopefully, me and Allison Keane helped you
pick out one or two deaths that you might have missed and provided some catharsis for
you to deal with their passing. Oh Lyannna (sniff sniff). Let us know what you thought
of the deaths in the Comments section below. Remember to Like and Share this video on your
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