Recap: Game of Thrones S8 Ep3

Photo Courtesy of Helen Sloan/HBO

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

The action I asked for in my last two recaps finally arrived. And it did not disappoint.

The Battle of Winterfell was the longest, bloodiest battle that we have ever seen on this show. "The Long Night" is the perfect name for this episode as we were in the thick of the bloodbath for the entire hour and a half. I kept having to check how much time was left in the episode because it felt like it was never-ending.

The dead have arrived, but where's the Night King? In preparation for his arrival, Theon Greyjoy has set up a ring of protection around Bran, but how is that going to stop the Night King? (Spoiler alert: it doesn't).

Minutes before the battle commences, our girl Melisandre arrives and lights the arakhs of the Dothraki before they ride off into battle. The Dothraki charge into battle and are wiped out about 20 seconds later. Sorry, guys.

People not fighting are locked in the crypt, which of course is a recipe for disaster. All of the women and children (and Tyrion) unarmed and waiting around like sitting ducks. Also, the fact that they are surrounded by dead people doesn't alarm them at all. Did no one stop to think that maybe, just maybe, the Night King could raise up the dead in the crypt as well? Nobody? Just me?

Jon and Daenerys mount her two remaining dragons, Rhaegal and Drogon, only to find themselves in a dense snowstorm that limits their visibility. They miss the cue to light the trench, but thanks to Melisandre and the Lord of Light, the trench gets lit just in time.

Our favorite little leader, Lyanna Mormont, goes out in a brave and glorious way. Just before being crushed by the ice giant that had her in its grasp, she stabs it right in the eye, taking it down with her.

The Night King finally makes his appearance when he catches up with Jon and Daenerys on Viserion, formerly Dany's third dragon, leading to an epic sky battle between dragons, which was beautiful yet terrifying at the same time.

After the Night King retreats, Daenerys spots him from the sky and orders Drogon to light him up. When the flames die down, the Night King is revealed to be unscathed and smiling. Jon runs after him (not so stealthily I might add) but he isn't quick enough. The Night King raises all the dead, signaling round two of the slaughter fest. All of the characters we witnessed die flick their eyes open, this time icy blue.

The wights attack Daenerys and Drogon, to which Dany jumps off and Drogon flies away, trying to shake off the wights crawling all over him. Daenerys finds herself surrounded by approaching wights, when Ser Jorah Mormont comes to her aid. Jorah suffers many blows but presses on to keep Daenerys safe.

Arya sneaks her way through Winterfell before being chased by a hoard of wights. The Hound and Lord Beric help her escape, Beric getting himself killed in the process. Arya also finds herself with Melisandre again, who reminds her of what she told her the last time they met:

"I see a darkness in you, and in that darkness, eyes staring back at me: brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes you’ll shut forever.”

Arya also recalls what Melisandre says about death. "Not today," she declares as she runs off.

Bran is basically useless, as usual. He uses his sight to go follow around some crows as his ring of protection is being taken out by wights. Finally, only Theon remains and the Night King appears to kill Bran. Bran finally awakens, sees the situation, and thanks Theon, telling him he's a good man. Theon then charges at the Night King, who kills him with ease. At this point, I figured Bran would finally make himself useful and do something to defeat the Night King. However, as the Night King approaches...

BAM! Out comes Arya from behind with the sneak attack!

She's not quite fast enough, as the Night King turns and grabs her. However, before he can kill her, Arya takes her Valyrian steel dagger and stabs him with it!

THIS IS WHY ARYA IS THE BEST CHARACTER IN THIS WHOLE SHOW!

The Night King is shattered, and his undead subjects, including his newly received ice dragon, follow. And it seems to be just in time, as many of our beloved remaining characters didn't have much fight left in them.

Jorah, seeing that the battle is over and Daenerys is safe, finally lets himself collapse, and Daenerys cries over him as he dies. I knew he would die protecting Daenerys, but that doesn't make it any less heartbreaking to witness.

Melisandre did her part to help pull the living through, but she has served her purpose. She takes off her red amulet that keeps her alive and walks off into the snow and dies.

Arya has now fulfilled two thirds of the prophecy declared by Melisandre. She has forever closed brown eyes when she killed Walter Fray, blue eyes when she killed the Night King, now where are the green eyes?

Ah, yes. CERSEI. Cersei has green eyes! Melisandre may have confirmed that Arya will be the one to kill Cersei in the coming episodes!

Now, it is time to remember our beloved characters that have fallen. Here is a list of everyone we care about that died in this episode:

1. The Night King

2. Melisandre

3. Ser Jorah Mormont

4. Lyanna Mormont

5. Theon Greyjoy

6. Lord Beric

7. Eddison Tollett a.k.a. Dolorous Edd

It is safe to say that I am beyond excited to see what happens in the coming episodes following the Battle of Winterfell. Defeat the dead, check. Defeat Cersei and place someone on the Iron Throne, coming soon.