‘the long night’
Directed By: Miguel Sapochnik / Written By: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
Original Airdate: April 28, 2019
As the White Walkers and their army of the dead fast approach Winterfell, the defenders prepare for battle in and around the castle walls. Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark head down to the crypts to seek shelter from battle while Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen leave on dragonback with Drogon and Rhaegal as they await an opportune moment to strike against the White Walkers. Meanwhile, Theon Greyjoy and his Ironborn men escort Bran Stark to the godswood where the three-eyed raven positions himself as bait on the assumption that the Night King will come directly for him in order to erase all memory of men. Minutes before the battle commences, the Red Priestess Melisandre makes a surprise arrival in order to aide in the war with her magic.
featuring
RICHARD DORMER as BERIC DONDARRION / DANIEL PORTMAN as PODRICK PAYNE / BEN CROMPTON as EDDISON TOLLETT
BELLA RAMSEY as LYANNA MORMONT / MEGAN PARKINSON as ALYS KARSTARK / IAN WHYTE as WIGHT GIANT
STAZ NAIR as QHONO / SEAMUS O’HARA as FERGUS / BEA GLANCY as TEELA / BRONTE CARMICHAEL as MARTHA
and VLADIMIR FURDIK as THE NIGHT KING
WINTERFELL
Night has fallen at Winterfell. In the castle courtyard, Samwell Tarly is fearful and his nervous hands are filled with a pair of dragonglass daggers by an unseen benefactor. Tyrion Lannister takes several wine casks from the provisions to take with him to the crypts below, where the non-combatants are hiding. Bran Stark is wheeled to the godswood to wait as bait, accompanied by Theon Greyjoy and his detachment of Ironborn, as well as Alys Karstark. Meanwhile, Sansa and Arya Stark oversee one section of the castle wall while Ser Davos Seaworth commands another and Lyanna Mormont commands the defense of the main courtyard. Outside the gates, Brienne of Tarth commands the left flank, accompanied by Ser Jaime Lannister. They are joined by Tormund Giantsbane, Podrick Payne, Sandor Clegane, Gendry Baratheon, Eddison Tollett, and Samwell Tarly. Grey Worm leads the formations of Unsullied, while Ser Jorah Mormont and Qhono ride along with the Dothraki cavalry - accompanied by the direwolf Ghost. Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow ride Drogon and Rhaegal away from the castle, so as not to alert the enemy to their presence. The moonless darkness is impenetrable and eerily silent - until a lone rider appears: Melisandre, the Red Priestess. She rides up to Ser Jorah and asks him to command the Dothraki in their language to raise their arakhs. When they do, she starts praying to the Lord of Light in High Valyrian. The army's arakhs suddenly burst into flame, sweeping from one side of the field to the other. Melisandre then withdraws within Winterfell, as Ser Davos intends to kill her for the death of Princess Shireen. However, Melisandre tells him not to bother, as she expects to be dead by dawn anyway. Before she departs she stares intently for a few moments at Arya. Emboldened, the Dothraki cavalry charge ahead into the night, their fiery arakhs visible in the distance - until they crash into the seething horde of wights. In the shadowy distance, Dothraki war cries turn to screams of terror and the flames from their swords are quickly extinguished. A stray horse or rider manages to flee back through the castle, one of them a haggard-looking Jorah. The army of the dead advance in earnest and like a tidal wave they quickly overrun the defenders. A savage melee sees most of them surrounded: they are killing wights with their dragonglass weapons, but not nearly enough, as the undead overwhelm the defenders through sheer weight of numbers. Joining the fight on dragonback, Daenerys and Jon make strafing runs on the undead army, just behind the faltering human forces. Thousands of wights are incinerated: for a short time this stems their tide, but more keep coming. Jon sees the White Walkers in the distance and tries to make a bombing run at them. Before Jon can even reach their line, however, the White Walkers magically summon a large snowstorm. Both dragons can barely stay in the air, and nearly fly into each other during the whiteout. Arya then tells Sansa to flee to the crypts, as she'll only get killed if she remains. She hands her older sister a dragonglass dagger to defend herself, advising Sansa to "stick them with the pointy end." As the melee on the field continues, Samwell is nearly killed in the retreat, but Eddison saves him - only to be stabbed from behind and killed. While Sansa makes her way down to the crypts to find Tyrion, Lord Varys, Missandei and Gilly amongst the hideaways, a full retreat into the castle is ordered. Grey Worm commands the Unsullied to form a rearguard to protect the withdrawal of their few remaining forces. The wights gradually force their way forward in slaughter, even as Unsullied reinforcements step forward to take the place of each that falls. Grey Worm orders that the entrenchments around the castle - which have been filled with flammable pitch - be set on fire. Attempts by Arya and the other archers to shoot the pitch with flaming arrows are blown away by severe winds while the snowstorm prevents Daenerys and Jon from seeing Ser Davos’ signal to light it. Melisandre appears again on the battlefield, laying her hands on the trenchworks and repeats her prayers to the Lord of Light, straining with the massive effort. At the last moment, the entire trench ringing Winterfell bursts into flames. Grey Worm and his few remaining men withdraw behind the castle gates, which close. Many wights burn, but then they all robotically halt instead of mindlessly charging ahead to their destruction.
Down in the crypts, Tyrion laments that he should be up on the battlements even if he can't fight well: just like at the Battle of the Blackwater, he and Varys could still use their great intellects as commanders. Sansa chides that witty remarks won't make a difference, and the bravest thing they can do now is "look the truth in the face." Tyrion then quips that they should’ve stayed married - to which Sansa responds, "You were the best of them." Tyrion remarks that is a terrifying thought. Sansa continues a marriage wouldn't work out between them because of his loyalty to Daenerys. Missandei defends her queen, asserting that without her they'd all be dead by now. Meanwhile, in the godswood, Theon Greyjoy can also hear the approach of the undead army. He starts to apologize to Bran, but Bran politely cuts Theon off, saying that everything he did led him to where he is now: "home". Theon is moved. Bran then wargs into flocks of ravens around Winterfell and finds the Night King riding Viserion. Instead of the hordes of wights rushing through the fiery trenches, the Night King psychically directs them into a concentrated charge across one spot: many hundreds burn, but eventually their sheer mass extinguishes the flames, breaching the defenses. Thousands of them start swarming around the base of Winterfell and climb over each other in a mass up the castle walls. Eventually Jon spots the Night King and continues to pursue him on top of Rhaegal. The castle's walls are a major force multiplier for the defenders, and they kill hundreds of wights when they reach the top of the battlements. Arya manages to pick off many wights with her skilled training. However, Sandor Clegane, with his severe fear of fire, is left frozen as Beric Dondarrion urges him to keep fighting. Sandor pleads that they can't beat death itself, to which Beric points to an overwhelmed Arya and says: "Tell her that." Meanwhile, as Lyanna Mormont tries to organize the defense of the main courtyard, a large wight-giant bashes its way through the main gate of Winterfell and knocks Lyanna to the side while quickly taking out all of her soldiers that remain standing. Lyanna grabs a dragonglass blade and charges the undead giant, who swiftly snatches her up in his hand and holds her up near his one remaining blue eye. The giant clenches his fist, crushing Lyanna's chest in as her bones snap. Yet her hand is still free and she stabs the dragonglass into the giant's eye. He instantly dies and topples to the ground. Lyanna falls free of his grasp, but dies from her injuries. Meanwhile, above the clouds, the Night King appears riding Viserion and pursues Daenerys and Drogon. Jon tries to follow them but is knocked out of the way while Daenerys manages to evade the attack. When Daenerys and Jon find each other again, the Night King has left towards the godswood. At the same time, an overwhelmed Arya seeks momentary refuge in Winterfell’s pitch-black library, only to find herself evading more wights who are shambling about looking for survivors to pick off. Arya slowly sneaks past all of them but they eventually find her and give chase. As she races through the corridors of the castle, Arya runs into Sandor and Ser Beric. The trio make a running retreat through the narrow hallways, however, Beric is stabbed multiple times and barely manages to drag himself to safety into the Great Hall. While Beric succumbs to his wounds, Arya and Sandor find Melisandre, who remarks that in saving Arya, Beric has fulfilled the purpose the Lord of Light had for him. Melisandre reminds Arya that she once told her that she would close many eyes forever, including blue ones. When Melisandre then asks her, “what do we say to the God of Death?,” Arya replies: “Not today.” With this, Arya runs out of the Great Hall, newly determined in her goal. Meanwhile, hordes of wights finally reach the godswood, as Theon and his men start picking them off one by one. Up in the sky, Jon and the Night King fighting in fierce close quarters mid-air brawl on their dragons. Daenerys eventually approaches on Drogon as they collide with Viserion with such impact that the Night King is spilled from his mount, while Drogon tears into Viserion. Rhaegal, however, is badly wounded enough that he needs to make a forced landing, dropping Jon on the ground before fleeing.
Drogon sends the badly injured Viserion crashing into the castle while Jon regains himself on the ground, not far from the Night King, who is proceeding on foot towards the godswood. Daenerys reaches the Night King and has Drogon blast him with dragonfire. When the smoke dissipates, however, it is confirmed that dragonfire cannot kill him, as he is completely undamaged. He still has one ice javelin left and as he readies to throw it at Drogon, Daenerys flees, narrowly dodging the shot. Jon pursues the Night King but just as he is about to reach him, the Night King silently turns to him and raises his arms, resurrecting all of Winterfell's defenders who died in the battle up to this point into wights. Jon finds himself surrounded again as the Night King continues towards the godswood. Down in the crypts, many of the interred corpses rise as wights and start clawing their way out of their tombs. They're fairly old and not in the best shape, but the women and children are completely unarmed, and many succumb to the wights. On the battlefield, Daenerys lands Drogon momentarily, however, they stay on the ground for moments too long, finding Drogon being swarmed by dozens of wights. He just barely manages to fly away still covered in them, but Daenerys is knocked off his back in the process. However, Ser Jorah appears and helps Daenerys fight off the overwhelming number of wights. While Theon is the last remaining defender protecting Bran in the godswood, a terrified Tyrion and Sansa hide behind a tomb in the crypts and eventually pluck up enough courage to aide the defenseless women and children from the newly-raised wights. Jon, meanwhile, fights his way into the castle courtyard on foot, only to find himself dodging Viserion’s blue dragonfire. Badly wounded beyond the point a living dragon would have expired, the huge rents in his body leak bursts of fire, as he continues to crash around through the rubble. Jon is hastily forced to dive for cover, as Viserion lets loose a torrent of fire, incinerating the courtyard which barely misses Jon. In the godswood, the wights stop attacking Theon as they step aside to make a path for the arrival of the Night King himself, followed by the other White Walkers. Bran Stark turns to Theon and says "You are a good man. Thank you." Finally finding redemption for his past crimes against House Stark, Theon grabs a spear and courageously charges forward at the Night King. It is not enough, however, as the Night King easily blocks the blow, snaps the spear in half and impales Theon with it, who slowly dies on the ground. With no one left to defend Bran, the Night King walks slowly towards him. Bran looks up at his foe with pity, as the Night King stares down in triumph at his age-old nemesis, the Three Eyed Raven. As the Night King draws the sword sheathed on his back for the killing blow, a sudden wisp of wind catches the attention of one of his lieutenants. Arya Stark manages to slip past the other White Walkers and launches a surprise rear attack with her Valyrian steel dagger. Though the Night King reacts swiftly enough to whip around and catch her by the neck and arm, Arya drops her dagger from the arm he is restraining. She catches it with her free hand and then plunges it into his heart, causing the Night King to shatter into ice. As predicted, with his death, the White Walkers and the entire army of the dead begin to fall, as the magic animating them dies with their king. Viserion dies for the final time in the courtyard, saving Jon at the last minute, while the wights fall inside the crypts, saving Tyrion, Sansa and the rest. The wights attacking Jorah and Daenerys also drop dead, but Jorah is fatally wounded defending his queen. He dies in the arms of the woman he loves, as Daenerys cries while holding him. Drogon curls himself around them to comfort her as she mourns. Afterwards, when dawn finally breaks around the devastated castle, Melisandre walks out of the gates removing her cloak, and Ser Davos follows, ready to kill her. Melisandre, however, removes her magical choker and the glow from its gem fades. Davos is astonished to see her transform into her true, centuries-old appearance. Now having used all of her magic defending Winterfell, she takes a few more faltering steps, then collapses, and her body crumbles away into dust.
*Episode descriptions from GOT Wiki
“Not today”
“Witty remarks won’t make a difference. That’s why we’re down here. None of us can do anything. It’s the truth. It’s the most heroic thing we can do now: look the truth in the face”
“There’s no need to execute me, Ser Davos. I’ll be dead before the dawn”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you took your time”
“At least we’re already in a crypt”
“Everything you did brought you where you are now. Where you belong. Home”
episode three music
inside the episode
did you know?
The episode title refers to the Long Night, a winter that descended upon the world 8,000 years before the War of Conquest, and lasted an entire generation.
With a runtime of 82 minutes, this episode is the longest episode of the television series overall.
The Brotherhood Without Banners apparently ceased to exist with the death of Beric Dondarrion. When they returned in Season 6, they had fewer members, but they were still traveling as a large group by the beginning of Season 7. By the time they reappeared at Eastwatch, however, Beric and Thoros were the only ones still present, the others having simply disappeared.
The status of House Mormont after the battle is unclear: Lyanna and Jorah Mormont die, but in the books there are younger branch members of each family. As for House Karstark: it is actually uncertain if Alys Karstark is alive or dead. After the episode aired actress Megan Parkinson posted on her Instagram a vague message implying that she had more scenes which were cut for time - it's been revealed a death scene had in fact been filmed for her.
When Melisandre departed in Season 7, she said that she was going back to Essos to retrieve other magic-wielding Red Priests - but in this episode, she inexplicably returns to Winterfell, alone. There may have been external pressures on her plotline: actress Carice van Houten became pregnant during the break between seasons, then suffered from post-partum issues for a time afterwards and could not film, which may have impacted scenes they originally intended for her to appear in.
Actor Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) nearly faced a personal tragedy while filming this episode. While he was on location getting ready to film his big final fight scene, his wife suffered a brain hemorrhage (while she was in a live rehearsal for a play that night). She later made a full recovery, but at the time Glen was totally overwhelmed, as he said: "The nature of it, after it was all said and done, means it’s never going to happen again, and she’s fully recovered, but I was completely on the floor at the time, a total mess." Emilia Clarke, his partner for these scenes, was very moved and empathetic - given that, as she revealed right before the Season 8 premiere, she herself actually suffered a near-fatal brain aneurysm during Season 2.
Actor Richard Dormer explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that Beric Dondarrion actually had quick dying words, but they were deleted from the final cut of the episode. As he filmed it, after Beric staggers into the great hall, he chokes out the simple command "Live!" to Arya, and then dies.
Given that the TV showrunners said that Arya Stark killing the Night King was their idea, they may have simply abandoned all of the setup across multiple seasons of The Prince That Was Promised, also known as Azor Ahai in the novels. It is heavily implied that Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen may be this messiah figure. The entire reason Jon Snow was born is because his father Rhaegar Targaryen was convinced he needed a third child to fulfill the prophecy of the Prince That Was Promised. On the other hand, another entirely plausible scenario is that maybe Arya is the "third head of the dragon". The books give more detail about the prophecy, that the "Prince" might actually be three separate people, acting together to stop the White Walkers. It seems heavily implied that Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen are two of these - but the identity of the third person is still unclear, and heavily debated by readers.
Director Miguel Sapochnik said in interviews that the showrunners insisted on filming the biggest TV battle in history - as in, with the largest number of actual extras fighting on-location, avoiding the use of CGI as much as possible. Moreover, they actually filmed at night, and only used natural lighting from the fires, instead of using a day for night light filter in post production.
Some reviewers have accused that there is a continuity error when Lyanna Mormont stabs the wight-giant, as she started her charge holding an axe, but stabs it in the eye with a dagger. Actually, Lyanna drops her axe when the giant grabs her, but then pulls a dagger from her belt. In earlier shots when the giant first appears, the dagger is already visible tucked into her belt - thus there was no error. The confusion was probably due to the dark lighting of the scene.
Dragons are said to be very intelligent creatures in the books, perhaps a different kind of intelligence more attuned with "nature" or "magic", alien from our own, but they are not just dumb animals. In this episode, Drogon is seen to be mourning Jorah and comforting Daenerys in her grief by curling around her. There is a precedent for this in the novels, that dragons do know what death is and mourn their dead (like real life elephants). During the Dance of the Dragons, Silverwing is said to have mourned the dead dragons after the Second Battle of Tumbleton, futilely nudging their wings with her nose as if to rouse them awake.
The novels have hinted that the unusually long seasons Westeros experiences - often 2 to 3 years, sometimes 10 years long - are somehow tied to the White Walkers. George R.R. Martin himself has said that there is a "magical" reason behind the long seasons, which will be explained before the books end. It is possible this means that the seasons in the story will shift to what we would call a normal length (four seasons every solar year).