The Long Night, aka The Battle of Winterfell, could be one of the most hyped episodes of any show in TV history, and it delivered no shortage of action, heroism and darkness. Literal darkness, in fact. WIRED's resident Game of Thrones fans Andy Vandervell and Sophie Charara peered through the murky scenes to rank the best deaths from episode three of season eight.
Spoilers, obviously.
1. Lyanna Mormont
"I don’t plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me. I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you."
Lady Mormont was the true MVP of the Battle of Winterfell. We've become accustomed to her bringing the sass during the character's short run in the show and her end ensured she'll be remembered fondly by Game of Thrones fans. The sense of dread as the undead giant lifted her was palpable and left me thinking she was about to suffer a death as horrific as Oberyn Martell. Surely, they won't? Thankfully, not even Game of Thrones is that brutal and as she felled the giant with a dagger to the eye, we all got to cheer at her brilliant sacrifice – and in relief that we didn't have to witness something much worse. Andy Vandervell
2. Theon
"My real father lost his head in King's Landing. I made a choice, and I chose wrong."
Jorah Mormont almost made it a Mormont top two, but Theon's heroism and redemption just edged out Ser Friend Zone in our list. Theon's is one of the most poignant, emotional and ultimately satisfying character arcs in the show. We've gone from despising him for his betrayal of the Starks to pitying his gruesome torture at the hands of Ramsey Bolton, cheering his rescue of Sansa and then bemoaning his cowardice in the face of his uncle Euron. Having rescued her sister and enjoyed a heartfelt reunion with Sansa last week, Theon's final moments protecting Bran and dying at the hands of the Night King completed his long journey of redemption. Bran's "Theon, you're a good man. Thank you" hit me right in the feels. Andy Vandervell
3. Jorah Mormont
"There is a beast in every man, and it stirs when you put a sword in his hand."
As he looks out into the darkness at the beginning of the episode, Jorah Mormont has tears in his eyes and, by the end, Daenerys is sobbing over him. I take no satisfaction that we correctly predicted this second Mormont death last week; sadly, season eights's plot seemed to demand it. But at least it was given the time and space it deserved with clearly visible slashing, cradling and crying. There was a lot of talk of people serving their purpose during The Long Night. Jorah defended his dragon queen – who did a bit of non-dracarys killing herself – til the battle was won. If you can call that relentless onslaught winning. Sophie Charara
4. Melisandre
"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. We will meet again."
If the online theories that all magic will disappear from Westeros by the end of the show are true, Melisandre more than made up for that possibility. The Red Woman isn't everyone's favourite, but she was flames this episode – quite literally. In fact, the priestess got so many iconic moments – firing up the Dothraki's scythes, trembling as she worked to light the trenches with the fire reflecting in her eyes, reminding Arya of her Night King-relevant prophecy that she would also shut "blue eyes" – that this left other, more classic hero-types having less to do, with Jamie, Jon, Brienne and the rest resigned to mostly being pummeled in the dark. Our knights and would-be rulers have more screen time left, but Melisandre did her last slow walk out into the snow, witnessed only by Ser Davos, another purpose served. Sophie Charara
5. The Night King
stares intently
My heart stopped when the Night King turned around from his stare-off with Bran and grabbed Arya. It was the only near-death fake-out, of many in this episode, that actually fooled me. The fearless, face-swapping Stark assassin has been reminding people how sneaky and quick she is for years. Here, she dropped the Valyrian steel dagger into her other hand, found the weak point in the Night King's armour and finished him off with the pointy end. It was glorious and, considering Jon's original plan, the well-trodden trope of all the Night King's nasties dying with him wasn't too disappointing.
Before his demise, the Night King had a chilling entrance on his dragon but ended up looking like a bad console game cut scene when he encountered Jon Snow. To return to Arya, she also saves the Hound with a nonchalant flaming arrow, inspires him not to give up with a fight scene set to a triumphant score and rolls down a flight of stairs strewn with bodies. What do you say to the God of Death? Not today. Sophie Charara
6. Beric Dondarrion
"Good and bad, young and old, the things we're fighting will destroy them all alike."
Beric Dondarrion's was another death that was given room to breathe. One of Arya's many adopted dads and mentors, multiple times resurrected, and he of the flaming sword, the Lord of Blackhaven had a touching moment slumped against the wall. Alongside Theon, Beric was treated to a beautifully-shot death in the halls of Winterfell. And without him, Arya wouldn't have survived the battle long enough to ultimately defeat the Night King. Sophie Charara
7. Dolorous Edd
"Whoever dies last, be a good lad and burn the rest of us. Once I'm done with this world, I don't want to come back."
Real name Eddison Tollett, Dolorous Edd has become infamous for his doom-tinged one liners. Hopefully, if Samwell Tarly writes the history of the Battle of Winterfell, the last Lord Commander of the Knight's Watch will be fittingly remembered for his contribution to saving the Seven Kingdoms. Let's face it, he owes him that much given Edd died saving Sam's life. Edd was a low-key fan favourite and it was only fitting he died by Sam's side. Andy Vandervell
8. The Dothraki
"Khaleesiiiiiiiii"
The death of most of the Dorthraki hoard was simultaneously brilliant and incredibly stupid. That long shot of the cavalry charge and their burning scythes was incredible, as was the sight of their lights slowly being extinguished. It was also kind of pointless. I hate to get all military tactics on you here, but what exactly were they expecting to achieve there? As the undead flowed into Winterfell, tens of thousands of still-living Dothraki would have been dead handy. It's a shame, too, that no Dothraki has been promoted beyond background scene dressing, as it made their sacrifice ring hollow in the end. It's unclear how many survived the charge, but I'm not counting on many. Andy Vandervell
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
