Thread by @MollyMcKew

Game of Thrones/Long Night thread: I started reading this story 20+yrs ago & Martin is never going to finish the books. So while I've enjoyed the hot takes on use of fires/artillery/air power, it's important we evaluate ep from storytelling & not just military perspective /1 #GoT

If you read the Song of Ice and Fire, you've invested serious time in these characters & stories. This is probably all the wrap up we get. Is the show doing a good job bringing these to a fitting end, instead of just being fanfic? S8 ep1/2 largely fanfic. So let's consider 3. /2

Unlike most of Twitter, I liked the battle in the darkness and the difficulty of following it -- because this is absolutely how the Army of the Dead would fight.
-They have superiority on the night battlefield, plus psychological advantage.
-They would swarm like a hive ... /3

... & not act as individuals.
-They wouldn't need siege engines or artillery, because they could just pile dead up the walls & eat their way in -- as they did. Defending against these tactics + against individuals unconcerned with survival would be strategically difficult /4

-They would bring the storm to remove the advantage of the dragons.
-They would have used the hive to end the enemy and keep the generals in the rear.

All of this was good Army of the Dead battle planning. /5

For the Army of the Living:
It would have been terrifying & out of control. The intervention of the dragons would have seemed miraculous--light + destruction. I found this portrayal of the story authentic. /6

None of our fan favorites who died -- Lyanna Mormont, Dolorous Ed, Beric Dondarrion -- gasped out meaningful last words, adding purpose to this sh*tshow.

They just fell. There was fear and pointlessness.

There was also valor no one saw or will remember.

This is how it is. /7

Lot of Twitter eye-rolling about the burning Dothraki swords bringing false confidence to valuable cavalry who then rode bravely to a pointless end.

But the visuals of points of light flying across the darkened field of battle, running in to then being consumed by the dead -- /8

-- This was gorgeous. And a stunning film portrayal of what would have been the first cold reality of this battle. /9

But, ok, back to stories.

First off -- the first 7 seasons/5 books were the arc of Daenerys building an army, finding a fleet to transport that army (primarily the Dothraki + horses) to Westeros. So for them to be an appetizer for the Army of the Dead seems... unmomentous. /10

The Unsullied did relatively awesome in comparison, which continues to hammer home the heavy theme of the books/show that dickless men are the ones who you can count on.

I'm just saying what is obvious. If you think about it, there's a loooot of men with their junk cut off. /11

This was the end of House Mormont -- but they went out well.

Young Lyanna was everything we knew she was up until then end.

So, ultimately, was Jorah, who died slaking his perpetually misguided love of Daenerys Stormborn. He dies exactly how we thought he would: saving her. /12

Dolorous Ed deserved better. In many ways, his story was over, as is the Watch. He died as he had served: doing what needed to be done.

Sam -- ugh. I miss the Sam of the books, who wasn't a coward if not a warrior. Waste of time to show him so repeatedly terrified ... /13

... Instead of any character evolution. That he brings knowledge about the enemy that has helped even the play field, for example.

Nope. Just pissing himself. But surviving. With no details. This was dumb. /14

Now the Starks:

When Sansa walked down into the crypt, there was this feeling of symmetry in her story, from the beginning when she sat through a siege with crazy drunken Cersei, until now, when she is the lady in the room that people look to for example. This was well done /15

The scenes b/w Sansa & Tyrion are pure gold -- but really all scenes with Sansa are gold.

Her comment that it would never work between them because of Tyrion's divided loyalties to Dany is some heavy foreshadowing though.

Needless Missandei b*tchiness felt very last season /16

Arya has become a glorious machine of death.

There was a lot of twitterplaining about the library scene -- but again, I found this strong. In urban battle/interior combat, this is how it is -- intense room clearing, anxious silence, then small confrontations... /17

... that disconnect you from the whole of the battle, but they are your everything until you survive.

But it was weird that here the walkers are shown like zombies--wandering aimlessly, the battle seemingly forgotten--when they have never been shown this way before. /18

Ok, now Bran.

What the hell was Bran doing the whole ep? I mean -- oh are we boring you?

He's super annoying on the best of days, now that he has accomplished his only plot purpose of telling Jon he is a Targaryen. But... /18

... a significant amount of the books (and show) is devoted to Bran's plot: his crippling, his fleeing, his transformation, his three-eyed-Raven education, his survival, his return. So... for what exactly? /19

Shouldn't we have learned something about the Night King? Shouldn't there have been some tree-vision, or some warging, to explain the purpose of this stupid invasion, of what the dead were about, and why all this (the Wall, the Watch, the history of Westeros, something??? /20

Useless plot line to have him as the magical Night King bait, and then have zero explanation of why (or of anything at all).

What the hell was he doing the whole g*****n battle?? Or is that like, something he will narrate in boring monotone next week? /21

Same criticism on Red Woman in this ep-- she had some cool moments, but at this point anyone who can see the bloody future should be sharing what they know.

We were owed more Davos time in the ep. And that would have been a good way to use it. Good end to their hate arc. /22

Instead we got an unbearably long slow-mo sequence with the Night King approaching to kill Bran. UNBEARABLY long. Like how-I-felt-about-the-entire-movie-Inception long. And during which the music seemed lifted from Westworld, which was really obnoxious. /23

HOW ABOUT A WAR WITHIN THE VISION THAT EXPLAINS WTF INSTEAD OF THIS STUPID SLO-MO WHERE YOU REALIZE THE NIGHT KING HAS AN EARRING?!??

After the Night King glassifies, Bran almost looks sad about it.

We're sad, because wtf. Please de-annoyingify this character /24

Beric Dondarrion died fighting as bravely as the man he never believed he was. I guess 16 reincarnations just to save Arya is fair if she was fated Night Kingslayer.
This would have been a good place for the Red Woman to explain why Arya instead of stating plot points. /25

The Hound through-line was muddled, and this was annoying because he is such a great character. Is he saving Arya, or not? This should have been the moment for him to hound past his fear of fire -- realizing in this battle, fire is glorious salvation and not pain... /26

... You know, like, character evolution? Rather than a time-wasting regression? If his mental redemption was his devotion to Arya -- ok.

But, well, wouldn't it've been nice if that didn't need to be stated out loud as if acting doesn't work? Bad writing. /27

Theon came to repent for his sins against the Starks, and he did. His death was his redemption, and if somewhat heavy-handed, this was well ended for him. /28

The only thing used worse than the dragons in Army of the Living battle plan was Jon Snow. The endless scene with him trying to get passed the undead dragon to get to Bran was needless CGI porn and it felt like a Zelda boss-battle. Blech. /29

Thankfully we avoided anymore chemistry-less romance scenes -- But this episode was a missed opportunity to tease out how Jon and Dany will resolve their crisis.

Nope. No symbolism. Just uselessness. /30

Btw -- losing the story line of the wolves was always a mistake in the show.
More Ghost!! More Nymeria (who should sure as f*ck show up for a last battle somewhere with all the other wolves she has unionized???)!!! /31

SEVERELY missed opportunity to advance the chaste warrior love affair between Jaime and Brienne during this ep. Fighting back-to-back is the front-to-front we'll never get with them. But no. Instead there was just some useless drivel fighting and no personal connection. /32

Meanwhile, for Daenerys the whole battle was personal & all about her. As always. So this made sense. (Book-Daenerys was so much better.) The moment where she makes her snootiest face & dracaryses the Night King and IT DOESNT WORK was funny. /33

Find a new trick! Or did you want to walk out of a fire naked again? (Eyeroll) /34

The Night King raising the dead was a great moment.

It really made the point that there was essentially no way for the living to win.

Unless, you know, there is some hack to exploit -- which could have been explained via a Bran vision!! /35

Or maybe -- why the walkers vs zombies divide exists, and why the Dracula rules apply?

Anyway -- the scenes after the resurrection -- the hopelessness, fighting on top of piles of living dead and more dead rain down from the walls -- very well done. /36

Ending the episode without any celebration, but with a significant asset (Red Woman) wandering out into the dawn and collapsing dead on the snow was powerful symbolism.

Pretty much that's what we're left feeling here: what the hell was this for?

She knew stuff. Can we???? /37

In conclusion, Sansa and Podrick should end up ruling this stupid continent, and then he can write a song about it. /xx