We’ve just witnessed one of the most epic weekends for entertainment ever. Not only did we see the conclusion of Marvel’s first decade of superhero movies in Avengers: Endgame, a film that grossed well over $1.2 billion in the opening weekend, but we also got to watch the best Game of Thrones episode in the current season. The battle we expected finally arrived, and what a battle that was. The war, however, is far from over, and the first trailer for episode 4 tells us exactly that. Mind you, massive spoilers follow below if you haven’t seen The Long Night.
Before we dive into next week’s Game of Thrones installment, let me just say how epic the battle against the undead was. All these years of watching these characters evolve, and following all the loose ends of the story while looking for clues paid off, and then some, in episode 3.
The humans won, and what a victory that was. The Night King was annihilated by the one character that was among the favorite Game of Thrones heroes to kill him. As satisfying as that moment was, I can’t but wonder why the Night King had to die so fast. After all, we still have many questions about him.
Also, I can’t but also point out some of the huge tactical errors the living made against the dead. Rather than keeping the cavalry close and fight on their own terms, the humans decided it was best to waste the Dothraki early in the fight. Not to mention that the artillery they had at their disposal only fired a single round. Again, what a waste. Dany and Jon Snow were hardly efficient at disrupting the waves of undead storming the castle. Jon Snow still knows nothing about flying dragons, and Dany conveniently parks her ride on the ground, ruining her only real advantage. Then there was the crypt…
But all of this works, because the living aren’t used to fighting the dead. That massive Dothraki charge would have probably crushed the assault of a regular army, delivering a crippling blow to the attacker. Moreover, as we’ve seen in previous seasons, dragons are no match for people. Undead, meanwhile, don’t give a damn about your flaming swords, fire-breathing dragons, or the fire ditch. They march onwards. As for the crypt, while we the audience know what will happen there, the regular folk of Westeros have little grasp of the whole resurrecting-the-dead trick the Night King has at his disposal.
This brings us to next week’s episode, which will show us how the war in Westeros progresses. Now that the undead are defeated, Dany, Jon, and all the others will have to deal with Cersei — the latter has been notably absent for the past two episodes, but she’s definitely ready for a fight herself.
The trailer also tells us that both of Dany’s dragons are still alive and ready for battle. Dany, meanwhile, seems to think she’s still the queen of the land and the people like her. Arya, meanwhile, clearly has a love interest in this whole game of thrones.
“The Battle of Winterfell is over, and a new chapter for Westeros begins,” the austere synopsis of the untitled upcoming Game of Thrones episode tells us. So all we can do is wait for next Sunday to arrive:
