(Game of thrones spoilers, although if you haven’t seen it by now, don’t bother, it’s not worth it)

Episode 3, Season 8 of Game of Thrones was one of the most anticipated episodes of television in my lifetime, and without a doubt, it lives up to the hype. We all know Game of Thrones as a show that subverts your expectations; Ned Stark’s death in season 1 and the Red Wedding in season 3 were clear examples of that. Well this episode is another example of Game of Thrones being ahead of the curve.

Many fans thought it would be Jon Snow who would defeat the Night King, the terrifying ice villain who can raise the dead. Jon spent eight seasons on the wall, where the presence of the white walkers and the wildings running south were key plot points. It would be fair to assume that it would be Jon Snow, the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen who would face off against the Night King but we were left shocked. It was actually Arya Stark, who spent years training in a different continent for this exact moment in earlier seasons who stabbed the lead white walker, and thus ended the greatest threat facing Westeros.

I was so happy that none of the main characters died other than Theon and Jorah. Game of Thrones is a show where any character can die at any time, but that always bothered me. I hate seeing characters face consequences, and thankfully this episode saved me from that for the most part. Both their deaths were very emotional as they, sacrificed themselves for others. Seeing Theon try to kill the Night King to defend Bran, after their joined backstory brought tears to my eyes.

Seeing Bran never use his powers made him even more mysterious to me, it was a good move by the writers not to reveal too much. We know he could warg into any animal, and perhaps even a dragon, but he was hardly in the episode. I like that they keep him mysterious.

Tyrion’s plan to hide in the crypts was clever, thinking it would keep the vulnerable people safe and it shocked me when the dead broke out of their tombs. That was a twist I was not expecting, and neither was he. Another classic Game of Thrones expectation subversion™️.

The fight on the dragons with Danny and Jon attacking the Night King was beautiful cinematography and easy to comprehend. In fact, the entire episode had excellent lighting too, where it was so dark that I couldn’t see much and that really added to the horror atmosphere.

This was one one of my favourite Game of Thrones episodes and it will go down in television history certainly.