Game of Thrones: What Happened in Episode 3 of Season 8

The third and perhaps the most anticipated episode of the eighth season was released on April 29. The army of the living met in a mortal battle with the white walkers: the viewers were waiting for unexpected turns of history, the death of their favorite heroes and the answer to the main question: can people defeat the King of the Night?

Caution: This article contains spoilers! If you haven't watched Episode 3 of Season 8 yet, take our How You Die in Game of Thrones quiz

What the audience was waiting for

Battle of Winterfell

Throughout the previous series, the heroes were preparing to defend the North from the army of the King of the Night. The third episode was promised to be devoted entirely to the Battle of Winterfell. The director was announced to be Miguel Sapochnik, who presented the audience with the "Severe House" and the brutal "Battle of the Bastards".

The budget for the series exceeded $ 15 million, and the carnage was filmed in three different locations. Work on the episode took 55 days, and during this time 750 people took part in the battle. For comparison: the shooting of "Battle of the Bastards" took 25 days and attracted only 500 extras.

As a result, the third episode of the eighth season became the longest in the history of the series: it lasts 1 hour and 17 minutes. All this time is devoted to the battle - so that the series claims to be the longest battle in the history of cinema.

Many deaths

Confrontations of this magnitude are not without sacrifice. In the second series, there were many warm meetings and touching moments: which means that the lines of many heroes ended. The audience considered intimate conversations and gatherings by the fireplace as a kind of farewell.

According to forecasts, in the third episode, Brienne and Jaime were supposed to die, who were destined to be in the thick of things, as well as Theon Greyjoy and Jorah Mormont, ready for self-sacrifice. However, not a single character was insured against death - perhaps, except for Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.

Revealing the Mystery of the King of the Night

Throughout the series, we wondered who controls the army of the dead and what drives him. Is the King of the Night going to deal with Bran, wants to just kill everyone, or does he need something else? Maybe Bran is the King of the Night? Now, when the leader of the White Walkers enters into open confrontation with the people, his motivation should finally become clear.

Arya's battles with the Night King

Fans assumed that the Stark daughter, who had mastered the art of the faceless, would use her abilities to disguise herself as a wight to get closer to their leader and deal with him. Why else would she have ordered a special dragon-glass spear and asked Gendry so persistently about the dead?

Jaime's transformation into Azor Ahai

Bran greeted John and the sisters rather coldly, but the "old friend" from the Lannister house was waiting at the very gates of the castle. This gives reason to think about his special role, which is known to Bran.

According to fans, Brienne will turn into a witch after being killed in battle, and Jaime, who loves her, will thrust his sword into her heart. After that, the blade will become Radiant, and its owner will become the Prince that was promised. This twist will allow Jaime to kill the King of the Night and give new meaning to his nickname "The Kingslayer."

Rise of the Dead Starks

When Daenerys told John “The dead are here,” in the promo for the third episode, many believed that she was not referring to the wyches at the walls of Winterfell, but the dead Starks, who rest in the depths of the crypt.

In the first episodes, the heroes emphasized the safety of the dungeons and drove all the women and children there. But this is Game of Thrones, right? Danger can come from where we don't expect it. In addition, we well remember Arya running away with all her might, who is fleeing from someone hidden in the darkness.

What happened in the third episode of the eighth season

Melisandre comes to the rescue

Minutes before the battle, the red priestess returned to Winterfell, using fire magic to ignite the swords of the Dothraki cavalry. Melisandre will help the heroes throughout the series: a little later, she will set fire to the moat, which John and Daenerys were supposed to ignite with dragon fire. The Servant of the Lord of Light gives all her strength and kindles the flame only on the tenth attempt. Thus, she sacrifices herself: it was not for nothing that she told Ser Davos that she would be dead until dawn.

Dothraki dying

The formidable warriors of the grassy sea inspire fear with their curved swords, and with flames in their hands, they completely turned into a terrifying weapon. However, they were unable to stop the army of the dead. The cavalry was simply swept away, and the lights of the swords went out one by one.

Everything is not going according to plan

Daenerys and John were supposed to cover the combined forces from the air, but everything went wrong. Seeing the instant death of her khalasar, Denis flinched and lost her fighting spirit. He and John soared into the air, but practically dropped out of the battle, caught in an icy storm sent by the King of the Night.

Winterfell Defenders Retreat

Under the crushing onslaught of the horde of the dead, the defenses fell. Despite the preparation and strengthening, people simply do not have any chance of winning. The Impeccable closed ranks and were able to cover the retreat of the surviving soldiers of the army of the living.

The dead turn out to be smarter than the living

The warriors took refuge behind the walls of Winterfell, but it did little to help. At first, the walkers were stopped by a burning moat, but then the King of the Night ordered them to throw themselves into the fire, after which the bodies of some of the dead became a bridge for others. In the same way, the vikts made their way through the walls and began to storm the castle.

Lyanna Mormont dies

RIP Lady Lyanna Mormont ??

Arya fights side by side along with the Dog and Berik Dondarrion, they cover each other, fighting their way through each corridor. Defending them, Berik gets a lot of wounds and dies. It is even worse for those who are in the courtyard enveloped in fire.

Brave northerners fight to the death. Little Lyanna Mormont accomplishes a great feat, single-handedly rushing at the giant zombie. The giant crushed the girl like a nut, but at the last moment she managed to plunge a dragon glass dagger into his blue eye.

The dead are awakening in the crypt

As the fans expected, it also gets hot in the safest place - the buried ancestors of the Starks break through the crypts from the inside and attack the women and children who have taken refuge in the crypt. Tyrion squeezes Sansa's hand, and Sansa pulls out the dagger that Arya gave her. Without saying a word to each other, they understand that the chances of salvation remain less and less.

Dragons do not help to win

After coping with the ice storm, Daenerys and John meet in an aerial battle with the King of the Night. Living dragons bite and scratch their dead brother to protect their masters. Two riders manage to throw the leader of the army of the dead from Viserion, and he falls to the ground. Daenerys seizes the moment and tries to burn the Night King with Drogon's flames, but to her surprise, the dragonfire is powerless.

The army of the dead is replenished

John tries to attack the unharmed King of the Night in order to defeat him with his sword, but a one-on-one duel is not destined to take place - with a wave of the hand of a terrible blue-eyed warrior, the fallen defenders of Winterfell stand up and surround Snow from all sides.

Theon expiates his guilt

Meanwhile, the whites with the white walkers burst into the god-grove, where Theon and the ironborn protect the unconscious Bran. The former traitor fights like an angry lion, but the arrows run out and the dead keep coming. The awakened Bran thanks Theon for everything, and he, realizing that he has completed his mission, throws himself with a spear at the King of the Night and finds his death.

Arya strikes the decisive blow

When it seems that nothing will save, and the King of the Night raises his ice sword over Bran, Arya appears in the godwood. The girl jumps on the living dead, makes a feint and plunges a dagger into the cold chest. Spawned by a shard of dragon glass, the enemy is killed by Valyrian steel. After the King of the Night falls to pieces, all the dead immediately fall.

The battle is over. The living mourn the dead. Melisandre leaves Winterfell, takes off her necklace and falls dead, a gray-haired old woman.

The people won, but the price of this victory was too high.

What will happen next

It becomes known if Sam and Jorah Mormont will survive

Contrary to fears, most of the key heroes survived a terrible battle and will be able to participate in the further struggle. We lost Mournful Ed and Beric Dondarrion, but Brienne, Jaime, Tormund and Gray Worm remained unharmed, although the threat of death hung over them more than once. Bran, Arya, Dog and many other fan favorites remained in the ranks.

Sam, who did not want to stay in the crypt, received very serious wounds, as well as Jorah Mormont, who defended his Khaleesi to the last and closed his eyelids on her knees. But whether the heroes died is questionable.

“We won a great war. It remains to win the last battle"

These words of the Dragon Queen from the teaser for the fourth episode make it clear that viewers will still see battle scenes. Refusing to fight the dead, Cersei acted dishonestly, but wisely. The Walkers have thinned the Northern army, and the Lannister sister is ready to fight to defend the Iron Throne. Danny and John will have to gather all their strength to resist her mercenaries.

Compared to the King of the Night and his twists, Cersei's attempts to win seem ridiculous, but let's not jump to conclusions: there is still a whole half of the season ahead.

Iron Throne Challengers Reveal

Daenerys with great distrust took John's words about his true origin and is unlikely to give up her rights to take the notorious Iron Throne so easily. John himself doesn't really need him, but when people find out his real name, the Targaryen blood heir can change his point of view.

Find out what the King of the Night wanted

The goals and motives of the leader of the dead remained a mystery to the audience. But for sure the denouement was left for dessert: in the next episodes, we will most likely get an explanation of the sinister character's actions. We won't be surprised if Bran, who knows everything, tells about them.

Where the plot is heading, we will find out from the next episode, which will be released in a week - May 6.