Inside the Episode: Go behind the scenes of “The Long Night”

So, Inside the Episode, anyone?

I think we all need a moment to let this episode of Game of Thrones sink in. It was THE battle that we’ve been building up and it’s THE battle that defined everything. As showrunner David Benioff says in HBO’s behind-the-scenes documentary, “We’ve been building towards this for so long now.”

As Benioff points out, we met the undead in the very first scene of the very first episode of the show. “This is the culmination of one of the key storylines in the whole show. And this is for everything.”

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One of the most exciting yet daunting parts of watching “The Long Night” was the first 10 minutes. It was a slow build-up to the chaos that we were about to be thrown into. “There’s so much tension before there’s any encounter with the enemy.” Yah, no kidding, Benioff!

Benioff points out the importance of there being an ebb and flow to the episode because so much of it was just the battle. It could have gotten repetitive or boring really fast, which is honestly impossible to imagine, but it’s true. They prevent this by letting the viewers believe that things are starting to work in the favor of the living — whether that’s the Dothraki army charging at the dead or Melisandre lighting the trench on fire

Now, let’s talk about LYANNA MORMONT, the real MVP of the episode…well, apart from the real, real MVP. According to Weiss, Bella Ramsay was only meant to be a one-scene character, and we’re so glad they expanded her role. If if she had to die, at least she got to stab a giant in the eye before she went!

And then there’s Arya. Her journey through the entire series has led her to this point, to this battle, to the final moments that blew every single of one of us away. Benioff and Weiss reflect on her shocking ending scene, and I’m having a hard time writing this because I’m not over it. What the what!

According to Benioff, they knew three years ago that it’d be Arya who would kill the Night King. It was all sorts of unexpected because she was offscreen for a while beforehand. The showrunners did this intentionally hoping fans would be caught off guard, and boy, were we ever!

As regards Jorah’s death, he got to go out the way he wanted, in Dany’s embrace. Lord Friendzone may no longer be with us, but it makes me happy that he was with the woman he loved, even if she didn’t love him back.

Characters redeemed themselves this week, with the biggest being Theon. He’s been a hot mess throughout the series, but in the final moments of his life, he went all in. Said Benioff:

"It’s how you face those final moments and he chooses to run straight at it, and I think he dies in a way that makes us really proud of him and the journey he’s gone through."

What. an. episode.

Let the rewatch begin!

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