Game of Thones: The Short End of the Long Night

1 of 3

There’s nothing wrong with being critical of something you love. “The Long Night” was the kind of episode where we all knew there would be bickering and infighting within the Game of Thrones community after it aired.

Everything from the battle plans to the Night King’s fate to the lighting in the episode has come under scrutiny from fans. Some of the criticisms are valid, where others…well…aren’t. Let’s dive right in.

Criticism 1: Arya is a “Mary Sue”

Let’s just get this one out of the way now. She isn’t. And you’re probably not using the term correctly, anyway. The term “Mary Sue,” which roughly means an idealized female character who has no flaws, has been co-opted by the same facet of nerdom who want to defend “ethics in gaming journalism” or are super-upset about Star Wars or Captain Marvel for….REASONS.

Arya spent the vast majority of her time on Thrones getting the crap kicked out of her and training with the best killers in the world, from Syrio Forel to the Hound to Jaqen H’ghar. She learned how to use magic to steal faces; she’s survived beatings, stabbings, and blindness. She escaped King’s Landing and found her own path in the world. They’ve spent YEARS establishing her credibility as a killer, and even went so far as to show you her ambidextrous dagger abilities last season. They highlighted how quietly she moves in the library scene, where her dripping blood made more noise than her, and that’s without snow to muffle her footsteps

These criticisms about character’s abilities almost never seem to be levied towards male characters. If ANYONE is a wish-fulfillment type character for the authors, it’s Sam…he’s a Gary…Stu? I guess? But even then it doesn’t fully fit. Game of Thrones is full of well-developed characters that don’t need this crap from their fans. Do better.

Verdict: Invalid

Criticsm 2: More characters should have died

When the dust settled and the night ended, only a handful of named characters were dead, and only Jorah and Theon could be considered “main” characters at this point. Beric, Dolorous Edd, and Melisandre had been around for a long time, but they weren’t part of the core cast. Lyanna Mormont was a badass but was just a side character.

There were MANY characters that came within inches of dying but somehow didn’t, and it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder why they were kept alive and what purpose they could serve in the long run.

Brienne, Pod, Tormund, Grey Worm, and Missandei all seemed like folks who could have died, but not one of them did. Sam, Jaime, Tyrion, Davos, Sansa and Bran were all characters that we didn’t necessarily think WOULD die, but also were very much in positions to be served up to the god of death.

HBO and the showrunners and actors really teased a lot of death and heartbreak in this season, and we aren’t feeling it yet. Don’t forget about posters like this that not only teased character deaths but also a Night King victory.

Verdict: Somewhat Valid

Home/Game of Thrones