GAME OF THRONES Recap: The Heroes (And Villain) That Died During The Battle Of Winterfell - Spoilers

GAME OF THRONES Recap: The Heroes (And Villain) That Died During The Battle Of Winterfell - Spoilers

Last night's episode of Game of Thrones will go down as one of the most intense in the show's history, &, as expected, we said goodbye to quite a few fan-favorite characters. Find out more after the jump.

By MarkCassidy - Apr 29, 2019 04:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Game of Thrones
What do we say to the God of Death?

Last night's extra-long episode of HBO's Game of Thrones was billed as an unmissable experience, and "The Long Night" did not disappoint.

Featuring an extended battle sequence the likes of which has never been seen on the small screen before, The Night King's siege of Winterfell was always going to claim some casualties, and by the time the smoke - not to mention the fire, ice and blood - had cleared, we'd lost more than a handful of major characters.

Although main players such as Jon, Dany and Tyrion were spared, a few fan-favorites were taken off the board, and, perhaps most surprisingly, the Night King himself was eliminated. Below, you'll find a rundown of the heroes (and villain) that met their makers in the thrilling third episode of Game of Thrones season 8.

Simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!

Eddison Tollett

Ben Crompton in season 6, episode 2 of Game of Thrones.


And now his watch has ended.

Acting Lord Commander of The Nights Watch Eddison "Dolorous Edd" Tollett may not have been a principal character, but his constant griping and hilarious one-liners saw him emerge as a strong fan-favorite.

He was high on many fan's "death list," and was the first familiar face to be taken out when he was killed by a wight while bravely helping Samwell on the field of battle.

Beric Dondarrion

Beric fights off wights in the Battle of WInterfell


The Lightning Lord gave his last life to save Arya Stark, which, it seems, was something he was destined to do from the first time his Lord of Light resurrected him through his friend Thoros.

While being pursued by wights through the corridors of Winterfell with Arya and The Hound, Beric was stabbed multiple times before breathing his last once the young Stark girl was safe.

Like Edd, Dondarrion was never much more than a secondary character, but he was pretty damn awesome, and we're going to miss that flaming sword!

Lyanna Mormont


It's a shame the fierce little Lady of Bear Island had to go, but things always looked bleak when she insisted on fighting alongside her men during last week's episode.

Hey, at least she went out like a boss.

After being swept aside by an undead giant, Lyanna charged right at the beast with her axe raised. While she ultimately perished in the giant's grasp, she managed to jam a dragonglass dagger in his eye first, taking one of The Night King's biggest assets out of the battle.

Theon Greyjoy

Theon attempts to hold the Night King off from the godswood, where Bran is waiting.


"Theon, you're a good man. Thank you."

Theon Greyjoy's demise seemed inevitable after he volunteered to protect Bran in the Godswood last week, and, sure enough, the Iron Islander was impaled with his own spear when he charged The Night King.

Theon was one of the most hated characters in Game of Thrones at one point, but his gradual redemptive arc really struck a chord with fans, and he was able to atone for his pretty heinous past actions by giving his life in service to The Starks.

Jorah Mormont



Arguably the biggest character to bite the big one (Theon was probably on par, but Jorah appeared in more episodes) was Ser Jorah Mormont.

The grizzled warrior came to his Khaleesi's aid he last second, saving her from dozens of undead while sustaining grievous wounds in the process.

Mormont stayed on his feet right until the last wight fell once The Night King was destroyed, before dying in the arms of the woman he'd loved and protected since the very first episode.

Melisandre



It's definitely a stretch to refer to Melisandre as a hero, but The Red Woman did do some good before checking out.

Arriving out of the blue before the battle kicked off, Mel gave the gift of fire to Winterfell on two different occasions. Then, she inferred that it was Arya's destiny to kill The Night King, prompting The Young Wolf to leave the keep and save her brother.

After the battle, The Red Priestess removed her collar before ageing rapidly and turning to dust in the snow while Davos looked on. Her actions may not make up for burning poor Shireen Baratheon alive (what could?), but at least she attempted to make amends.

The Night King



Fans may not have expected the show's ultimate big bad to be taken out halfway through the final season, but here we are.

The seemingly unstoppable ice demon may have survived dragonfire, but he didn't count on a Faceless Man-trained badass with a Valyrian steel dagger and expert hand-eye coordination.

Some feel that Jon should have been the one to kill the Night King, but that would have been predictable. Does this mean Arya is actually the Prince(ss) that was Promised?
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MDFPodcast
MDFPodcast - 4/29/2019, 4:34 PM
Overall...I felt pretty empty after watching this episode. Pretty disappointed.
DeadWade213
DeadWade213 - 4/29/2019, 4:43 PM
@MDFPodcast - So um......Night King in MK11?
MDFPodcast
MDFPodcast - 4/29/2019, 4:44 PM
@DeadWade213 - Haven't played MK11 lol

I just thought that the episode didn't really reflect 9 years of buildup.
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/29/2019, 6:17 PM
@MDFPodcast -

I am not sure how they keep on ruining the same concept. They did it with Walking Dead and now Game Of Thrones.

Put bluntly, the concept of both is that the threat is like a natural disaster, it is always going to arrive and cannot be stopped. Our characters either intentionally or unintentionally ignore the main threat with needless drama.

This leads to a sense of dramatic irony that nothing they did mattered and the lingering thought amongst the characters and the audience that perhaps we should think about the greater good rather than whatever individual issues we have.

It's even in the title of both shows;
The Walking Dead... humanity that is going extinct
Game Of Thrones... humanity distracting itself from a larger issue

Game Of Thrones ruined that with Season 8 Episode 3 - the main threat is defeated and our characters are justified in thinking that they can fight pointless battles and squabble with each other without consequences. It's the complete opposite of the entire thing the show has been building up to.
Hawknaba
Hawknaba - 4/30/2019, 3:57 AM
@Scarilian - The overall message i took away from this season so far is the opposite of that but it is yet to be seen whether the characters will as well.

My takeaway is that humanity only survived by banding together and putting aside their differences and because they didn't listen sooner, it was at great loss when they finally did. All the houses that are north but didn't join the effort were no doubt added to the Night King's ranks (if you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem)

Within those Winterfell walls, there were countless seasons long feuds that were set aside for the greater good
IKidYouNotMan
IKidYouNotMan - 4/29/2019, 4:44 PM
Didn’t have any expectations going in and felt a bit underwhelmed to be honest.
Jayman627
Jayman627 - 4/29/2019, 4:47 PM
The episode was tense and exciting and had some great moments, but I'll admit I was like... that's it the battles over, I was expecting the Night King to stick around a bit longer? Well, I guess we still have three more episodes to see what happens just didn't expect him to be ousted in the first night of the battle? lol
blackandyellow
blackandyellow - 4/29/2019, 4:47 PM
Pretty underwhelming end to the Dothraki hoard, but I liked the episode overall. I thought for sure Tormund, Brienne, and Greyworm would die at Winterfell.
regularmovieguy
regularmovieguy - 4/29/2019, 4:55 PM
@blackandyellow

“I thought for sure Tormund, Brienne, and Greyworm would die at Winterfell.”

I thought they were toast. Bran, too.
NoobNoob
NoobNoob - 4/29/2019, 4:48 PM
still annoys me that cersei will be the season big bad, they should had killed her first, then go with the night king

well, still hope that bran has a dark agenda and the three eyes raven is the bad guy at the end... dont know but i dont trust him
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 4/29/2019, 4:53 PM
@NoobNoob - The show was never about The Night King. It would have been lame if The Long Night was the final battle.
NoobNoob
NoobNoob - 4/29/2019, 4:55 PM
@WakandanQueen - he was always the bigger threat for them, since ep 1
Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/29/2019, 6:19 PM
@NoobNoob -
It wont be Cersei, the big bad is going to be Euron.
GreypilgrimXXX
GreypilgrimXXX - 4/29/2019, 9:14 PM
@WakandanQueen - Agreed 100%. Seems liek a lot are upset their fan theories did not come true. People wanted to see Jon be the hero and bring the NK down. That is far to predictatable and Jon has had too many moments.

I loved how when Jon pursued him the NK basically was like EFF you Jon here is some dead to play with lol brilliant.
GreypilgrimXXX
GreypilgrimXXX - 4/29/2019, 9:16 PM
@NoobNoob - If you think that the NK is a bigger threat than Cersei than you have been watching the wrong show. The NK has nothing more to his intentions other than bringing on the long night. Cersei has showed how cunning and deadly she can be on a level that we never saw with the NK. He is basically and undead who wants to make the world freeze nothing more.
GreypilgrimXXX
GreypilgrimXXX - 4/29/2019, 9:18 PM
@Scarilian - Surely you have to be joking LOL. Euron is an idiot he will die by Jamie or Jons hands, Jamie will end up killing Cersei. I am calling it right now.
Batmangina
Batmangina - 4/29/2019, 4:48 PM
After Endgame, any big CGI battle will feel a bit hollow at this point.

However, Arya killing the Night King was as badass of a surprise as the one or two moments in Endgame that really got me.

Also, this episode was dark AF - visually not thematically - turn on the goddamn lights!
99OPTIMISTPRIME
99OPTIMISTPRIME - 4/29/2019, 5:04 PM
@Batmangina - I think shooting the battle scenes in the dark, helps with the CGI budget. Kinda like with the first Pacific Rim movie.

I get that it was done for total shock value. But the Night King went out like a b!*ch.😂

Toblakai
Toblakai - 4/29/2019, 8:12 PM
@WAKANDABATMANFOREVER - it was done to immerse the viewer into the horror that the characters were facing.

GreypilgrimXXX
GreypilgrimXXX - 4/29/2019, 9:19 PM
@Batmangina -Darkness has always been used to hide subpar VFX in some cases with movies just like rain. You can get away with a whole lot more.
Jayman627
Jayman627 - 4/29/2019, 4:56 PM
Also off topic, I still haven't seen Endgame yet (I'm seeing it on Friday) and I still haven't been spoiled yet! :)

Glad everyone is being polite about not spoiling it and keeping it fun and exciting for everyone who's still waiting to see it! Really appreciate it everyone! :)

L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 4/29/2019, 4:57 PM
@Jayman627 - Batman dies.

Sorry. :)
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 4/29/2019, 5:03 PM
@Jayman627 - Vader is Luke's father.
Jayman627
Jayman627 - 4/29/2019, 5:05 PM
@L0RDbuckethead @WakandanQueen -...Damn...

walks to whiteboard
#Days without Spoilers- 0
Toblakai
Toblakai - 4/29/2019, 8:13 PM
@Jayman627 - Han Solo dies.
bropous
bropous - 4/29/2019, 8:17 PM
@Jayman627 - Iron Man, Captain America, War Machine and Ant Man ALL had moms named Martha!
Hawknaba
Hawknaba - 4/30/2019, 4:22 AM
@Jayman627 - Brad Pitt's wife's head was in the box
DetectiveSnosbot
DetectiveSnosbot - 5/2/2019, 9:07 AM
@Jayman627 - GET THE HELL OUTTA THE COMMENTS, MANNNN!!!!!

You have just got lucky. Peeps have been spoiling left and right. Good luck...








Pssstt... Hulk reveals he is Trans, Pepper was always Iron Man, that waitress from Avengers was Doctor Doom, and Jaws was the good guy. Not sorry. You shoulda known better reading these. Sheeesh...
L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 4/29/2019, 4:58 PM
Me, waiting for this Sunday:

L0RDbuckethead
L0RDbuckethead - 4/29/2019, 4:58 PM
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 4/29/2019, 5:01 PM
Major episode for Theon and Arya's arcs. I was just expecting Bran to do something more - though I bet he was doing something and it will be revealed this week.
Sure, not that many major characters died (plot armor) but Aegon and Dany's army significantly diminished.
Battabing
Battabing - 4/29/2019, 6:53 PM
@WakandanQueen -
Well,he did give Arya the Valerian knife.
nonserviam
nonserviam - 4/29/2019, 5:01 PM
So they pushed the whole Azor Ahai/Prince who was Promised prophecy arc for pretty much the 1st 7 seasons, and then said F it, and let Arya kill him.... Such a disappointment on that end.

Also, until I see a body or confirmation next episode, I am not going to believe Jorah is dead.
Ha1frican
Ha1frican - 4/29/2019, 5:10 PM
@nonserviam - Well she’s obviously the Azor Ahai it’s not like they just ignored that this video pretty much explains why that’s the case and why it was telegraphed before

Scarilian
Scarilian - 4/29/2019, 6:23 PM
@Ha1frican -
The exact same theories can be applied to every character in Game Of Thrones. Jaime was the most obvious candidate and a lot of the prophecy regarding what Azor Ahai would do simply wont work with Arya without repeating things that other characters such as Jaime have already done.
Toblakai
Toblakai - 4/29/2019, 8:18 PM
@Scarilian - that's the problem with projectiles. They are entirely subjective and are heavily influenced by the person relaying them which skews the perspective.

Often times the truth of a prophecy can only be realized once all events leading up to it have been realized.

They can also sprout branches which veer away from the original project depending on how events in the real world play out.

Terry Goodkind does a great job of explaining the trials and tribulations of prophecy in his Sword of Truth series.
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