For most of this series now, I have avoided the toxic (and blatantly sexist) element that exists on the Reddit threads and the superfan forums. However, there was too much time to wait between this season and the last, so I grew bored and decided to read up on some of these fan theories and predictions. Boy, was that a mistake. Most of the outrage found in the user reviews of this episode seems to be coming from individuals who got too wrapped up in these threads: "What about Azor Ahai" "What about Lightbringer?" "The prophecy was never fulfilled!"
After reading these threads this past year, there was always an issue in the back of my mind that never quite crystallized until now-If these are such big questions, then why has the series said virtually nothing about them? I don't understand the shock at the series not answering questions that it was never asking to begin with. It seems to me, there was a dedicated group of Reddit users who fell prey to these elaborate theories based on the books, but not at all based on the series. The disconnect only grew wider as the seasons progressed.
Another big topic of outrage was the ending (SPOILER ALERT): How could Arya Stark be the one to take down the Night King? I don't find this to be much of a leap at all. She the entirety of the series training as a fighter and, more importantly, a highly-skilled assassin. That's not an exaggeration, we see her archery skills all the way back in the series premiere. I would argue that she is the only logical character to pull off an assassination of the Night King, an ending which was foreshadowed last season in the Beyond the Wall episode-"We only need to kill him (The Night King)". Granted, no one saw it happening in episode 3, but the point still stands.
Enough about the outrage. Let's focus on what this episode did well, which was just about everything. It must have been a gargantuan task to try and pull off this epic battle while focusing on all of the interwoven character plot lines and arcs. The writing, pacing, choreography, and direction were all top-notch. There are some truly glorious moments in this battle that are overshadowed by a two things:
1. Yes, the lighting sucked. It was at night and there was a blizzard, but they could have done a better job communicating that effect to the audience without going back and forth between nearly complete blackout darkness and whiteout blizzard snow. Look back at the Helm's Deep battle from LOTR for an example of exceptional lighting at night during inclement weather.
2. The ending with Arya and the Night King. I've already touched on that.
Give this episode another shot without bringing these elaborate, yet delusional, theories in with you and you'll find that it was a great battle with major plot points that the creators have been setting up throughout this entire series.
Review of The Long Night
