Game of Thrones S8 E3 Data Visualization Recap
This is the third in a series of recaps I’ll be posting for the final season of Game of Thrones based on work I’ve described in “The Ultimate Game of Thrones Dataset”, “32 Game of Thrones Data Visualizations”, and “19 More Game of Thrones Data Visualizations.”
The Night King is dead?! We finally know what that dragonglass dagger was all about… And Arya might be the Prince/ss who was Promised?! All that aside, read on for a data-driven recap of the third episode of Game of Thrones’ Season 8, “The Long Night”.
If you want to see these visualizations for past episodes, you can check out any episode here. And if you want to see/play with the dataset, it’s on github.
When are characters on screen?
This was the most difficult episode to do in a long while; actually, the battle episodes usually are. Since there isn’t as clear of a distinction between locations, this kind of becomes more of a “who’s on screen” analysis than a “who’s there but maybe just off camera” type of thing. Compounding the difficulty was the darkness of the episode! I’ve heard from lots of folks who were squinting throughout just to try to make out which different characters have the focus at any given moment.
Here it’s clear to see how the first half of the episode is mostly cutting between short snippets of different characters, whereas the third quarter has some longer sequences (Arya’s stop through the library and subsequent romp with Sandor Clegane and Beric Dondarrion) followed by a lot of quick cuts to wrap up the episode.
For how long are characters on screen?
It really shouldn’t be a surprise that Arya was on screen the most this episode (especially seeing her slow-mo leap at the Night King). What’s maybe most surprising is how much she’s on-screen fighting and running in the first three-quarters of the episode, only to be forgotten for a while until she makes her epic leap. This is also the most screen time the Night King has ever gotten, more than double his time in “Hardhome” (Season 5, Episode 8) and “Beyond the Wall” (Season 7, Episode 6).
Apologies to Qhono and the rest of the Dothraki; they were kind of lumped into one big group, and it was tough to tell one bloodrider from another.
Which locations are on screen?
The whole episode was at Winterfell, which is fitting for the Battle of Winterfell. In general, it seems safe to say that episodes in which a battle takes place tend to feature a single location (or at most a second location).
How long is spent in each region?
Aside from “Blackwater” (Season 2, Episode 9), this is the second episode from Season 8 which also takes place in only 1 region, along with “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” (Season 8, Episode 2). Furthermore, all 1 hour, 18 minutes and 31 seconds of this episode take place completely at Winterfell. I’ll spare you that single bar visualization this week.
How many words does each character speak?
A bit surprisingly, Melisandre had the most to say this episode, and most of that was in High Valyrian prayers to the Lord of Light. You’ll also notice a long list of Northern Soldier #’s in the list below; this episode had a lot of background dialogue in preparation for, and during, the battle from unidentified speakers listed as Man or Soldier in the closed captioning.
How many languages are spoken?
Given the diversity of the Winterfell armies, it’s curious that there weren’t more words in Dothraki or Astapori Valyrian (spoken by the Unsullied). The High Valyrian is from Melisandre’s prayers and her greeting to Grey Worm on her way into Winterfell.
Most interestingly, this is the fewest words spoken in any episode of Game of Thrones, only 832 words. Before “The Long Night”, the “Battle of the Bastards” (Season 6, Episode 9) had the fewest with 2,684 words, more than triple what was spoken this week.
What’s the gender balance on screen?
This seems to be representative of the running average for the on-screen gender balance.
What’s the gender balance of words spoken?
40/60 is closer to parity, but given how few words were actually spoken…
For how long is each House on screen?
Apologies once again to the Dothraki. So far most of the riders don’t have names on IMDB and it’s too tough to identify one from another in the dark. That said, they were obviously on screen for more than just the 4 seconds (when I think I’m seeing an undead Qhono), but I just couldn’t put a name to them.
Which locations are in the opening sequence?
This was the third episode with the same(-ish) opening sequence, but I’m curious to see how the light blue tiles of the Army of the Dead recede next week, and whether the destruction at Winterfell is shown in the opening sequence like it was back when the Boltons took it.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this data-driven description of the episode. Let me know if there are other visualizations you think ought to be included or other data that could be collected in general?
Thanks for reading!
- “Winterfell” (Season 8, Episode 1) Data Visualization Recap
- “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” (Season 8, Episode 2) Data Visualization Recap
- “The Long Night” (Season 8, Episode 3) Data Visualization Recap
- “The Last of the Starks” (Season 8, Episode 4) Data Visualization Recap
- “The Bells” (Season 8, Episode 5) Data Visualization Recap
- “The Iron Throne” (Season 8, Episode 6) Data Visualization Recap
