What I Want From The Battle of Winterfell
The trenches are dug and the soldiers are armed. Any and all who are prepared to fight on the side of the living are inside of Winterfell. Many of the show’s characters had some great and endearing moments together on last Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones, which will pay off next Sunday at the Battle of Winterfell. Of course, some of these payoffs will be less than satisfying as we will have to say goodbye to some of the most beloved characters on the show. Sir Jamie, Sir Brienne, Arya, and the rest will be surrounded by a force that “does not tire” as Jon said in the last episode. Aside from the loss of main characters, there are some things that could add to the episode, making it an all time great one in my personal record book
Kill It With Fire
We have seen some great battle episodes in Game of Thrones, including Blackwater, Hardhome, and The Battle of the Bastards. These thrilling hours of television have all centered around soldiers on the ground marching towards each other and fighting traditionally, which of course is well shot and compelling enough. However, this episode has an added element, since this is the first time both sides have a dragon. This is a great opportunity to flex that CGI budget, and give us our first aerial battle in the history of the show. The dragons have come a long way in actual size, but also detail, compared to some of the earlier seasons where they are a bit rough around the edges. With this being HBO’s flagship show — budget shouldn’t be an issue — we deserve to get some great Dragon versus Dragon action this Sunday.
Sacrifice and Redemption
Theon Greyjoy is one of the most unlikable characters in modern television history. Every time he has had a shot at redemption, he lets the audience, and himself, down. Ramsey Bolton had Theon shave him with a straight razor for crying out loud, and Theon just went along with it; after some of the worst torture any man could experience he refused to take revenge on his tormentor. Even when he did make the right choice, like jumping into the Winterfell snow banks with Sansa, he was also saving his own life as well. He did free Yara in the premiere of this season, but only after failed to prevent her from being captured to begin with, which lead to her presumed torture as well. Very little could make up for Theon turning on the Stark family, or murdering two innocent boys in the middle of Winterfell (claiming they were Bran and Rickon), but he may have a chance this weekend. It was rather odd that no one had an issue with him offering to guard Bran personally by the Godswood but here we are. If the Night King can make his way into Winterfell successfully, Theon and some Iron Born will be all that stands in his way, which could lead to a potential epic sacrifice that could make Theon’s journey worth it.
A Mysterious Return
One last thing that could put this episode over the top would be the return of one of it’s biggest characters going all the way back to season 2. I’m not talking about anyone who is resting in the crypts of Winterfell. This return would be a show stopping moment if it happens on Sunday, considering he is one of the few characters where we never actually see his death, and considering The Battle of the Bastards was not too long ago, so he would still be relatively fresh. I’m talking about a Stannis Baratheon return this weekend, as one of the leaders of the Night King’s army, and one of the best military minds in Westeros. Give me Zombie Stannis.
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