Mind blown… Game of Thrones …

Warning: Do not read until you have seen Game Of Thrones S8E3 “The Long Night”

In the words of Krusty the Clown, “Wow they’ll never let us show that again!”

Game of Thrones has screened its most explosive episode of the season, if not the entire series run, as the battle for Winterfell was unleashed.

In a mammoth 82 minute episode lives were lost as the Army of the Dead descended upon Winterfell castle.

The action by writer / producers David Benioff & D. B. Weiss was unrelenting (and sometimes even difficult to discern) as two armies clashed. If you thought dragons were an unstoppable force, then you probably hadn’t factored in weather.

CGI and actual battle scenes, underscored by dramatic music, rose and fell through triumph and despair but always teetering on the precipice of surprise. The episode was notable for the way female characters saved the day, amongst them Arya, Melisandre, Daenerys, Lyanna Mormont but a few blokes such as Jorah Mormont and Jon Snow never shirked from a fight too.

In the end it was one dragon and several key characters who lost their lives.

Here’s how the Hollywood Reporter called it:

Victim No. 1: Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton). The acting Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch is the first main character killed in the battle against the White Walkers, following the undead’s first major assault on the forces of the living. He’s stabbed from behind after saving Samwell Tarly (John Bradley); it’s a death that mirrors what happened to poor Pyp (Josef Atlin) during the Castle Black battle in season four’s “Watchers on the Wall.”

Victim No. 2: Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey). The Lady of Bear Island is no more. She doesn’t die without a fight, though. She’s standing in the way of an undead giant when it bursts through Winterfell. After she’s bashed out of the way, Lyanna stands back up and charges at the giant. It grabs her, lifts her up, and makes a crucial mistake: letting Lyanna get too close to his undead face. She drives a dragonglass dagger through the creature’s eye, defeating the biggest foe on the battlefield, save for the Night King and the undead Viserion.

Victim No. 3: Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer). The Lightning Lord has died many times — and now, his watch has finally, officially ended. Beric does his best to rally courage in the Hound (Rory McCann) throughout the battle, and is most effective when he leads Clegane on a mission to rescue Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) from getting overrun by wights. Beric loses his life on that mission, sacrificing himself to keep her alive. “The Lord brought him back for a purpose,” Melisandre (Carice Van Houten) tells Arya when Beric passes. “Now? That purpose has been served.”

Victim No. 4: Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen). Once the Prince of Winterfell, then Reek, then a hero who stood his ground all the way until his dying breath. He once jumped ship when he couldn’t face off against Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek). At the end of the line, Theon was more than ready to take on the deadliest foe of them all: the Night King, master of all White Walkers, who he tried to skewer with a spear. Of course, he didn’t survive the showdown, but it’s the thought that counts.

Victim No. 5: The Night King. You read that right: the Night King is dead, stabbed in the gut by Arya Stark, using the same Valyrian dagger that was once meant to kill Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright). Chekov would be proud. Since the Night King is dead, that means the entire White Walker army is done, too: Viserion, all the other White Walkers, the Wights — all of them.

Victim No. 6: Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen). He’s killed after doing everything in his power to defend Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) once she’s surrounded by wights. He’s stabbed multiple times, and yet, he manages to push on right until the bitter end. His death, combined with the death of Lyanna, means we have seen the last of House Mormont.

Victim No. 7: Melisandre (Carice Van Houten). The Red Woman is one of the surprise heroes of the night, showing up to Winterfell right before the battle begins. She arms everyone with fire, guides Arya into the act of killing the Night King, and when it’s all over, she collapses in a heap outside the gates of Winterfell. The Great War is finally over — which means Melisandre’s watch has finally ended.

Three more episodes remain as the fight for the Iron Throne itself looms large…