“Game of Thrones”: The Battle of Winterfell

We’ve waited a long time for this, and winter is finally here. Fans tuned into episode three of the final season of Game of Thrones with a giddy mixture of excitement and dread.

The opening shot of hands trembling, as Samwell (John Bradley) receives two dragon-glass daggers, sets the mood. There will be no inspiring speeches, only trepidation at doing what one must. The foreboding tension before the battle is drawn out quietly and somberly for the first ten minutes of the episode, until the first spark of hope arrives when Melisandre (Carice van Houten) charms the Dothraki’s sabers alight with fire. For the briefest of moments, the mortals stand a chance.

The war drums beat. The Dothraki charge beneath a cascade of flaming catapults. Quickly, they meet a wall of deafening darkness. The war drums cease. From across the battlefield, the army of Winterfell watches as the lighted sabers are snuffed out one by one, disappearing with a whimper into the darkened expanse.

The rhythm of battle is built on the rising and dashing of hope. With this episode, the creators of Game of Thrones ventured to orchestrate the longest ever war sequence put to film, at approximately 80 minutes. The only other continuous battle sequence even coming close is the centerpiece of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which clocks in around half…