Game Of Thrones Season 8: 7 Ups And 3 Downs From 'The Last Of The Starks'
4. Rhaegal's Death
A big criticism of Game of Thrones in the last couple of years or so is the idea that it's become a little too predictable. While in the early years there was a section of the fandom who'd read the books and knew a lot of plot points to come, for the most part people were in the dark and moments big and small came as true shocks.
Your mileage may vary on the idea of Game of Thrones losing some of its unpredictability, but it's not entirely unfair. And yet the end of Episode 3, with Arya killing the Night King, was a shock, and this episode has a couple of big surprises in store too.
Rhaegal's death, in particular, comes out of the blue and is a real stunner (even if there are some broader issues with that plot point). While it's seemed like the dragons would have to die at some point, there's no real way of seeing this coming, and it then leads into a really well-directed scene as Tyrion scrambles towards safety. Like with so much of this episode, not everything about it completely works, but as a brutal, outta nowhere shock that reminds you of how Thrones can deliver just that, while pushing Dany's storyline forward, it's an excellent moment.