Game Of Thrones Season 8: 8 Ups And 1 Down From 'A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms'

3. The Emotion And Intimacy

Next week, we're going to get the Battle of Winterfell, which has the potential to be the greatest action sequence we've ever seen on television. That could've resulted in this episode feeling like a placeholder, and in a lesser show it would've been. But Game of Thrones has never been just about the spectacle, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms truly delivers when it comes to the emotion and intimacy of the episode.

It's very rare that Thrones devotes an entire episode to just one location, and when it does it's usually because of a battle. This makes A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms rather unique, and it's a bold move that pays off.

Director David Nutter is a Thrones vet who has done some of its best episodes (The Rains of Castamere, as an example), and he's operating on a similar level here. His direction keeps things tight, and nicely focused on the characters at the heart of it. It makes for something that feels like we're watching a play, albeit with a $15m budget. Whether it's the obviously BIG moments like Dany and Jon, or a quiet reunion of Theon and Sansa, or that small moment with Davos, Gilly, and a little girl who wants to fight, there's a poignancy here that feels like we're being let in on some personal, private moments.