Game Of Thrones Season 8: 9 Ups And 2 Downs From 'The Long Night'

4. Finding Room For Character Moments

With all of that scale and spectacle, it would've been very easy for everything else to get lost in the shuffle. To focus on making something so grand, so epic, that it takes away from the core human element that makes us so invested in the fight against the dead.

To its credit, The Long Night finds a remarkable balance between the two. Yes, there are countless extras, it's filled with CGI, and it'll blow your mind, but it's also rooted in character.

That may be BIG moments, such as with Arya and Jon, are smaller, quieter moments: the interplay between Tyrion and Sansa in the Crypts (that moment when he kisses her hand, my word!), Jaime and Brienne saving each other on multiple occasions, the Hound being so afraid to do ANYTHING, Bran talking to Theon, Melisandre reuniting with Arya, on and on they go. The characters, ultimately, are what make Game of Thrones so good. They're what's left when you strip away all the hype and bombast. And this serves them well while delivering cinematic feats.