Game Of Thrones Season 8 Breakdown: What 'The Long Night' REALLY Means

10. The Theory Killer Episode

As well as not delivering the Fiery Hand, this whole episode was basically an exercise in not only subverting expectations but also nerfing them completely.

We didn't get Bran warging into a dragon (though technically, it could still happen), we didn't get Beric giving The Hound his last life, we didn't get the Starks rising to defend Winterfell, we didn't see Winterfell burn...

It's all because we were being led to believe this was going to a predictable episode and that's absolutely the opposite of what it was in the end. This was fan service through exceptional film-making, rather than simply ticking off a list of predictions and expectations and that's a good thing. But it still means a few of the most virulently talked about theories are now done.