Game Of Thrones Season 8 Breakdown: What 'Winterfell' REALLY Means

2. The Dead Army Is Advancing Quickly (And Another House Falls)

Most important of all the revelations in this episode is the confirmation that Tormund is alive. We can all now go back to worrying about when he'll die and not whether he already has. And at least he's now in a nice little alliance with Dolores Edd and Beric and he got the best line of the entire show ("I've always had blue eyes").

But the confirmation came thanks to the sequence set at Last Hearth in the far North of Stark territory. The alliance of Free Folk, Brothers Without Banners and Night's Watch came upon the abandoned Umber stronghold and the obvious aftermath of a bloody battle in which the House was made extinct.

The ghost castle was obviously a chilling reminder of the power of the army, even without seeing it on screen, but it also confirmed that the army is actually advancing very quickly. If Last Hearth is fallen and the Night's King's army is indeed between there and Winterfell, that probably means that other Northern houses like Flint, Norrey and Burley are gone too (whether fled to King's Landing or now overrun).

The fact that the Night King went to Last Hearth suggests they're looking to erradicate ALL life from the North rather than just seeking Bran and Jon at Winterfell. Last Hearth is a detour from Winterfell, which in itself suggests that ALL Northern houses (including Karstark and perhaps even whatever remains of the Boltons at the Dreadfort) are in danger. If they didn't get all of their people out, they're doomed, and next to fall will be houses Lake, Knott, Liddle, Glover and Harclay, if they haven't already.

At least the meandering could give the Starks and Targaryens more time, though.