The living talked about a battle plan in episode 2 for all of 3 minutes, so I knew most of their actual battle plan had been discussed off screen - and whatever that was, it was one of the worst I've ever seen in any show.
Aside from the Dothraki charge with cavalry, coupled with fireball catapults, there were no plans for offensive operations vs the white walking army of the dead. It was all defensive and useless, which is why holding back the dragons to fight the Night King in the air was the plan. It has been so long between the previous season and this one., but because the enemy was vastly superior in numbers and fearless in their swarming tactics (as evidenced in the Battle of Hardhome, Season 5, Episode 8). The Night King caused the heavy fog which disrupted their plan to light the moat around Winterfell, which was smart.
The orderly retreat by the Unsullied was brilliantly done, and maybe the best representation I have ever seen in any movie.
Jon has fought White Walkers and wights and seen them move - and yet keeping the dragons out of the battle to pursue the Night King was all they could come up with. The two dragons could have wiped out the wights with ease, which would have lured the Walkers and/or Night King into the open.
See the above strategy for winning. Bran was the bait and destroying the Night King was the priority. Plus, they were also pursuing the undead dragon, which some had speculated was more powerful than the living dragons. I don't understand the magic shyte as much, but somehow the death of the Three Eyed Raven by the Night King was to be the end of the living forever. Why would the Night King care about a a sacrifice of the Army of the Dead? Why would their destruction draw him out, if Bran was the ultimate goal? Dani/Jon were willing in theory to sacrifice the Army of the Living to beat the Night King and the Night King was willing to sacrifice the Army of the Dead to kill Bran. Dani thought she was willing to do so, until she saw her Dothraki killed almost in an instant, which freaked her shyt up!
In episode 2 everyone said the crypts would be safe without talking about how the Night King raises the dead?
Good point in one respect, but I find fault for a different reason. How could skeletons with no connecting tissues do anything but move ineffectively? How could any of them be a real threat after centuries?
Dragon fire does nothing to the Night King but Valyrian steel does the trick, apparently because Arya stabbed him right where the Children of the Forest did with the dragon glass - and Arya just happened to stab him in that exact spot?
At the before mentioned Battle of Hardhome (season 5), we saw Jon Snow shatter a White officer with Valyrian steel. Although the hair was different and the Night King had a crown, they seemed to be the same type of creature, vulnerable to the same type of weapon. In my mind, wherever the Night King would have been stabbed would have shattered him. The part that was crazy, was where the fark did Arya jump from to launch over people's heads to reach the Night King? I liked the nice touch of using the dagger shift that she did against Briane of Tarth in the previous season, to stab the Night King (it was a practiced move)
At the end of episode 2 they showed us dozens of White Walkers which was terrifying, because we've never seen more than 4 (in battle) with the Night King - and they were completely pointless.
Again, season 5's Battle of Hardhome is relied on for context. We have seen tens of thousands of white walkers overcome a well fortified Wildling town, and so if you've seen that previous battle, you know their swarming style. (Completely pointless???). At Hardhome, it was the most terrifying use of the dead I have seen on GOT, and maybe in other movies. The dead flowed over a mountain ridge and pushed down fortified walls from the sheer weight of their numbers (their numbers have grown considerably more since then) They did not fear normal steel weapons or anything else. Like I said, they swarmed the living to death, and so the directors maybe felt they didn't need to show all of that again? They did show that ability some of the time, but the directors relied on your prior knowledge to inform what you didn't see in the dark, imo.
The battle was chaotic and confusing - I couldn't tell who was alive or dead - the dead slaughtered the living, and yet the main characters all survived?
Night King - dead
Melisandre - dead
Lady Lyanna Mormont -dead -white walker - dead again
Ser Jorah Mormont - dead
Theon Greyjoy - dead
Lord Beric Dondarrion (dude with fire sword and eye patch) - dead (for the 7th time)
Dolorous Edd (former Night Watch Commode) - dead
Viserion (undead Ice dragon) - dead
Virtually Every Dothraki & Most Unsullied in Westeros - dead
Yes, I expected a few more that hid in the crypt to die. I certainly expected Jamie Lannister to die, because a one armed swordsman could not have held back swarming soldiers. Jon Snow was committing suicide with Viserion blowing blue flames, but Viserio died with the Night King of a sudden. The Hound could not die because of the long promised, future Clegane Bowl (The Hound vs. the Mountain). Ah well.
Anytime the odds of something happening in a show are similar to winning the powerball three times, it was not well thought out IMO. Fantasy show or not.
There was no way the directors could satisfy everybody. I loved the show and found myself saying "wow" for hours afterwards, and then frustrated afterwards because I didn't want to spoil it for those who had not seen it (looks like that's done! lol). It's fantasy, after all.
