Where do you go once the battle is won? The third episode of Game of Thrones’ eighth and final season “The Long Night,” was all sorts of intense and warning, spoilers ahead with the brutality and bloodshed of the Battle of Winterfell nearly taking out our Westerosi heroes and letting the Night King and his army of wights and White Walkers roam free.
But Arya Stark harnessed her inner ninja, evoked the spirit of Azor Ahai, and turned the battle from a losing one to an instant success when she stabbed the Night King and cut off his minions’ lifeline in the process. The side of the living won the Battle of Winterfell, the dead fell and so too did the Long Night, and the sun began to rise over Winterfell once more.
So what comes next? With just three episodes of Game of Thrones left and the perceived greatest threat already eliminated, how will everyone move forward?
Thankfully, HBO hasn’t left fans totally in the lurch after Episode 3. The network released a preview for the upcoming episode that offers a taste of the events to come after the Battle of Winterfell. And boy, are they going to be wild.
In the teaser, Daenerys Targaryen, fresh off learning her lover Jon Snow is actually her nephew and the true heir to the Iron Throne, states that the Great War is over and Last War is about to fall upon Westeros. What war might that be, and what will it entail? Oh, you know, just a casual storming of the Westerosi capital of King’s Landing, where Dany will send her depleted army to march against the reigning queen Cersei Lannister.
The Lannister lioness isn’t going to go down without a fight, of course. In the eyes of many, Cersei has gone mad with power — and with grief over the loss of her three children over the course of the series. She may not have dragons, Unsullied soldiers, the support of very many in Westeros, or those elephants she really, really wanted, but Cersei does have someone who matches her hunger for dominance: Euron Greyjoy.
He’s got violence to spare, a fierce loyalty to Cersei motivated in part by his desire to continue their intimate relationship, and no qualms about killing. Sounds like a perfect match for Cersei, right? Plus, Cersei has Euron’s Iron Fleet and the Essos sellsword force the Golden Company, ringing in at 20,000 strong. She’s not exactly the underdog in this impending battle.
Still, Daenerys and company aren’t all that worried about the fight Cersei and Euron will put up in King’s Landing. The Mother of Dragons makes it clear that she and those who fought in the Battle of Winterfell will win the Last War against Cersei, unseating her from the Iron Throne. Addressing those who survived last episode’s battle, Dany declares what the North will do to Cersei when they sack King’s Landing: Keep watching the video as we show you here’s what’s next after the Battle of Winterfell!
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