Spoilers Game of Thrones: The Final Season
- Thread starter The Nth Doctor
- Start date
Alright, so I've been thinking about why Arya killing the Night King bothered me and I thought about some minor changes that would make the scene work.
Okay, so The Night King approaches Theon and Bran in the Godswood. Theon doesn't charge the NK and instead slowly backs up beside Bran while holding his spear tight. The NK marches towards Bran without even glancing at Theon because he's no threat. While the NK and Bran engage in their staring contest, Theon (and the audience) sees Arya sneaking up on the NK out of the corner of his eye. Theon then charges the NK to give Arya a split second distraction to make her move. The NK kills Theon, Arya uses that split second to jump the NK, he quickly turns and grabs her throat, and everything else carries on like in the show.
This way Arya doesn't teleport right the fuck out of nowhere and it gives her a plausible explanation for why she was able to catch the NK slightly off guard. This also gives Theon a more heroic death because he's choosing to sacrifice himself to take down the NK rather than just making a futile charge knowing that the day is lost. And it makes then NK look a little more competent because two people had to perform a pincer attack with one giving his life for the NK to fall.
Okay, so The Night King approaches Theon and Bran in the Godswood. Theon doesn't charge the NK and instead slowly backs up beside Bran while holding his spear tight. The NK marches towards Bran without even glancing at Theon because he's no threat. While the NK and Bran engage in their staring contest, Theon (and the audience) sees Arya sneaking up on the NK out of the corner of his eye. Theon then charges the NK to give Arya a split second distraction to make her move. The NK kills Theon, Arya uses that split second to jump the NK, he quickly turns and grabs her throat, and everything else carries on like in the show.
This way Arya doesn't teleport right the fuck out of nowhere and it gives her a plausible explanation for why she was able to catch the NK slightly off guard. This also gives Theon a more heroic death because he's choosing to sacrifice himself to take down the NK rather than just making a futile charge knowing that the day is lost. And it makes then NK look a little more competent because two people had to perform a pincer attack with one giving his life for the NK to fall.
That would work, also any scene that showed us how Arya got to her hiding place.
That would indeed have been a better ending for Theon
I don't mind Arya appearing out of nowhere, it's part of the Ninja job description, and she was set on this from the conversation with Melisandre. Other than that, I do like your take on Theon. However, Theon has to die in this scene. You're giving a purpose to this and I'd like to believe this is why he charged.
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I like it that she seems to have done the actual killing of the Night King on her own, that she can accomplish it without help.
Interesting. I did not know that. Then again. If you need the writers to explain such a key point afterwards, there was a problem with the writing! Did they explain how Arya knew which spot, or was that luck? And why didn't the Night King have extra protection for that spot?
I just assumed the Night King died because he got stabbed with fancy dancy Valerian steel. Wasn't there a scene a few seasons ago where Jon Snow McSnow guy cut one of the Major Zombie Dudes to dust because he had Valerian Steel?
I don't think I need an "extra" explanation. The Night King got stabbed, he blew up, like, isn't that enough?
I love the Arya was the one who killed the Night King. However, it's clear she was only a part of a larger plan by the Lord of Light.
Jon was resurrected so he could unite the forces and secure the large amounts of dragon glass.
Bran knew where the kill had to take place and that the Night King would be drawn to him.
Beric was resurrected so he could save Arya.
Melisandre had the vision about Arya and then helped Arya understand what it meant at the right time.
So a big assist by the Lord of Light through resurrections and visions! There might be more but those are off the top of my head. But, in the end, only Arya had the stealth and assassin skills to take down the Night King.
That's what I thought but crookeddy claims the writers indicated their intention was that he was stabbed in the same spot. Although I heard another theory that it was because it was in proximity to the tree. I don't know. I thought he was just stabbed too.
It's not really luck, it was fate, guided by the lord of light, who apparently set this whole thing up...
9:45 "the exact" spot is mentioned. Looks like I could have misunderstood it. Did they mean that it is the exact spot where he was created, thus he could only have been killed there, and only with valerian steel?
EDIT: listened again, I think my initial interpretation was correct.
I've read that as well, the writer's intention about where he was stabbed.
I think it was an unnecessary statement, which they probably made because I'm sure someone on the internet pushed up their glasses and said, "Actually..." and they felt the need to justify.
That segment was filmed before "someone on the internet" would have seen the episode...
Duh.But, it's not like they haven't dealt with "Actually..." for 8 years now...
Again, they didn't need to explain how a magical stabby thing killed another magical thing. He was stabbed.
They got ahead of the "John Snow is an idiot brigade" Who would be saying that they should have been shooting valerian steel arrows or throwing spears or some shit. Using dragon fire was as good an idea as any. It just happened to not work.
But, it's not like they haven't dealt with "Actually..." for 8 years now...
Again, they didn't need to explain how a magical stabby thing killed another magical thing. He was stabbed.
A better ending for me would have been having Bran distract the Night King somehow. Maybe with the Crows and that gives ninja Arya an opportunity to strike.
Also I would liked to have seen the Night Kings take hits from Dragon Glass and Valyrian steel and shrug them off. His death comes about by striking his chest with Valyrian steel and shattering the Dragon glass used to create him.
Also I would liked to have seen the Night Kings take hits from Dragon Glass and Valyrian steel and shrug them off. His death comes about by striking his chest with Valyrian steel and shattering the Dragon glass used to create him.
That would explain what actually happened better, but who would have had a chance to strike him? He was never planning to enter the battle until it was all but won. The plan was to have him think that victory is his so he can come kill Bran, and then kill him with dragon fire. There was no plan to hit him with that other stuff because it was much more difficult to do, and fire kills other wights.
They had already established that Valerian Steel and Dragon glass kill whitewalkers. I think many of us had assumed the Night King would be a little harder to kill, but it turned out he was not. He wasn't different than other Whitewalkers, he was just the whitewalker who created other whitewalkers so he was the leader. He was just harder to get to since he was protected by other whitewalkers and the zombie dragon. But he walked into their trap, and it took a ninja assassin to get pass the whitewalkers and get him. Worked for me, I wouldn't want it any other way and don't need any explanations.
Right, except this is wrong.
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