The Battle of Winterfell, which took place during Game of Thrones‘ “The Long Night” episode, was highly anticipated. Unfortunately, much like most of the eighth season of the HBO show, it failed to deliver what fans wanted. Yet the biggest mistake made during this episode may not be what fans would think.
While there were many controversial moments in season 8 of Game of Thrones, including in this episode, there is one mistake made that stands out among the rest. It has to do with a deleted scene that didn’t make the final cut of the episode. Find out what the scene is and why leaving it out is such a mistake, ahead.
What happened during the Battle of Winterfell in ‘Game of Thrones’?
The Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones starts with an eerie silence as everyone waits for the Night King and White Walkers to arrive. Then Melisandre rides up to Jorah Mormont and the Dothraki. She tells him to tell all of the Dothraki to raise their weapons. When they do, she begins to pray to the Lord of Light, and every Dothraki’s weapon lights up with magical fire.
The Dothraki then head into battle but are easily defeated by the White Walkers. The Unsullied then fight the White Walkers but are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of their foe. Daenerys Targaryen, upset at seeing her people defeated so easily, wants to fight with them. Jon Snow reminds her that the plan is for them to attack the Night King but she tells him that “The dead are already here,” and gets up on Drogon.
Jon then follows on Rhaegal and the two of them manage to burn a lot of wights. The White Walkers, however, have a plan: they summon a snowstorm, which badly affects both Drogon and Rhaegal and their riders. The Night King, meanwhile, is riding Viserion and is hovering above the storm. Arya Stark tells her sister Sansa to go to the crypts with the rest of those who aren’t fighting.
Sansa is initially reluctant to go, not wanting to leave her people, but eventually, she does after Arya gives her a dragonglass dagger to use to defend herself. The White Walkers eventually manage to get past most of Winterfell’s defenses. Daenerys and Jon work together to knock the Night King off of his dragon and Arya ends up killing the Night King. That is probably one of the most controversial moments in the episode, yet it is not the biggest mistake made.
What is the deleted scene from the Battle of Winterfell in ‘Game of Thrones’ and why should it have been kept in the show?
The deleted scene during the Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones actually takes place in the crypts, where those who aren’t fighting are staying. In this scene, wights take over the crypts and begin killing those in them. Sansa and Tyrion then get ready to defend themselves if necessary. This much is seen in the show.
However, the rest of the scene was cut from the final episode aired. It shows Sansa and Tyrion killing wights to defend Missandei, Gilly, and baby Sam. According to Laura Hurley of CinemaBlend, this scene really shouldn’t have been cut. The article states that some fans viewed Sansa as cowardly or unworthy of leadership because of staying in the crypts, while others felt she could have done more to keep the morale up.
This deleted scene would have more than proven that Sansa is not cowardly or unworthy of leadership. It would have shown how much Sansa cares about her people and about people in general. It might not have shown Sansa keeping the morale up, but it would have shown her defending people when it counted and that would likely have made a difference for many fans.
