#Debate: Anti-Climatic or Disappointing FINISH? Dark Cinematography? Why A Stark? All questions ANSWERED

Since the past couple of days, post The Long Night episode, a lot has been said about the several loopholes in the Great War which was indeed the culmination of the built-up that Game Of Thrones has been teasing for multiple seasons now. Viewers have been relentlessly complaining about several factors from the episode - be it the anti-climatic finish of The Night King or the dark cinematography of the episode. In this piece, I will try to highlight the criticism and give logical reasoning to the same and also address the genuine mishaps from the episode 

Anti-climatic Finish? Really?

A lot of viewers have been complaining about The Night King was killed 'JUST-LIKE-THAT'. I fail to understand how can it be termed just like that when you had the whole episode give him constant wins until his ultimate end? Was Dany able to fire the shit out of him? No. Was Jon successful in getting to him? No. He has the signature SRK pose before that would happen and won again. So? How is just dying? If one has been paying attention to the storyline clearly, even though the Night King was a force to be reckoned with, time and again it was mentioned how getting him would be the end of his whole army. And it was made more than clear in the previous episode that Bran would be used as bait for The Night King to have the perfect moment to finish him. That is what happened. If you were expecting one-on-one combat, then you have been watching a different show.

Why NOT A Stark?

Arya was destined to kill The Night King and so she did. What is the matter with that? Also, for those who think that what else did the Night King actually do in terms of exhibiting his power? He wiped off every single hurdle getting in his way to go to Bran including using his magic to cook up that storm during Jon and Dany's aerial dragon adventures. None of it seems anti-climatic at all. The end was built-up well and the only predictability about the whole thing was that to kill him - it was always going to be a Stark. But that is obvious. Any other character had no major reason or motivation to kill the Night King themselves as much as the Starks. Two simple reasons - A. They invaded their home - Winterfell, and the North Remembers. B. It was Bran STARK who was the bait and why would anyone else care to save him otherwise as much as his own sister, who, by the way, is the best assassin!

Dark Cinematography

Yes. I partially agree to this criticism where people were constantly complaining about the scenes being so dark that barely anything was visible. However, on this note, if you were watching the episode on a cell phone or an iPad or some medium like that, the fault is yours. The episode or the show is not meant to be seen on that medium especially with any other source of light coming in. But even apart from that, watching it on the big TV screen was at times rad excruciating due to the darkness. But that is the authenticity of it as the episode was the long NIGHT and we don't see too much light in the night, do we?  I an only trying to objective here.

Jon Is NOT The Hero

Do you want to talk about unpredictability? The devoted fans of Jon Snow were in for a shock as their favorite character did not have a HERO moment in this war. In spite of maximum build-up being about Jon is The Night King owing to Hardhome and the former being the one gathering and convincing everyone to fight the Great War, he did not have a hero moment. That was the unpredictability of the episode and it was genius! Because ultimately Jon is not a Stark you know!

Genuine Problem - Bran as the Three-Eyed Raven

The one loophole, I almost entirely agree with was Bran's participation and role as the Three-Eyed Raven. Yes, I get it. He was the ultimate bait and if not for him, nothing would have lured the Night King to come into the expected territory, but his Three-Eyed Raven stint did not help anyone. It was supposed to as he apparently can see everything but even his warging everywhere did not help anyone! Why? Seems incomplete. I am still not giving up on his role for the throne win as he is important to Jon's reality and given how now, the true climax will happen.

Stop Looking It As A Show Only About 'Incredible Plot Twists'

One thing that Thrones has established over the years has been the fact that the show is a lot more than just handing over an incredible plot twist at the end of a particular plot twist. Yes. It is possible you may have been attracted to the show for that very reason but in the past couple of seasons, it has been made clear that the show is a lot more about the emotional impact it carries than only a shocking plot twist. Not that Thrones is disappointing in the latter even today but when a show is ending - correction - when a massive show like Thrones is ending soon, it will always be more about the overall impact it will have on viewers as opposed to a wow moment! If you have been expecting a predictable wowing climax, you don't know Thrones entirely. The unpredictability of being predictable is what the show is about and that's the beauty!