Battle of Winterfell - Improved Battle Plans

[dexter]

In this video, we analyze the plans for the Battle of Winterfell and offer my own improved strategy based on a defense in depth and use historical military strategy to offer proper commentary the siege from Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 "The Long Night".

 

[PurpleButcher]

I think the writers of GoT were drunk when they wrote this episode. Good direction and effects, especially music but abysmal writing and highly questionable military strategy.

 

[vostok]

I think the writers of GoT were drunk when they wrote this episode. Good direction and effects, especially music but abysmal writing and highly questionable military strategy.

I think that 13 years old girl have written the battle tactics. Drunk man could not did that.

 

[LeGenD]

In this video, we analyze the plans for the Battle of Winterfell and offer my own improved strategy based on a defense in depth and use historical military strategy to offer proper commentary the siege from Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 "The Long Night".

Oh dear.

Yes, the living could come up with a better plan to fight the undead but this video overlooks additional realities which most likely restricted their options.

1. Logistics challenges for mining the much needed 'dragon glass' and shipping it from Dragonstone to Winterfell were enormous - stretching 2500 KM in sheer length. And the living did not had much time on their side either.

Dragon glass was MANDATORY to fight the undead because conventional weapons and layers of traps would be largely ineffective.

2. In view of lack of layers of obstacles on the outside and lack of space for maneuvering inside, it made sense to deploy and utilize a large number of troops to fight the undead out in the open with Daenerys and John proving air cover from above via dragons.

3. Night King was there with a dragon of his own, and unleashed a hurricane on the region to disrupt potential strategies of the living to counter the undead. Daenerys and John had spotted the commanders of the undead and were about to take them out via dragons but the Night King's hurricane disrupted this move.

Yes, it was rather ill-advised to allow the Dothraki to perform wedge-shaped charge towards the positions of the undead because this was an unconventional enemy. And yes, the artillery could be positioned in a better way to utilize against the undead. IMHO, Dothraki should have been kept in reserve, to call upon at a later stage to fight the undead. Although the undead were too many to make much difference anyways = 150,000+ (100,000 count was at the time of breaching the wall but the undead had expanded their numbers before striking at Winterfell).

 

[BordoEnes]

Damn that entire episode was so painfully mediocre and generic. Lost my shit the moment the Dothraki charged. The director did an extremely good job with what was given to him, even though the lighting could have been way better. The writing however is one of the worst aspect of the entire episode, including the last couple seasons. The entire series has become more like a fanfiction of itself. The real genius is cleary George R.R Martin, and the two dipshit who are in charge of GoT series are overrated uninspired hacks.

 

[gambit]

2. In view of lack of layers of obstacles on the outside and lack of space for maneuvering inside, it made sense to deploy and utilize a large number of troops to fight the undead out in the open with Daenerys and John proving air cover from above via dragons.

3. Night King was there with a dragon of his own, and unleashed a hurricane on the region to disrupt potential strategies of the living to counter the undead. Daenerys and John had spotted the commanders of the undead and were about to take them out via dragons but the Night King's hurricane disrupted this move.

I thought that the only way to convince the southerners of the NK's threat, Snow and company MUST capture an undead, was at best a tactically questionable plan.

They had the wall and airpower (dragons). That would have been an effective delaying tactic for the southerners to wise up once it became obvious of the NK's threat. But in capturing an undead, they presented the NK with a possibility of converting a dragon, and he did, and gain himself airpower, which he did. That was a bad call.

 

[patero]

Episode 4 was just as disappointing as the first three. I've followed GOT since season 1, read the books before season 2, and really feel that the show writers D and D have blown it. It's Martins fault really, he should have written the last two books before the show caught up.

I hated how Rhaegal was taken out by Euron and his magical fleet. If I were advising Daenerys, I'd tell her to use Drogon to do high altitude bombing runs dropping barrels of pitch then setting them alight on the way down. These low level strafing runs are too risky.

 

[Ali_Baba]

I am hoping that they fix the lighting when it is released on bluray boxset !!! Strategy sucked. there should have been more interaction with the white walkers and the main cast during the fighting.. that was a missed opportunity for story telling...

 

[PurpleButcher]

It pains to witness such a sad ending to such a great tv show... there are so many things one can talk about in episode 4

a) Last scene! why didn't cersei finish dany and tyrion along with drogon in the last scene? what was stopping her, 2 dozen unsullied?

b) Why is jon so stupid to tell sansa? why is sansa such a loud mouth? does swearing mean nothing?

c) Dany has been anything but the mad queen! She has been selfless to the cause of the north! Yet she is being forcibly depicted as some sort of a mad queen who needs be tamed! She heeded the advice of (suddenly) dumb tyrion since last season and lost the tyrells, greyjoys, dornish allies in addition to dragons and valuable time thanks to her hand.

d) Sansa who doesn't even know how to use a kinfe is being portayed as the smartest person, as someone who manipulates situations like littlefinger used to do! Please give us a break!

I am just sad. There is so much one can write.

This is not the GoT i fell in love with it.

 

[patero]

It pains to witness such a sad ending to such a great tv show... there are so many things one can talk about in episode 4

a) Last scene! why didn't cersei finish dany and tyrion along with drogon in the last scene? what was stopping her, 2 dozen unsullied?

b) Why is jon so stupid to tell sansa? why is sansa such a loud mouth? does swearing mean nothing?

c) Dany has been anything but the mad queen! She has been selfless to the cause of the north! Yet she is being forcibly depicted as some sort of a mad queen who needs be tamed! She heeded the advice of (suddenly) dumb tyrion since last season and lost the tyrells, greyjoys, dornish allies in addition to dragons and valuable time thanks to her hand.

d) Sansa who doesn't even know how to use a kinfe is being portayed as the smartest person, as someone who manipulates situations like littlefinger used to do! Please give us a break!

I am just sad. There is so much one can write.

This is not the GoT i fell in love with it.

I feel the same. Looking back, I actually think the Shark was jumped towards the end of season 5 which marked when the TV series really started diverging from the books. We really don't know how much divergence there is until Winds of Winter is published.

 

[LeGenD]

Episode 4 was just as disappointing as the first three. I've followed GOT since season 1, read the books before season 2, and really feel that the show writers D and D have blown it. It's Martins fault really, he should have written the last two books before the show caught up.

I hated how Rhaegal was taken out by Euron and his magical fleet. If I were advising Daenerys, I'd tell her to use Drogon to do high altitude bombing runs dropping barrels of pitch then setting them alight on the way down. These low level strafing runs are too risky.

Nothing disappointing in Episode 4.

Daenerys wasn't expecting Euron to show up and set an ambush for her forces. Daenerys's supposed advisors/allies are at fault - they were too distracted to notice Euron and rather entertaining notions of betraying her behind her back. Tyrion is absolutely conflicted and Varys is not loyal to any King or Queen.

Euron have a presence of mind on the other hand, very sharp and focused.

This TV show is FANTASY, not reality, and it was never realistic to begin with. John Snow should be dead for starters. GRRM can get away with ridiculous positions but not D&D?

Season 7 was fan-servicing work to large extent, and got ridiculed for it. D&D were like f*** this shit, and they took ample pointers from GRRM for season 8 - decent surprises and shock factor in this season.

 

[patero]

Nothing disappointing in Episode 4.

Daenerys wasn't expecting Euron to show up and set an ambush for her forces. Daenerys's supposed advisors/allies are at fault - they were too distracted to notice Euron and rather entertaining notions of betraying her behind her back. Tyrion is absolutely conflicted and Varys is not loyal to any King or Queen.

Euron have a presence of mind on the other hand, very sharp and focused.

This TV show is FANTASY, not reality, and it was never realistic to begin with. John Snow should be dead for starters. GRRM can get away with ridiculous positions but not D&D?

Season 7 was fan-servicing work to large extent, and got ridiculed for it. D&D were like f*** this shit, and they took ample pointers from GRRM for season 8 - decent surprises and shock factor in this season.

I think that touches on what made the books so interesting and much better than the TV series, the high fantasy elements weren't what drove the overall story-line. Intrigue and politics as well as character development were what made it interesting. We mostly saw this in seasons 1-5, I guess when GRRM gave the show-runners license to start moving along with their own script when they ran out of source material, they were always going to give it a Hollywood style treatment.