@@blackdragon6 Yes it is, but I'm willing to forgive it because of how many worse examples of bad writing came before in season 5 and then later on, obviously
I can think of a really simple change that could make the Battle of the Bastards better. Instead of Sansa not telling anyone about the knights of the Vale, make it so that Jon and his army knows they’re coming and have them wait near Winterfell for the knights to arrive. When Ramsey learns that the knights are coming, he decides to surprise attack Jon’s army while he still has the upper hand and a bigger army. This fixes the battle on so many levels. Jon still gets to be the underdog, but his objective is to hold out long enough for the knights to arrive, making it less contrived when they do. It also makes Sansa look way better. Finally, it fixes the problem of Ramsey going out of Winterfell to battle, for some reason. In this version, he’d be doing it because he knows he has no chance when Jon’s army meets up with the knights of the Vale. He’s attacking while he has the advantage and element of surprise, but he’s making a rash, in character decision which will ultimately lead to his downfall. It still doesn’t fix the fact that the Knights of the Vale show up right on time to save the day, but I think you can excuse that more when the stuff surrounding it makes much more sense.
Especially since the Knights were like 20 minutes away from Winterfell at that point. Easily, a Bolton Scout could have spotted them and forced the scenario you’ve set out
I like your suggestion, it's a pretty good one. My own would have kept the surprise of the Knights from the audience, but John knows they are coming in my "version". Sansa tells him in secret so we don't know the knights are coming. But John realises that if the Boltons hole up in Winterfell, it'll take months, maybe years to siege them out. So he plans to take his smaller army out into the plain, and use Ramsay's arrogance against him. The battle will then mostly progress as in the show, except John would show some of the tactical prowess he has in the books. Hold off the Boltons, giving ground and drawing them away from Winterfell, feigning losing to bring Ramsay further from safety. And then as they're being surrounded and overwhelmed, you have the reveal of the Knights arriving. That way, you still have the secret of the reinforcements to surprise the audience, John isn't character assassinated and made to look stupid, and the victory feels a lot less like luck
That kind of change makes sense and gives it a similar dynamic of Helms Deep in that the objective of the battle for the 'good guys' is survival until the re-enforcements have arrived
@@BigJeffeDaGoat not really sure. Rose Leslie is the actress's name. Maybe he just forgot she wasn't also the character, seeing as Rose and Kit Harrington have blurred the lines between fiction and reality
@@StewartFletcher I almost didn't catch it the first time lol, Rose just *is* Ygritte, and Ygritte is Rose. It's weird for me to see Rose Leslie dressed as a normal 21st-century English person 😆 I think Kit said once that his dorky little smile when Jon sees Ygritte at Castle Black wasn't scripted, that was just his normal reaction to seeing his girl.
@@themulattomaker2602 I love that. Their relationship was the most wholesome, heartwarming part of the entire show. Made all the other romances seem very flat
📠 RIP to Ed. He got stabbed in the back by a no-name NPC wight while "helping" Sam the Slayer while he's clad in nth metal plot armor. I yelled irt during the episode lol, still remember that
Jamie was supposed to die during the loot train battle anyway. And so many characters were supposed to die in certain parts but nah plot armor intervenes when the writers see fit
Aside from the battles, what still gets me upset is the neglect of the dire wolves :( I’d love to see everyone’s good boy decked out in dragon glass armor
Not to mention that their help during battle would've been great. Robb fought and won all of his battles with Greywind by his side, some even saying that their moves were so coordinated that they seemed weirdly connected (which was probably Robb's warging abilities sprouting)
My 1 issue with watchers is that it's real goofy they sent a bunch of dudes to climb the wall right into the defense and it's treated as a real threat. What are the 20 wildlings going to do after they just scaled a 500 foot wall with pickaxes lol. The NW could literally just give them a little push off the edge as they round the top cuz they have no leverage and would be exhausted. Instead, they have guys harness themselves into a 90 degree decline to try to hit 500 foot headshots lol. Still, the scythe was pretty sick, even though egregiously unnecessary when you think about it. The rest of the battle was basically perfection
@@domskillet5744I think the main plan on sending wildlings to climb the wall more than hoping for them to reach the top was to distract the Watchers and make some of them stay at the top of the Wall so they have to stop the climbing wildlings, and so having more watchers at the top of the Wall would give the wildlings at Castle Black a better chance at taking the castle and opening the gate to the rest of the army
@@74ss43But why would they be a distraction? They're basically completely useless in battle for the 5 hours it would take to climb the wall, and once they get to the top, there's no way to get over the edge without someone just pushing them back off. If I try to justify it to myself, I say it's just Mance flexing the number advantage by sending some dudes to their certain death just because he can (but that goes against Mance's whole philosophy so it doesn't make sense). The showrunners did it because the Scythe is cool, which I understand lol. It just doesn't make logical sense from a battle tactic standpoint
The one thing I can't understand with Battle of the Bastards, is that there are mountains of bodies which don't correlate to the actual number of men who died both on Jon's and the Bolton's side. Seriously how are there that many bodies? Neither side had that many men!
I always wondered how a pile of bodies 30 high thats so sturdy its able to be fought atop of just conjured itself in the middle of a horse ridden battlefield
To be fair, this is an issue with a LOT of battles in TV and movies. Vikings was notoriously guilty of this too. They want to sell the idea that a side as suffered decimating losses in one episode, but they still want the next battle to have massive numbers.
Ramsey had about 5000 vs Jon's 2000 or so. There weren't that many surviving on Jon's side, meaning 1600-1700 of Jon's dead(look at the overhead shot, couldn't be more than 300-400 remaining)? I'm pretty sure those piles can be made by 1600-1700, plus another 2000 or so, that's at lest 3700 bodies.
@@m.williams4971 Okay. What I'm saying is that combined total of 7,000 men wasn't shown to the audience in a convincing way. I'm asking for 7,000 people to actually be present when filming, but you see Jon's army, and the Bolton's before the battle. Then all of a sudden, there are far more bodies than what were realistically shown.
At the end of the Battle on the Wall when the nights watch has surrounded Tormund and Jon captures him instead of killing him and Tormund says “I should’ve thrown you from the top of the wall boy!!!” And Jon even though he won but in his heart he was defeated just says “aye, you should’ve” breaks my heart man. That battle was hands down the best one
If there's anything positive to gleam from GoT's complete failure towards the end, it's that we'll never run out of quality content from fans finding new reasons to complain about it even 4 years after it ended.
The watchers on the wall was so good because it got an entire episode dedicated to it. You experience the nerves of the nights watch knowing what’s to come. When one of the nights watch slips and arrow when told to hold and Aliester gives the speech about “what does Nook mean shoot” and gets the troops riled up is amazing
I know everyone loves "The Battle of the Basterds", but for me it's hard to look passed the logical erros. I mean the Boltons should outnumber Jon's forces by a lot but throughout the battle, it almost look as if the Wildlings have a numerical advantage. I mean it doesn't really feel like anyone died, seeing how there were still so many survivors when the Boltons created the Shield wall. Also, the many bodies that lay on the field are pretty unrealistic. It looks as if both sides suffered way too many casualties. I prefer when battles make sense from a tactical point of view. This is just two cavalries blindly clashing, with a melee afterwards.
nobody died in the blackwater battle yet everyone loves that battle. Rickon, wun wun, ramsay, and the karstark/umber lords all died. Thats more than some random kingsguard and davos' son.
I consider it a failure because yes, it looked amazing, but the entire time I was overcome with frustration. Everything felt very forced to create drama, and took away from my enjoyment/immersion. That's really what matters when judging an episode.
@@barkley8285It's not really deaths that make battles realistic for me. If a character uses a good strategy to win the battle, I can oversee him having a bit plot armour. It's still a movie/TV series. Jon's victory at the Battle however, felt unearned since he made so many plunders and literally survived 100 arrows. At the Blackwater, we have a realitsic scenario, Tywin who saves the day (which was foreshadowed and not as unrealtic as the Knights of the Vale spawning near Winterfell because Sansa wrote a letter like 2 days ago) and we have Tyrion being able to shine for once and still loosing half his face in the book, as a consequence of him fighting.
Not to mention an open field battle doesn't even make any sense. The Boltons have a larger army and are on defense. This should have been a siege from the start.
Yea the battle makes absolutely no sense. Jon knowing he's outnumbered just decides on charging them instead of using any sort of tactic whatsoever. And Davos saying Ramsay has to meet them on the field to prove a point to the other lords is just dumb af. Rather than defend his castle Ramsay wastes valuable resources such as men, wood, and weapons for a battle that didn't even need to happen. And suddenly there's a mountain of bodies that came out of nowhere is ridiculous. And Wun Wun picks up 1 guy at a time rather than just soccer kicking everyone. And why does Ramsay even send his men out when another volley of arrows would've killed Jon?
My favorite was Hardhome. It was the first episode in the series that made me actually feel a sense of intimidation by these white walkers. And that final scene in the end with the resurrection just made my heart sink. The only thing going through my head was just how screwed the living were.
I get people are down on Battle of the Bastards with the context of hindsight, but that battle, at least every time I’ve gotten to it, is THE best cathartic moment in the whole show. Yes, it’s dumb. Yes, Sansa should have told Jon. Yes, Ramsay shouldn’t have left the castle. But it’s incredibly well shot, well choreographed, and IMO perfectly completes Jon’s arc as the successor and avenger to Ned and Robb and the rest of the dead Starks. I love it, and aside from The Spoils of War in season 7, it’s the last great battle of the show.
Its crazy to me that Jon left Sam while he was surrounded by wights, only for Sam to live anyway and then not contribute further to the story other than becoming Westeros' least qualified Grand Maester ever somehow
Hardhome has one flaw, how everyone behind the wall died immediately without any cause. The screaming stopping is similar to Dothraki torches snuffing out, visuals over writing.
I forgive that flaw simply because it just adds to the tension and pure terror of the unknown. You know they’re dead yes, but up until this point we haven’t really seen the white walkers in action on an army like scale. And this battle in my opinion was the perfect introduction to such a concept. Besides as mentioned in the video, this wasn’t merely a battle, it was an all out slaughter.
I don't know what that was but maybe they tried the thing from the books where the temperature just drops and everyone freezes instantly but didn't explain it
Jon having plot armor after he's revived could have made sense if he was Azor Ahai. I like the idea of him surviving more and more ridiculous scenarios as long as the people around him didn't also have plot armor and they actually had Jon end the long night
As far as the battles go: 3.) The Watchers on the Wall 2.) Hardhome 1.) The Blackwater Black water is number because of how badass it was to see Tywin declaring victory to Cersei. Easily one of the best moments in the whole show.
All around my favourite episode. Not a moment in it that doesn't hit home. From Sansa bemoaning that the bad guys always survive a battle, to Stannis being the Mannis after the imp (quarter man doesn't have the same ring to it) has played his little trick.... And yes, of course, Tywin's boss moment. One of the best hours of TV there has ever been.
Hardhome has a lot of new stuff, and its very cool, and the true power of the Others are shown, hut the watchers on the wall is better in every other way
One thing i hate about Hardhome is that Karsi told Jon that he must go with them otherwise the Night's Watch are gonna disobey his orders and kill them, but Jon being Jon decided to stay and fight completely ignoring that Ser Alliser is more likely to do just that.
You forgot to mention the plot armor flaw with hardhome. The wights had so many opportunities to kill Jon, one of them could have easily run his spear through him after disarming him, but instead he hits and pushes him, even after that while Jon was down, he could have killed him but instead grabbed him with his hand and threw him. Also how did the giant escape? Ed
That trope is common in just about every Terminator and superhero movie. Forget superstrength grip on throat for the kill...gotta throw them and slowly trudge/crawl after them while they grab a weapon or something.
Exactly. Re-watched the episode today and those were the exact two points I had in mind. But I did think there was some sort of explanation for how Wun Wun made it out but apparently not lol.
How would sansa telling jon have saved rickon from being murdered? Best case scenario, ramsay sees a horde of cavalry and immediately cuts rickons throat in spite.
Battle of Blackwater stands out because it was written by the man himself, George RR Martin it has amazing dialogue too, Tyrion's speech, that dude being like "its gonna be suicidal, hundreds will die" and Stannis being like "thousands" and Tywin's badass entrance to the throne room
The Dothraki being sent to slaughter was unintentionally hilarious, they would never have been used so recklessly if that was a real battle. And they never have been in snow like that or faced any white walkers. They should’ve been used as a last resort once the lines had inevitably failed.
When did anyone say it could only be taken by boat landing? Even in the battle of the blackwater, stannis assaulted with his entire fleet being destroyed. Don't get me wrong kings landing being in a desert makes no sense, but you can certainly take it without boats, it's just easier with boats, in the same way theoretically a modern army can take practically any city aside from Venice without naval or air support, but it will be far easier with ships launching cruise missiles and planes and drones bombing the enemy.
The thing I hate about many cinematic battles is: when you are in a large scale battle, it doesn’t matter who you are, you are just another rat trying to avoid death. The battle of Winterfell you see this effect of them swinging around showing their “heroes” off like trophies mid battle. Obviously the STORY needs to focus on these characters but what you show the audience should not make them look like a celebrity in a crowd. This is what Battle of the Bastards does SO WELL. We are following Jon story-wise but at the end of the day we are just watching a fight unfold.
Hardhome is my favorite tbh. It does such a good job setting up the white walkers as freaking gods (Jk a 14 year old girl can body them all in 10 seconds), is honestly terrifying, makes it seem like Jon is actually going to die, and really feels like a massacre. Love every bit
The Nights Watch + Wildlings is my favorite part of both the books and the show. It's this rather small scale war fought in a hellish environment, isolated from the rest of the world but it's also the most important one. Man...
One thing I like about the later seasons’ battles are the boots-on-ground POV. Jon walking around the battlefield during the Battle of the Bastards was really captivating
I'm glad you chose the wall battle, that's mine as well. Unlike the Long Night, it actually had layers more akin to Helms Deep. Enemy tries to climb- gets hit by hanging archers and eventually scythed. They try a ram, gets burned, try a rear attack, nights watch counter. Get through the gate, sacrifice some men to hold it. There was always attacks and answers, not just dumbness being punished over and over. It felt like both sides were doing their utmost to win. Alliser giving Jon command, and them Jon making the decision to hand it off and fight showed his actual agency like he has in the books. He may not be the best fighter in the books, but this demonstrated his intelligence and leadership qualities well. So good
Jon’s an excellent war leader tbh It’s just a shame that the booms have those in spades, but they’re terrible and being peaceful rulers. Ex Bobby B and Robb. Couldn’t do anything outside of war for the life of them
Yeah the same guy whom kills his king he's sworn to protect, and fucks his sister the queen for which he could be castrated and executed is scared of fire and soldiers, like wtf.
I can’t imagine what the long night could have been if they wrote, paced, and shot it like Watchers on the Wall. It’s basically 2 battles perfectly woven into one another with all the heart, loss, and drama a battle of this magnitude SHOULD entail, all with a timeline that logically makes sense and works for every character involved
Blackwater is my personal favorite (over Watchers), mostly because I care WAY more about Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, the Hound, Bronn, Stannis, and Davos than I do about Jon, Pyp, Sam, Edd, Allister, Ygritte, and Tormund. Plus the characters at Blackwater get a lot of more to do emotionally than at the Wall
Yeah, that's where Blackwater gets its edge for me. And it is particularly important here since both battles are so much characters driven. At the Blackwater battle every character goes through their own subplots during the battle, and we can follow very clearly what is going on thanks to all the episodes leading to it, with Tyrion trying to figure out how to not get annihilated. We can also see how everybody in the city feels in what is a losing situation. Just perfect. And I personally feel nothing about the Battle of the Bastards. It's just stupid and action focused, style over substance, and the style is not even that great. Not my cup of tea I guess
@@matteomariani5160 BotB is really well made. It's hard to speak badly about its production value. But yeah, in terms of writing and logic and pathos, it's just kinda flat
If they do the Battle Above the God’s Eye correctly it will undoubtedly be the best. By far the two most epic deaths in the GOT universe. I also am looking forward to the Battle of the Gullet
The sheer size of the battle of the bastards ruins it for me. They go from talking about hundreds or thousands of men like it’s a lot and then cut to mountains of 10s if not 100s of dead bodies practically blotting out the sun for those on the ground which is honestly just absurd in every way imaginable and then John Snow being untouched by the arrows falling around him multiple times is just the cherry on top that makes this battle so hard to watch
Its a shame that the show didn't have a huge budget for the first few seasons because it would have been really cool to see some of the battles from the war of the 5 kings.. Like when Jamie falls into Rob's trap but rallies some of his men and make a charge straight for Rob to try and end the war. Would have been wonderful to see. Also the battle that Tyrion gets knocked out during the charge, in the books he actually fights for a bit and kills some pesants lol.
a big part of the battles for me was the dialogue that would happen during. watchers on the wall had that in spades. and i know there were plenty more dialogue moments from that episode that were deeper or more meaningful, but the moment when jon pulls longclaw from its sheath and yells “Come brothers, now! Fight with me!” is just ridiculously badass. Reminds me of the moment in hardhome when he makes the decision to go fight the walkers in order to buy more time for the people fleeing on the boats. He pauses and thinks for just a moment, then unsheathes longclaw (followed IMMEDIATELY by tormund drawing his own blade). He then yells “Night’s Watch! With me! Move! Move!” These moments aren’t as poetic or whatever as Ser Alliser’s speech before charging into battle, or Tyrion rallying the troops during Blackwater, but they have a very 300-esque badassery to them akin to Leonidas calling out “SPARTANS!! What is your profession??!”
The one problem I have with the Battle of Hardhome is the Other deciding to throw Jon around instead of just outright killing him. Other than that, it's a great scene. Agree with the Battle of the Bastards too. When I first watched it, I thought it was amazing, but with the benefit of hindsight the plot armour really damages it
You could interpret the Other as just toying around with Jon, Others are genuinely sadistic creatures (they were laughing when they killed Waymar) and it isn’t too odd to think so, since the Walker didn’t know Jon had a Valyrian Steel Blade and Jon was all by himself
I've been re watching the show because I just finished reading the books again after reading them all in between seasons 1 & 2. I just finished the watchers on the wall episode and i remembered it being good when I watched it before but it really blew me away this time. So I wanted to see if there was a ranking of the battles and here we are. Someone else agrees that it is perfect. That one shot pan around the whole courtyard is beautiful. I did a rewind on that 4 times in a row just to see all the complex movements in that shot. Jon giving the key to Sam saying I need him more than I need you right now. Then Ghost getting released and just ripping out dudes throat. The reciting of the Night's Watch vows in the tunnel when facing down the giant is such a good moment as well. Also Ygritte's death is the most emotional death in the story IMO. It just hits you in the feels so hard. I remember when I read book 3 the first time I was in tears when I read "You know nothing Jon Snow."
Great video! I like hearing you talk about more positive things as you get up the list. I'd want to put the Stepstones from HotD a bit higher, but idk if I could put the others below it... Also is there a reason you refer to Ygritte by her actor's name here?
Oh I didn't even notice I referred to Ygritte as Rose again. I did that in the past too. Thank you for enjoying the video and I agree with Stepstones. It feels like it should be higher, but the competition is too tough.
My favourite battle and overall episode is definitely the Watchers on the Wall, followed by Blackwater, I just can't overlook the flaws of the Battle of the Bastards to rank it higher than number 3
Battle of the Bastards is still probably my favorite despite its fairly egregious logical flaws. It’s arguably fan service, but it’s the perfect culmination of Jon and Ramsay’s arcs as opposites, and the battle itself looks fantastic and is choreographed and shot SO well, similar to the Spoils of War battle in season 7 which is also great. It’s also cathartic because there is no emotional ambiguity, unlike most other great battles in the show.
I never comment, so I don’t have much to say. All I have to say is, every single thing you said is correct. Especially at the end with the Watchers on the Wall. 100% correct
Upvote for The Mummy love 👍❤️ About the battle of blackwater, it was written from Sansa and Tyrion's perspective. That is why we see her and the queen.
Top 3 is a tough one but i think I'd still say blackwater, hardhome and then watchers on the wall I love the direction in blackwater and think maybe i dont mind cerseis scenes in it as much Also probably wouldve put the long night higher, i felt the literal darkness was immersive though undercut by most every named character surviving i have my own headcanon of how it couldve ended which elevates it i guess idk Otherwise agreed with everything again engaging video nice reminder during this long winter of how great the show version once was Nice job 😁
Rewatched season six last week and yeah, you're so right about the Battle of the Bastards. If you don't think about it at all, this battle is simply phenomenal. The action and sense of horror and chaos is simply incredible and draws me in like little else. However, once you start to think about it some more, things start to fall apart a bit. In addition to what you mentioned, it's such a glaring oversight that despite mentioning it before the battle, Ramsay not fighting for his people while Jon does and Ramsay being generally hated in the North while the Starks in general and Jon in particular are worthy of loyalty just had no impact on the outcome whatsoever.
The Watchers on the Wall is the 🐐 Greatest episode of the show, and in general one of the greatest episodes ever made. As well as being the best battle in GoT.
I think that in the battle of the bastards, the bodies appearing in only minutes was an intentional choice to show how quickly their poor strategies fell apart into chaos
Jamie shouldve died at winterfell after knighting brienne. His story complete, leaving cersei in the finale to walk around her burning crumbling castle, terrified and alone. That wouldve been a really sad but cathartic ending for cersei
3:15 Whilst I get your point about the poor defensive strategy here, I think that's the whole point as it was a ragtag army and bunch of disjointed soldiers. This is deliberate and adds to the illusion of the Whitewalkers being unbeatable
Love the video but kinda disagree with your suggestion at Jaime running away @13:15. The one thing that Jaime is, is bold and courageous despite his flaws. Cowardice was never set up earlier and would have been just as jarring as the other unwelcome character twists
11:11 i disagree about the buildup being good because it makes no sense. A common problem in the later season: do these guys... have no scouts at all? How can a massive army sneak up on them like that until they are so close you can hear the rumble of hooves?
Even with the criticisms of the Battle of the Bastards, the influence it had on cinema is undeniable. There was no other equivalent to the gritty, violent depiction of medieval combat aside from Braveheart which was 2 decades old at the time. They set a standard for medieval battles, its influences seen in The Last Duel, Outlaw King and The King
14:35 No, this is definitely not a nitpick - there is no logical way they would go unnoticed. I can think of a few instances in history when a dismounted force was not noticed, but these Knights of the Vale chaps are pretty noticeable with their armor and heraldry and fucking brutal horses too - they are all mounted besides that and we have no build up of them even trying to sneak around somehow (not that you could do much sneaking if you are with them, but..) - no fog, no rain to hide them, no forest to hide them or something - no, they just spawn through the console. They also beg the question as to why the two sides' cavalries did not try and hit weak spots themselves. Do only the Knights of the Vale know about using any form of cavalry to hit flanks, rears or just be as cunning as chivalry can allow? The case is sealed with Ramsay just not having anything to throw at them at this point. If he weren't given this absurd plan by the writers, he might have some reserves or something to try and salvage the situation somehow. But his grand scheme was to throw shit in the middle, shoot shit at your shit, develop a heap of bodies and then use bullshit shields and pikes to sandwich the enemy. It makes no sense... I get that he is a lunatic psycho, but it makes no sense because he wants to win this battle, he needs to do it. I am not even going to comment how in this whole show there are barely any instances of the so-called second in command or command staff. Like, some noble from some unheard of house riding up to Ramsay at some point and going like: "Dude, consider and re-think." On Jon's side, he barely leads the battle at all. Just goes to show that the absurdity is such, that Ser Davos, "all without a shred of combat ability", and about half his fingers missing... not even in his prime age, ends up leading and commanding most of the battle for Jon. Tormund never suggests anything, no clansmen suggest anything. Davos just does stuff. To his credit - he did the right thing, but it's a weak spot... The whole battle leaves you with the impression that medieval battles were all frontal assaults and they weren't. And the pile of bodies that forms up is absurd even as a device for progressing the story. 15:15 this is a good match, actually, well done. These Northern folks seem to wear this odd long coat (almost like a hauberk, but not quite) of leather with plates riveted on the inside, that don't really touch or overlap fully... and Jon seems to be wearing something very similar, if not the same, like Robb was wearing. Of course, back then logic ruled, so that Lannister soldier that stabbed Robb in the leg from behind with his spear was a top move. I'd promote that soldier. Dude used a weak spot an opportune moment and a different weapon to defeat a superior foe. Ticks all the boxes in my book. What I mean is that the exact same thing could have happened to Jon. But nope... 19:28 the battle of Blackwater bay was okay, but still kinda dark for me and, at some point, all that green wildfire just disappears. Where did all the light go? 20:32 it doesn't make much sense that Varys was right in the end - that nobody would remember Tyrion for this. It was also stupid that Tywin still tried to sabotage his son. They would literally all be fucked if it weren't for Tyrion. Were it not for his plan with the wildfire and his initiative, Stannis would have taken the city and even if Tywin had arrived on time as he did, or earlier, he is leading a mounted force, he cannot simply siege the city or just barge in, he needs to wait for his main force while his capital is taken and the most valuable of his family slaughtered. 22:54 man, I really liked the guy playing Styr. Absolute savage cannibal.
I always loved The Spoils of War for actually showing good tactics. You see military logistics (wagon trains, soldiers marching who aren't immediately ready to fight and out of formation). You have a good reason for a large army to be ambushed -- Dany's army is entirely fast moving cavalry and dragons. You see improvised formations (shield walls), you see Dothraki trying to counter those formations (using bows, or dismounting behind the line to break up the formation), and archers focus-firing on a high priority target. The ending is dumb, but there's so much good stuff about that battle. #5 is probably still fine, I think I would've gone Top 3 with it though.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Also about the battle of bastards, Rickon dying and no one even bothering to mention him afterwards is still hilarious
Probably because that character has literally never mattered to the audience even if he matters to the characters.
@@bencarlson4300 that's still slopy writing
I think Jon says something about burying his remains next to Ned’s if I’m not mistaken
@@blackdragon6 Yes it is, but I'm willing to forgive it because of how many worse examples of bad writing came before in season 5 and then later on, obviously
Rickon had so much potential. He was the last son of Ned stark who could’ve carried on the bloodline. They wasted his character
I can think of a really simple change that could make the Battle of the Bastards better. Instead of Sansa not telling anyone about the knights of the Vale, make it so that Jon and his army knows they’re coming and have them wait near Winterfell for the knights to arrive. When Ramsey learns that the knights are coming, he decides to surprise attack Jon’s army while he still has the upper hand and a bigger army. This fixes the battle on so many levels. Jon still gets to be the underdog, but his objective is to hold out long enough for the knights to arrive, making it less contrived when they do. It also makes Sansa look way better. Finally, it fixes the problem of Ramsey going out of Winterfell to battle, for some reason. In this version, he’d be doing it because he knows he has no chance when Jon’s army meets up with the knights of the Vale. He’s attacking while he has the advantage and element of surprise, but he’s making a rash, in character decision which will ultimately lead to his downfall. It still doesn’t fix the fact that the Knights of the Vale show up right on time to save the day, but I think you can excuse that more when the stuff surrounding it makes much more sense.
Especially since the Knights were like 20 minutes away from Winterfell at that point. Easily, a Bolton Scout could have spotted them and forced the scenario you’ve set out
Holy shit that’s such a good change
I like your suggestion, it's a pretty good one.
My own would have kept the surprise of the Knights from the audience, but John knows they are coming in my "version". Sansa tells him in secret so we don't know the knights are coming. But John realises that if the Boltons hole up in Winterfell, it'll take months, maybe years to siege them out. So he plans to take his smaller army out into the plain, and use Ramsay's arrogance against him. The battle will then mostly progress as in the show, except John would show some of the tactical prowess he has in the books. Hold off the Boltons, giving ground and drawing them away from Winterfell, feigning losing to bring Ramsay further from safety.
And then as they're being surrounded and overwhelmed, you have the reveal of the Knights arriving.
That way, you still have the secret of the reinforcements to surprise the audience, John isn't character assassinated and made to look stupid, and the victory feels a lot less like luck
Or they just give Wun-Wun a club and rewrite the whole battle lmao
That kind of change makes sense and gives it a similar dynamic of Helms Deep in that the objective of the battle for the 'good guys' is survival until the re-enforcements have arrived
Calling Ygritte "Rose" multiple times is both funny and heartwarming.
why he do that?
@@BigJeffeDaGoat not really sure. Rose Leslie is the actress's name. Maybe he just forgot she wasn't also the character, seeing as Rose and Kit Harrington have blurred the lines between fiction and reality
@@StewartFletcher I almost didn't catch it the first time lol, Rose just *is* Ygritte, and Ygritte is Rose. It's weird for me to see Rose Leslie dressed as a normal 21st-century English person 😆
I think Kit said once that his dorky little smile when Jon sees Ygritte at Castle Black wasn't scripted, that was just his normal reaction to seeing his girl.
@@themulattomaker2602 I love that. Their relationship was the most wholesome, heartwarming part of the entire show. Made all the other romances seem very flat
"You know nothing, Kit Harrington."
😂
Like with the Battle of Winterfell, how did plot armor protect THAT MANY main characters. Just a few well known characters died…smh
📠 RIP to Ed. He got stabbed in the back by a no-name NPC wight while "helping" Sam the Slayer while he's clad in nth metal plot armor. I yelled irt during the episode lol, still remember that
Miguel wanted a massacre, but D&D stopped him from murdering some of the main characters
@@randallholloway8686we all knew Edd was dying that episode. It was sad but we knew it was coming.
They(dnd the writers ect) only killed characters they didn't know what to do with for the rest of the show...
Jamie was supposed to die during the loot train battle anyway.
And so many characters were supposed to die in certain parts but nah plot armor intervenes when the writers see fit
Aside from the battles, what still gets me upset is the neglect of the dire wolves :( I’d love to see everyone’s good boy decked out in dragon glass armor
Not to mention that their help during battle would've been great. Robb fought and won all of his battles with Greywind by his side, some even saying that their moves were so coordinated that they seemed weirdly connected (which was probably Robb's warging abilities sprouting)
Imagine if they could fix the direwolves with dragonglass jaws and claws for fighting the dead
The Watchers is a 12/10 surrounded by a bunch of 6-8/10 battles. There’s no comparison except Blackwater.
Blackwater and watchers were great, most realistic too
My 1 issue with watchers is that it's real goofy they sent a bunch of dudes to climb the wall right into the defense and it's treated as a real threat. What are the 20 wildlings going to do after they just scaled a 500 foot wall with pickaxes lol. The NW could literally just give them a little push off the edge as they round the top cuz they have no leverage and would be exhausted. Instead, they have guys harness themselves into a 90 degree decline to try to hit 500 foot headshots lol. Still, the scythe was pretty sick, even though egregiously unnecessary when you think about it. The rest of the battle was basically perfection
@@domskillet5744I think the main plan on sending wildlings to climb the wall more than hoping for them to reach the top was to distract the Watchers and make some of them stay at the top of the Wall so they have to stop the climbing wildlings, and so having more watchers at the top of the Wall would give the wildlings at Castle Black a better chance at taking the castle and opening the gate to the rest of the army
@@74ss43But why would they be a distraction? They're basically completely useless in battle for the 5 hours it would take to climb the wall, and once they get to the top, there's no way to get over the edge without someone just pushing them back off. If I try to justify it to myself, I say it's just Mance flexing the number advantage by sending some dudes to their certain death just because he can (but that goes against Mance's whole philosophy so it doesn't make sense). The showrunners did it because the Scythe is cool, which I understand lol. It just doesn't make logical sense from a battle tactic standpoint
@@AlexRedriner67 newsflash, the genre's called fantasy!
It's meant to be unrealistic, you myopic manatee!
The one thing I can't understand with Battle of the Bastards, is that there are mountains of bodies which don't correlate to the actual number of men who died both on Jon's and the Bolton's side. Seriously how are there that many bodies? Neither side had that many men!
I always wondered how a pile of bodies 30 high thats so sturdy its able to be fought atop of just conjured itself in the middle of a horse ridden battlefield
Yeah, that's so true. Those bodies simply spawned out of nowhere. Also, shouldn't the Boltons have like twice as many men??
To be fair, this is an issue with a LOT of battles in TV and movies. Vikings was notoriously guilty of this too. They want to sell the idea that a side as suffered decimating losses in one episode, but they still want the next battle to have massive numbers.
Ramsey had about 5000 vs Jon's 2000 or so. There weren't that many surviving on Jon's side, meaning 1600-1700 of Jon's dead(look at the overhead shot, couldn't be more than 300-400 remaining)? I'm pretty sure those piles can be made by 1600-1700, plus another 2000 or so, that's at lest 3700 bodies.
@@m.williams4971 Okay. What I'm saying is that combined total of 7,000 men wasn't shown to the audience in a convincing way. I'm asking for 7,000 people to actually be present when filming, but you see Jon's army, and the Bolton's before the battle. Then all of a sudden, there are far more bodies than what were realistically shown.
At the end of the Battle on the Wall when the nights watch has surrounded Tormund and Jon captures him instead of killing him and Tormund says “I should’ve thrown you from the top of the wall boy!!!” And Jon even though he won but in his heart he was defeated just says “aye, you should’ve” breaks my heart man. That battle was hands down the best one
If there's anything positive to gleam from GoT's complete failure towards the end, it's that we'll never run out of quality content from fans finding new reasons to complain about it even 4 years after it ended.
The watchers on the wall was so good because it got an entire episode dedicated to it. You experience the nerves of the nights watch knowing what’s to come. When one of the nights watch slips and arrow when told to hold and Aliester gives the speech about “what does Nook mean shoot” and gets the troops riled up is amazing
24:28 Once again accidentally said Rose instead of Ygritte. The real-life dynamic is too strong XD
He said it twice too😂
I know everyone loves "The Battle of the Basterds", but for me it's hard to look passed the logical erros. I mean the Boltons should outnumber Jon's forces by a lot but throughout the battle, it almost look as if the Wildlings have a numerical advantage. I mean it doesn't really feel like anyone died, seeing how there were still so many survivors when the Boltons created the Shield wall. Also, the many bodies that lay on the field are pretty unrealistic. It looks as if both sides suffered way too many casualties. I prefer when battles make sense from a tactical point of view. This is just two cavalries blindly clashing, with a melee afterwards.
nobody died in the blackwater battle yet everyone loves that battle. Rickon, wun wun, ramsay, and the karstark/umber lords all died. Thats more than some random kingsguard and davos' son.
I consider it a failure because yes, it looked amazing, but the entire time I was overcome with frustration. Everything felt very forced to create drama, and took away from my enjoyment/immersion. That's really what matters when judging an episode.
@@barkley8285It's not really deaths that make battles realistic for me. If a character uses a good strategy to win the battle, I can oversee him having a bit plot armour. It's still a movie/TV series. Jon's victory at the Battle however, felt unearned since he made so many plunders and literally survived 100 arrows. At the Blackwater, we have a realitsic scenario, Tywin who saves the day (which was foreshadowed and not as unrealtic as the Knights of the Vale spawning near Winterfell because Sansa wrote a letter like 2 days ago) and we have Tyrion being able to shine for once and still loosing half his face in the book, as a consequence of him fighting.
Not to mention an open field battle doesn't even make any sense. The Boltons have a larger army and are on defense. This should have been a siege from the start.
Yea the battle makes absolutely no sense. Jon knowing he's outnumbered just decides on charging them instead of using any sort of tactic whatsoever. And Davos saying Ramsay has to meet them on the field to prove a point to the other lords is just dumb af. Rather than defend his castle Ramsay wastes valuable resources such as men, wood, and weapons for a battle that didn't even need to happen. And suddenly there's a mountain of bodies that came out of nowhere is ridiculous. And Wun Wun picks up 1 guy at a time rather than just soccer kicking everyone. And why does Ramsay even send his men out when another volley of arrows would've killed Jon?
I will never get tired of you dragging season 8
My favorite was Hardhome. It was the first episode in the series that made me actually feel a sense of intimidation by these white walkers. And that final scene in the end with the resurrection just made my heart sink. The only thing going through my head was just how screwed the living were.
I get people are down on Battle of the Bastards with the context of hindsight, but that battle, at least every time I’ve gotten to it, is THE best cathartic moment in the whole show. Yes, it’s dumb. Yes, Sansa should have told Jon. Yes, Ramsay shouldn’t have left the castle. But it’s incredibly well shot, well choreographed, and IMO perfectly completes Jon’s arc as the successor and avenger to Ned and Robb and the rest of the dead Starks. I love it, and aside from The Spoils of War in season 7, it’s the last great battle of the show.
Its crazy to me that Jon left Sam while he was surrounded by wights, only for Sam to live anyway and then not contribute further to the story other than becoming Westeros' least qualified Grand Maester ever somehow
Hardhome has one flaw, how everyone behind the wall died immediately without any cause. The screaming stopping is similar to Dothraki torches snuffing out, visuals over writing.
Yeah he hasn’t mentioned that in any of his videos. It goes dead quiet and all of them just disappear for the jump scare.
I forgive that flaw simply because it just adds to the tension and pure terror of the unknown. You know they’re dead yes, but up until this point we haven’t really seen the white walkers in action on an army like scale. And this battle in my opinion was the perfect introduction to such a concept. Besides as mentioned in the video, this wasn’t merely a battle, it was an all out slaughter.
I don't know what that was but maybe they tried the thing from the books where the temperature just drops and everyone freezes instantly but didn't explain it
@@johns1625 But then they could have used it later and there was no need for a battle. It's lazy writing. And you are probably right.
Wdym? The Whites kill them
Jon having plot armor after he's revived could have made sense if he was Azor Ahai. I like the idea of him surviving more and more ridiculous scenarios as long as the people around him didn't also have plot armor and they actually had Jon end the long night
THat would've been cool, essentially the lord of light deflecting death onto those around him so that he can fulfill the prophecy
As far as the battles go:
3.) The Watchers on the Wall
2.) Hardhome
1.) The Blackwater
Black water is number because of how badass it was to see Tywin declaring victory to Cersei. Easily one of the best moments in the whole show.
All around my favourite episode. Not a moment in it that doesn't hit home. From Sansa bemoaning that the bad guys always survive a battle, to Stannis being the Mannis after the imp (quarter man doesn't have the same ring to it) has played his little trick.... And yes, of course, Tywin's boss moment.
One of the best hours of TV there has ever been.
Hardhome has a lot of new stuff, and its very cool, and the true power of the Others are shown, hut the watchers on the wall is better in every other way
And Hound splitting people in half
Gods the writing was strong then
One thing i hate about Hardhome is that Karsi told Jon that he must go with them otherwise the Night's Watch are gonna disobey his orders and kill them, but Jon being Jon decided to stay and fight completely ignoring that Ser Alliser is more likely to do just that.
you know you're emotionally invested when you call a character by their actor's name 😂
You forgot to mention the plot armor flaw with hardhome. The wights had so many opportunities to kill Jon, one of them could have easily run his spear through him after disarming him, but instead he hits and pushes him, even after that while Jon was down, he could have killed him but instead grabbed him with his hand and threw him. Also how did the giant escape?
Ed
That trope is common in just about every Terminator and superhero movie. Forget superstrength grip on throat for the kill...gotta throw them and slowly trudge/crawl after them while they grab a weapon or something.
Ed
Wights needed weapons in their hands just the same as men. If the wight didn't have anything, how else was it to kill?
Exactly. Re-watched the episode today and those were the exact two points I had in mind. But I did think there was some sort of explanation for how Wun Wun made it out but apparently not lol.
What’s funny about Sansa not telling Jon is that she knew Rickon was there and still withheld it. She’s a major reason he died imo.
Ramsey would have still killed him most likely.
Nah Ramsey wasn’t letting him live no matter what
How would sansa telling jon have saved rickon from being murdered? Best case scenario, ramsay sees a horde of cavalry and immediately cuts rickons throat in spite.
@@mappingshaman5280you don’t think karstark and umber betray Ramsay if they know they’re screwed?
@johndorazio3863 maybe but ramsay would still kill rickon.
Battle of Blackwater stands out because it was written by the man himself, George RR Martin
it has amazing dialogue too, Tyrion's speech, that dude being like "its gonna be suicidal, hundreds will die" and Stannis being like "thousands"
and Tywin's badass entrance to the throne room
I love how you call Ygritte "Rose" while talking about The Watchers on the Wall lol
The Dothraki being sent to slaughter was unintentionally hilarious, they would never have been used so recklessly if that was a real battle. And they never have been in snow like that or faced any white walkers. They should’ve been used as a last resort once the lines had inevitably failed.
Can we just ignore how Kings Landing is now in the middle of a desert one side? I thought it could only be taken by boat landing?
When did anyone say it could only be taken by boat landing? Even in the battle of the blackwater, stannis assaulted with his entire fleet being destroyed. Don't get me wrong kings landing being in a desert makes no sense, but you can certainly take it without boats, it's just easier with boats, in the same way theoretically a modern army can take practically any city aside from Venice without naval or air support, but it will be far easier with ships launching cruise missiles and planes and drones bombing the enemy.
NO INTRODUCTION STRAIGHT TO THE POINT THANK YOUUU finally one person doing it right
I'd love to see Pod the rod vs. ladies battle.
You’re in the wrooong website for that my guy lol
I LOVE THESE VIDEOS WITHOUT INTRODUCTION, THANK YOU
I love the intro to this video (actually not joking, I love how you just dive right in!)
battle of blackwater for me 🔥
@@Darius-_ true, but that is typical Hollywood shit
@@Darius-_ true, i guess they were trying to make Stannis the Mannis that he is
Watchers on the Wall was my favorite episode as well. Great episode from start to finish
The thing I hate about many cinematic battles is: when you are in a large scale battle, it doesn’t matter who you are, you are just another rat trying to avoid death. The battle of Winterfell you see this effect of them swinging around showing their “heroes” off like trophies mid battle. Obviously the STORY needs to focus on these characters but what you show the audience should not make them look like a celebrity in a crowd. This is what Battle of the Bastards does SO WELL. We are following Jon story-wise but at the end of the day we are just watching a fight unfold.
Blackwater has always been my favorite. The great action combined with strategy like the wildfire and the chains makes it a stand out
Hardhome is my favorite tbh. It does such a good job setting up the white walkers as freaking gods (Jk a 14 year old girl can body them all in 10 seconds), is honestly terrifying, makes it seem like Jon is actually going to die, and really feels like a massacre. Love every bit
The Nights Watch + Wildlings is my favorite part of both the books and the show. It's this rather small scale war fought in a hellish environment, isolated from the rest of the world but it's also the most important one. Man...
Watchers on the Wall… “constant state of amazement” is a perfect description… it’s like watching a “TOOL” concert….
One thing I like about the later seasons’ battles are the boots-on-ground POV. Jon walking around the battlefield during the Battle of the Bastards was really captivating
I'm glad you chose the wall battle, that's mine as well. Unlike the Long Night, it actually had layers more akin to Helms Deep. Enemy tries to climb- gets hit by hanging archers and eventually scythed. They try a ram, gets burned, try a rear attack, nights watch counter. Get through the gate, sacrifice some men to hold it. There was always attacks and answers, not just dumbness being punished over and over. It felt like both sides were doing their utmost to win. Alliser giving Jon command, and them Jon making the decision to hand it off and fight showed his actual agency like he has in the books. He may not be the best fighter in the books, but this demonstrated his intelligence and leadership qualities well. So good
Jon’s an excellent war leader tbh
It’s just a shame that the booms have those in spades, but they’re terrible and being peaceful rulers. Ex Bobby B and Robb. Couldn’t do anything outside of war for the life of them
13:11 the thing is Jaime would never do that, that would break character.
Yeah I didn't agree with that take. Jaime is brave and loyal if nothing else.
Yeah the same guy whom kills his king he's sworn to protect, and fucks his sister the queen for which he could be castrated and executed is scared of fire and soldiers, like wtf.
@@unc54 "loyal" lol
Best lines of Season 7+8 lolll good luck Supercuts delight 😂😂😂 the disdain you must feel. Love your videos
A very good analysis of the battles !!
i love your choice of backround music, ac unity theme !!
I can’t imagine what the long night could have been if they wrote, paced, and shot it like Watchers on the Wall. It’s basically 2 battles perfectly woven into one another with all the heart, loss, and drama a battle of this magnitude SHOULD entail, all with a timeline that logically makes sense and works for every character involved
Haven’t watched but came here to say that The Watchers on the Wall battle is the most epic cinematic battle in all GoT.
Blackwater is my personal favorite (over Watchers), mostly because I care WAY more about Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, the Hound, Bronn, Stannis, and Davos than I do about Jon, Pyp, Sam, Edd, Allister, Ygritte, and Tormund. Plus the characters at Blackwater get a lot of more to do emotionally than at the Wall
Yeah, that's where Blackwater gets its edge for me. And it is particularly important here since both battles are so much characters driven.
At the Blackwater battle every character goes through their own subplots during the battle, and we can follow very clearly what is going on thanks to all the episodes leading to it, with Tyrion trying to figure out how to not get annihilated. We can also see how everybody in the city feels in what is a losing situation. Just perfect.
And I personally feel nothing about the Battle of the Bastards. It's just stupid and action focused, style over substance, and the style is not even that great. Not my cup of tea I guess
@@matteomariani5160 BotB is really well made. It's hard to speak badly about its production value. But yeah, in terms of writing and logic and pathos, it's just kinda flat
You earned a thumbs up for the first 10 seconds alone
If they do the Battle Above the God’s Eye correctly it will undoubtedly be the best. By far the two most epic deaths in the GOT universe. I also am looking forward to the Battle of the Gullet
No way Jamie survived Spoils of War AND the Battle of Wintefell unscathed, yet did not fucking floor Euron. My guy’s plot armor is insane
The sheer size of the battle of the bastards ruins it for me. They go from talking about hundreds or thousands of men like it’s a lot and then cut to mountains of 10s if not 100s of dead bodies practically blotting out the sun for those on the ground which is honestly just absurd in every way imaginable and then John Snow being untouched by the arrows falling around him multiple times is just the cherry on top that makes this battle so hard to watch
Its a shame that the show didn't have a huge budget for the first few seasons because it would have been really cool to see some of the battles from the war of the 5 kings.. Like when Jamie falls into Rob's trap but rallies some of his men and make a charge straight for Rob to try and end the war. Would have been wonderful to see. Also the battle that Tyrion gets knocked out during the charge, in the books he actually fights for a bit and kills some pesants lol.
a big part of the battles for me was the dialogue that would happen during. watchers on the wall had that in spades. and i know there were plenty more dialogue moments from that episode that were deeper or more meaningful, but the moment when jon pulls longclaw from its sheath and yells “Come brothers, now! Fight with me!” is just ridiculously badass. Reminds me of the moment in hardhome when he makes the decision to go fight the walkers in order to buy more time for the people fleeing on the boats. He pauses and thinks for just a moment, then unsheathes longclaw (followed IMMEDIATELY by tormund drawing his own blade). He then yells “Night’s Watch! With me! Move! Move!”
These moments aren’t as poetic or whatever as Ser Alliser’s speech before charging into battle, or Tyrion rallying the troops during Blackwater, but they have a very 300-esque badassery to them akin to Leonidas calling out “SPARTANS!! What is your profession??!”
2:38 that perfectly sums up the last two seasons to me. They really fumbled the bag, man
The one problem I have with the Battle of Hardhome is the Other deciding to throw Jon around instead of just outright killing him. Other than that, it's a great scene. Agree with the Battle of the Bastards too. When I first watched it, I thought it was amazing, but with the benefit of hindsight the plot armour really damages it
You could interpret the Other as just toying around with Jon, Others are genuinely sadistic creatures (they were laughing when they killed Waymar) and it isn’t too odd to think so, since the Walker didn’t know Jon had a Valyrian Steel Blade and Jon was all by himself
_That's_ how you do a video intro. I'm all for a bit of foreplay, but I appreciate brevity.
Nicely done video! Blackwater for me. It's the second ep I saw (after the Red Wedding) and it convinced me to then watch the whole series.
I've been re watching the show because I just finished reading the books again after reading them all in between seasons 1 & 2. I just finished the watchers on the wall episode and i remembered it being good when I watched it before but it really blew me away this time. So I wanted to see if there was a ranking of the battles and here we are. Someone else agrees that it is perfect. That one shot pan around the whole courtyard is beautiful. I did a rewind on that 4 times in a row just to see all the complex movements in that shot. Jon giving the key to Sam saying I need him more than I need you right now. Then Ghost getting released and just ripping out dudes throat. The reciting of the Night's Watch vows in the tunnel when facing down the giant is such a good moment as well. Also Ygritte's death is the most emotional death in the story IMO. It just hits you in the feels so hard. I remember when I read book 3 the first time I was in tears when I read "You know nothing Jon Snow."
I love how you use assassins creed unity theme for your background music ❤❤❤❤
Great video! I like hearing you talk about more positive things as you get up the list. I'd want to put the Stepstones from HotD a bit higher, but idk if I could put the others below it...
Also is there a reason you refer to Ygritte by her actor's name here?
Oh I didn't even notice I referred to Ygritte as Rose again. I did that in the past too. Thank you for enjoying the video and I agree with Stepstones. It feels like it should be higher, but the competition is too tough.
My favourite battle and overall episode is definitely the Watchers on the Wall, followed by Blackwater, I just can't overlook the flaws of the Battle of the Bastards to rank it higher than number 3
Battle of the Bastards is still probably my favorite despite its fairly egregious logical flaws. It’s arguably fan service, but it’s the perfect culmination of Jon and Ramsay’s arcs as opposites, and the battle itself looks fantastic and is choreographed and shot SO well, similar to the Spoils of War battle in season 7 which is also great. It’s also cathartic because there is no emotional ambiguity, unlike most other great battles in the show.
Odd but nice detail putting the assassins creed unity menu music on the background at the start of the vid
The Dothraki in the Spoils of War terrifies me🤣
Great video bro!
My poor food was getting cold until you saved my morning with this upload. Thank you boss 💙🖤
BOB is probably the greatest battle scene ever created. I get the nit picks but cinematically it’s a masterpiece
I never comment, so I don’t have much to say. All I have to say is, every single thing you said is correct. Especially at the end with the Watchers on the Wall. 100% correct
A friend of mine was an extra in hardhome, we were watching episode 3 and someone was like "ugh when is winter gonna come"
"Episode 8" my friend said"
Legolas skating down those stairs is God level 😂
Another great Watchers on the Wall moment - when the cook struts into the kitchen with the massive cleaver...
The main character vs main character duels really do a lot in these battle scenes
Upvote for The Mummy love 👍❤️
About the battle of blackwater, it was written from Sansa and Tyrion's perspective. That is why we see her and the queen.
Wildlings vs nights watch battle is the greatest battle in the entire got series. The buildup and fear was real🥶
Spoils of War makes me really hyped for whats to come in House of the Dragon
“The fire scenes weren’t done digitally” hm….are you telling me they just lit these extras on fire😂
Yes, that's exactly what they did. I think they actually set a record for the most stunt actors set on fire in a single shot 😂😂😂
Lol Daemon getting hit by 3 arrows and still acting like the Black Knight in Holy Grail is 100% an example of egregious plot armor.
I got to see Watchers on the Wall in an IMAX theater. It was freaking AMAZING
Top 3 is a tough one but i think I'd still say blackwater, hardhome and then watchers on the wall
I love the direction in blackwater and think maybe i dont mind cerseis scenes in it as much
Also probably wouldve put the long night higher, i felt the literal darkness was immersive though undercut by most every named character surviving i have my own headcanon of how it couldve ended which elevates it i guess idk
Otherwise agreed with everything again engaging video nice reminder during this long winter of how great the show version once was
Nice job 😁
Rewatched season six last week and yeah, you're so right about the Battle of the Bastards. If you don't think about it at all, this battle is simply phenomenal. The action and sense of horror and chaos is simply incredible and draws me in like little else. However, once you start to think about it some more, things start to fall apart a bit. In addition to what you mentioned, it's such a glaring oversight that despite mentioning it before the battle, Ramsay not fighting for his people while Jon does and Ramsay being generally hated in the North while the Starks in general and Jon in particular are worthy of loyalty just had no impact on the outcome whatsoever.
The Watchers on the Wall is the 🐐
Greatest episode of the show, and in general one of the greatest episodes ever made. As well as being the best battle in GoT.
I think that in the battle of the bastards, the bodies appearing in only minutes was an intentional choice to show how quickly their poor strategies fell apart into chaos
I always thought everything missed Jon because the lord of light was keeping him safe
Couldn't agree more with this list.
Love the halo music in the background!
22:08 did he just say rose?
Supercuts Delight kinda forgot about the character's name.
And again at 24:28 😂
@@idontdovarioustasks”it just didn’t seem right in that moment”😂😂
@@AndersonSherwood-nn2dx very true
Jamie shouldve died at winterfell after knighting brienne.
His story complete, leaving cersei in the finale to walk around her burning crumbling castle, terrified and alone.
That wouldve been a really sad but cathartic ending for cersei
The Battle for the wall has always been my favorite
"I'm not saying I want him to die, but instead I want him to sustain some king of injury."
- Supercuts
Great video!
Watchers on the Wall is probably the single best thing to have even been put to screen.
3:15
Whilst I get your point about the poor defensive strategy here, I think that's the whole point as it was a ragtag army and bunch of disjointed soldiers. This is deliberate and adds to the illusion of the Whitewalkers being unbeatable
Love the video but kinda disagree with your suggestion at Jaime running away @13:15. The one thing that Jaime is, is bold and courageous despite his flaws. Cowardice was never set up earlier and would have been just as jarring as the other unwelcome character twists
Bob peaked more for me but after a second watch I appreciate your number 1 selection
Ty for posting bro
11:11 i disagree about the buildup being good because it makes no sense. A common problem in the later season: do these guys... have no scouts at all? How can a massive army sneak up on them like that until they are so close you can hear the rumble of hooves?
Even with the criticisms of the Battle of the Bastards, the influence it had on cinema is undeniable. There was no other equivalent to the gritty, violent depiction of medieval combat aside from Braveheart which was 2 decades old at the time. They set a standard for medieval battles, its influences seen in The Last Duel, Outlaw King and The King
epic opinion Mister Delight 👍
14:35 No, this is definitely not a nitpick - there is no logical way they would go unnoticed. I can think of a few instances in history when a dismounted force was not noticed, but these Knights of the Vale chaps are pretty noticeable with their armor and heraldry and fucking brutal horses too - they are all mounted besides that and we have no build up of them even trying to sneak around somehow (not that you could do much sneaking if you are with them, but..) - no fog, no rain to hide them, no forest to hide them or something - no, they just spawn through the console. They also beg the question as to why the two sides' cavalries did not try and hit weak spots themselves. Do only the Knights of the Vale know about using any form of cavalry to hit flanks, rears or just be as cunning as chivalry can allow?
The case is sealed with Ramsay just not having anything to throw at them at this point. If he weren't given this absurd plan by the writers, he might have some reserves or something to try and salvage the situation somehow. But his grand scheme was to throw shit in the middle, shoot shit at your shit, develop a heap of bodies and then use bullshit shields and pikes to sandwich the enemy. It makes no sense... I get that he is a lunatic psycho, but it makes no sense because he wants to win this battle, he needs to do it. I am not even going to comment how in this whole show there are barely any instances of the so-called second in command or command staff. Like, some noble from some unheard of house riding up to Ramsay at some point and going like: "Dude, consider and re-think."
On Jon's side, he barely leads the battle at all. Just goes to show that the absurdity is such, that Ser Davos, "all without a shred of combat ability", and about half his fingers missing... not even in his prime age, ends up leading and commanding most of the battle for Jon. Tormund never suggests anything, no clansmen suggest anything. Davos just does stuff. To his credit - he did the right thing, but it's a weak spot...
The whole battle leaves you with the impression that medieval battles were all frontal assaults and they weren't. And the pile of bodies that forms up is absurd even as a device for progressing the story.
15:15 this is a good match, actually, well done.
These Northern folks seem to wear this odd long coat (almost like a hauberk, but not quite) of leather with plates riveted on the inside, that don't really touch or overlap fully... and Jon seems to be wearing something very similar, if not the same, like Robb was wearing. Of course, back then logic ruled, so that Lannister soldier that stabbed Robb in the leg from behind with his spear was a top move. I'd promote that soldier. Dude used a weak spot an opportune moment and a different weapon to defeat a superior foe. Ticks all the boxes in my book.
What I mean is that the exact same thing could have happened to Jon. But nope...
19:28 the battle of Blackwater bay was okay, but still kinda dark for me and, at some point, all that green wildfire just disappears. Where did all the light go?
20:32 it doesn't make much sense that Varys was right in the end - that nobody would remember Tyrion for this. It was also stupid that Tywin still tried to sabotage his son. They would literally all be fucked if it weren't for Tyrion. Were it not for his plan with the wildfire and his initiative, Stannis would have taken the city and even if Tywin had arrived on time as he did, or earlier, he is leading a mounted force, he cannot simply siege the city or just barge in, he needs to wait for his main force while his capital is taken and the most valuable of his family slaughtered.
22:54 man, I really liked the guy playing Styr. Absolute savage cannibal.
I always loved The Spoils of War for actually showing good tactics. You see military logistics (wagon trains, soldiers marching who aren't immediately ready to fight and out of formation). You have a good reason for a large army to be ambushed -- Dany's army is entirely fast moving cavalry and dragons. You see improvised formations (shield walls), you see Dothraki trying to counter those formations (using bows, or dismounting behind the line to break up the formation), and archers focus-firing on a high priority target. The ending is dumb, but there's so much good stuff about that battle. #5 is probably still fine, I think I would've gone Top 3 with it though.
Honestly, screw my time. I wanna hear you talk about the watchers on the wall for an hour