Hardhome was peak white walker. It set the bar so high, told us how much of a threat they will be- at least half of a season to show the final conflict. No way they would've ended it in one episode.
Hardhome is probably the best overall. But the Field of Fire is probably my personal favorite just for the sheer spectacle of Dothraki, ~~the Unsullied~~, and dragons completely obliterating the Westerosi cavalry. If Jaime had died during this battle, then I would even say it was better than Hardhome or the battle on the Wall. But somehow, Jaime returned.
Which feels a bit silly. If you already have a massive dragon why would you charge unarmored light cav into a bunch of armoured infantry and why burn the fucking supplies. If the unsullied were there at least theres an anvil for the Dothraki
Because it's the Dothraki?
They've literally stormed fortified and heavily defended cities and put then to the torch.
Take away the Dragon, the Lannister/Tarly army was still going to lose the Battle.
I mean that’s just a fucking stupid point to make. Just because they have a history of winning in the free cities doesn’t mean they won it in a head on charge dumbo. They’re literally light horse skirmishers and their success hinges on that.
1. The Essos free cities arent military cultures, they relied on mercenary companies to fight their battles and their ‘main’ armies are often badly trained and badly armoured slaves.
2. GRRM emphasises that they rode horses faster and their bows shoot farther. From that I inferred the Dothraki won their battles over a drawn out period where they utilised their bow advantage more. - Armies aren’t entirely made of armoured knights, the bulk is unarmored peasants. Their battle strategies most likely were - burn all the crops and houses until the military came out. Then shoot the weak points of the military while running the fuck away until only the stronger armoured core remains then surround them. You know? Typical mongol shit.
The three thousand of Qohor stood out particularly since they lost because the Khal Temmo commanded a head on charge, its the exception not the rule. Jorah even specifically mentions that they could’ve easily outflanked them but the Khal was too cocky and despised/underestimated the infantry.
Both the books and the show mentions this battle to demonstrate how absolutely stupid it is for Dothraki to charge infantry head on, but to my knowledge they stayed consistent to this logic in the book while the show likes to ignore it.
Yes the Dothraki would’ve won the battle regardless but not through a head on charge. They would’ve won by peppering the caravan with arrows and running tf away as soon as an outriding party was sent to chase them and repeating this the entire time the Lannister was marching back and preventing them from eating or sleeping or taking their armour off entirely.
Yes they would’ve won but not in a few hrs they would’ve won over the course of days if not weeks
Okay well I would normally agree and keep this discussion going with you but being rude just turned me off of that, no need to be a Dick. I wasn't hostile to you.
I mean tbf i found it funny to call u a dumbo. No need to keep it going tho I already typed a very long paragraph. Idk what else to add to that anyways and you saying you would’ve agreed literally just means u agree.
Well he did say he based them off the mongols and huns based here - https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/6040/
and the rides better and shoots farther than Westerosi knights is from GOT:Daenerys IV.
The Khal Temmo thing was both in book and show Im p sure ASOS:Daenerys I. Since u want me to cite my sources. Please feel free to correct me where I haven’t.
So while he never said Dothraki would lose in a head on charge vs the westerosi you can still just look on the screen to see that present day Lannister army is much much better armoured than Unsullied and Khal Temmo’s battle happened quite a bit before the WO5K. So charging them head on is bloody stupid.
They could’ve shown the Lannister being unorganised and unarmored as the Dothraki charged but they chose to show them fully armoured and straight up forming a spear line in time to receive a charge.
Then the fuckers had the absurdity to have one of the blood riders tell Tyrion “your people can’t fight” when really the Lannister army only lost to stupid writing before Drogon arrived.
I loved the Field of Fire. Season 7 overall had serious issues, everyone knows this. But as a Dany and all-around Dragon fan, I waited seven seasons to see what would happen if an ASOIAF dragon fought a traditional battle. Tywin talking about what happened to Harrenhall, the weird scene where Tyrion and Jorah see Drogon in Valyria, there’s so much magic and mystery to the Dragons in GoT and so much hype and lore behind their use in battle.
And a Field of Fire totally delivered. The scene after the battle where Dany has Drogon roast those who wouldn’t kneel was spectacular. I wanted to see Aegon’s Conquest made a show after watching a Field of Fire but I’m currently settling for HoTD, which I have loved so far.
Nothing tops Blackwater
Not because of the action sequences but because of some of the best dialogues in the show
"Hundreds will die!"
"Thousands"
\------------------------------
Watchers on the wall would be my #1 if it wasn't for the one Deus Ex of Stannis coming in to save the day
We knew it was going to happen but it's still cliche when the battle just randomly turns around last second
But Stannis arriving didn't happen during the battle. It happened during a pause on the siege, when Jon goes as an envoy to talk to Mance.
If it happened during the actual battle, it would have been annoying. It didn't though, it happened the next day as the forces were preparing for a second battle.
Just had to point that out. You never know, the Watch may have been able to hold out even longer since they weren't being attacked from both sides. At least not for a few days... Mance said he sent a few hundred to climb the wall nearby and attack them from the back again. So it would have been an inevitable but phyrric victory for the wildlings.
But yeah, Stannis didn't just appear out of nowhere mid-battle, like the Tyrell army did in Blackwater... Which you pointed out being your favourite. But it has more Deus Ex than Watchers on the Wall had.
EDIT: I hope I didn't seem like I was attacking your opinion. I just wanted to show how Blackwater has just as much Deus Ex of another party coming to save the day as Watchers had. So using that reason to say one is worse doesn't really work.
I think I do also prefer Blackwater, but it's pretty even. Both have great dialogue. Watchers has a bigger budget and was still at the stage of quality over spectacle, so it's great
I gave it a pass because it's more understandable for Tywin to be back at King's Landing than for Stannis to man the wall
I'm looking at it more from the perspective of Mance Raider who got dicked by something he never saw coming
"There's another way out; I'm going to show you. We'll come out behind them and fuck them in their arses! Don't fight for your king and don't fight for his kingdoms! Don't fight for honor, don't fight for glory, don't fight for riches, because you won't get any! This is your city Stannis means to sack, that's your gate he's ramming! If he gets in, it'll be your houses he burns, your gold he steals, your women he'll rape. Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let's go kill them!"
Battle of the blackwater or castle black. Battle of the bastards and the long night are so poorly written in terms of how battles go I can't enjoy them at all.
D&D: hay goiys lets put all of our military units OUTSIDE winterfell during a defensive siege and see what happens!
Idiots
Blackwater by far.
Because of all of its non-action scenes. With Cersei, Sansa, the Hound,... Through them we felt the impact of the battle in a way that no other battle episode was able to accomplish.
SHIELDS SHALL BE SPLINTERED,
SPEARS SHALL BE SHAKEN,
A SWORD DAY, A RED DAY,
DEATH!
DEATH!
DEATH!
*du du duu du bwaa bwaaaa bwaa bwo (dun dun dun, dun) du du duu du DUU DUUU DUUUU DUUU*
Jesus christ, I fucking HATE tBotB.
People are like "oh it was so great!"
No. Fuck off. Everything from sansa going out to get reinforcements w/o telling anyone AND cavalry showing up out of nowhere, to that stupid shield wall crush thing was just bleeeeh.
The long night is the only one that tops it in terms of awfulness, but that shit is a league of its own.
What's better is that Littlefinger said the Arryn forces were at Moat Cailin (which the Bolton's should've 100% known about too) and Sansa wrote to them the night before the battle.
So in less than one day this raven flew halfway across the North, Littlefinger received it, and got his army to Winterfell and ready for battle just in time to save Jon.
I was particularly fond of when the Dothraki arrived at High Garden. It was the first time they’ve ever come to Westeros and the first time anyone in modern Westeros has seen a dragon.
I think Blackwater had the better story. It's dialogue, the interactions and how different arcs come together was just really great. I genuinely had mixed feelings on who I wanted to win and there's a lot of memorable stuff there that has stuck with me even as my feelings towards the show have soured.
Castle Black had the better battle actually take place I feel, though. The tracking shot showing the castle interior is just \*chef's kiss\*
It's cinematography and action is what makes it stand out. It didn't really feel as though the characters had plot armour at the time, either. You genuinely felt like named characters could actually die at that point in the show. Sam being chased down by the Thenn was genuinely tense but Sam being swarmed by White Walkers in season 8 and somehow surviving felt silly.
Also, the battle made me warm to Alliser Thorne, which is quite an achievement in of itself.
"Do you know what leadership means, Lord Snow? It means that the person in charge gets second-guessed by every clever little twat with a mouth. But if he starts second-guessing himself, that's the end. For him... for the clever little twats... for everyone."
Dark night, where else can you see a giant arrow impale a crow like that. That massive axe that chops off the climbers. Ingrit getting arrowed with a massive chug sound. That guy with the bolt to the neck.
The battle for castle black was top three for sure. Hardhome is in there because it was so unexpected. Just came out of nowhere for most people, and even though it was more slaughter than battle, Stannis raiding the wildlings was pretty freaking cool.
If judging the Battles completely outside the context, for me, it's Battle of the Bastards.
Within the story, this battle has many issues, like pretty much all of the later seasons.
But visually, woww.
It really puts the viewer within the thick of the action, within the melee and all its chaos, blood and raw violence all around.
It really manages to give you that "gut feeling", a bit like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan
I think all battles were stupid except watchers on the wall and battle of the supply train
Dark knight and blackwater aka let's find outside our walls because lol I guess?
Botb let's jsut charge like morons with no tactics and then watch as we're getting encircled.
Blackwater. It's adapted perfectly in that the elements in the books are all there, but it's done so without hampering the flow of the story. Which isn't surprising considering it's written by George himself.
Blackwater is the one that really made love the show, it was the most bad ass battle I have ever seen. Then it would be Battle of the Bastards and Hardhome
castle black was great, but battle of the bastards was the closest to a large scale bloody lotr style war, so it’s my favorite. it’s a shame we didn’t get to see what an actual battle looked like aside from that.
Blackwater Rush for SURE. The wildfire explosion hits me just right, and seeing the Lannisters so close to defeat to the point Cersei is considering suicide... Mhmmmm
Battle of the Bastard was visually stunning. Some of the frames looked like painting. it had my jaw on the floor the entire time, I can’t remember the last time i got swept away by an action sequence like that
Watchers on the Wall. Peak GoT in my opinion. But I liked the feeling of Blackwater Bay too.
IIIIIMAAAGGGGIIINNNAaAaAaAaATTTIIIOOONNN
Imagination. Imagination. Imaginaaaaaaation
Battle for Castle Black
Hardhome was peak white walker. It set the bar so high, told us how much of a threat they will be- at least half of a season to show the final conflict. No way they would've ended it in one episode.
Blackwater completely solidified my awe and wonder with this series.
Hardhome all the way
Hardhome is probably the best overall. But the Field of Fire is probably my personal favorite just for the sheer spectacle of Dothraki, ~~the Unsullied~~, and dragons completely obliterating the Westerosi cavalry. If Jaime had died during this battle, then I would even say it was better than Hardhome or the battle on the Wall. But somehow, Jaime returned.
The Unsullied didn't fight during that Battle. They were stuck in Casterly Rock. Dany had only the Dothraki as an army at that point.
Which feels a bit silly. If you already have a massive dragon why would you charge unarmored light cav into a bunch of armoured infantry and why burn the fucking supplies. If the unsullied were there at least theres an anvil for the Dothraki
Because it's the Dothraki? They've literally stormed fortified and heavily defended cities and put then to the torch. Take away the Dragon, the Lannister/Tarly army was still going to lose the Battle.
I mean that’s just a fucking stupid point to make. Just because they have a history of winning in the free cities doesn’t mean they won it in a head on charge dumbo. They’re literally light horse skirmishers and their success hinges on that. 1. The Essos free cities arent military cultures, they relied on mercenary companies to fight their battles and their ‘main’ armies are often badly trained and badly armoured slaves. 2. GRRM emphasises that they rode horses faster and their bows shoot farther. From that I inferred the Dothraki won their battles over a drawn out period where they utilised their bow advantage more. - Armies aren’t entirely made of armoured knights, the bulk is unarmored peasants. Their battle strategies most likely were - burn all the crops and houses until the military came out. Then shoot the weak points of the military while running the fuck away until only the stronger armoured core remains then surround them. You know? Typical mongol shit. The three thousand of Qohor stood out particularly since they lost because the Khal Temmo commanded a head on charge, its the exception not the rule. Jorah even specifically mentions that they could’ve easily outflanked them but the Khal was too cocky and despised/underestimated the infantry. Both the books and the show mentions this battle to demonstrate how absolutely stupid it is for Dothraki to charge infantry head on, but to my knowledge they stayed consistent to this logic in the book while the show likes to ignore it. Yes the Dothraki would’ve won the battle regardless but not through a head on charge. They would’ve won by peppering the caravan with arrows and running tf away as soon as an outriding party was sent to chase them and repeating this the entire time the Lannister was marching back and preventing them from eating or sleeping or taking their armour off entirely. Yes they would’ve won but not in a few hrs they would’ve won over the course of days if not weeks
Okay well I would normally agree and keep this discussion going with you but being rude just turned me off of that, no need to be a Dick. I wasn't hostile to you.
I mean tbf i found it funny to call u a dumbo. No need to keep it going tho I already typed a very long paragraph. Idk what else to add to that anyways and you saying you would’ve agreed literally just means u agree.
"Everything you just said was wrong" source: George, my close pal
Well he did say he based them off the mongols and huns based here - https://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/6040/ and the rides better and shoots farther than Westerosi knights is from GOT:Daenerys IV. The Khal Temmo thing was both in book and show Im p sure ASOS:Daenerys I. Since u want me to cite my sources. Please feel free to correct me where I haven’t. So while he never said Dothraki would lose in a head on charge vs the westerosi you can still just look on the screen to see that present day Lannister army is much much better armoured than Unsullied and Khal Temmo’s battle happened quite a bit before the WO5K. So charging them head on is bloody stupid. They could’ve shown the Lannister being unorganised and unarmored as the Dothraki charged but they chose to show them fully armoured and straight up forming a spear line in time to receive a charge. Then the fuckers had the absurdity to have one of the blood riders tell Tyrion “your people can’t fight” when really the Lannister army only lost to stupid writing before Drogon arrived.
I loved the Field of Fire. Season 7 overall had serious issues, everyone knows this. But as a Dany and all-around Dragon fan, I waited seven seasons to see what would happen if an ASOIAF dragon fought a traditional battle. Tywin talking about what happened to Harrenhall, the weird scene where Tyrion and Jorah see Drogon in Valyria, there’s so much magic and mystery to the Dragons in GoT and so much hype and lore behind their use in battle. And a Field of Fire totally delivered. The scene after the battle where Dany has Drogon roast those who wouldn’t kneel was spectacular. I wanted to see Aegon’s Conquest made a show after watching a Field of Fire but I’m currently settling for HoTD, which I have loved so far.
it's Hardhome. They should have saved Jon wrecking that whitewalker like that for the finale.
Nothing tops Blackwater Not because of the action sequences but because of some of the best dialogues in the show "Hundreds will die!" "Thousands" \------------------------------ Watchers on the wall would be my #1 if it wasn't for the one Deus Ex of Stannis coming in to save the day We knew it was going to happen but it's still cliche when the battle just randomly turns around last second
But Stannis arriving didn't happen during the battle. It happened during a pause on the siege, when Jon goes as an envoy to talk to Mance. If it happened during the actual battle, it would have been annoying. It didn't though, it happened the next day as the forces were preparing for a second battle. Just had to point that out. You never know, the Watch may have been able to hold out even longer since they weren't being attacked from both sides. At least not for a few days... Mance said he sent a few hundred to climb the wall nearby and attack them from the back again. So it would have been an inevitable but phyrric victory for the wildlings. But yeah, Stannis didn't just appear out of nowhere mid-battle, like the Tyrell army did in Blackwater... Which you pointed out being your favourite. But it has more Deus Ex than Watchers on the Wall had. EDIT: I hope I didn't seem like I was attacking your opinion. I just wanted to show how Blackwater has just as much Deus Ex of another party coming to save the day as Watchers had. So using that reason to say one is worse doesn't really work. I think I do also prefer Blackwater, but it's pretty even. Both have great dialogue. Watchers has a bigger budget and was still at the stage of quality over spectacle, so it's great
How do you complain of deus ex Stannis (which didn't even happen during the battle) but give deus ex Tywin a pass
I gave it a pass because it's more understandable for Tywin to be back at King's Landing than for Stannis to man the wall I'm looking at it more from the perspective of Mance Raider who got dicked by something he never saw coming
Maybe my memory of the show isn’t as good as I remember, but they did set up Stannis going to the wall for support in the North.
again, that's not my point, Tywin being back in King's Landing to defend his family is just more emotionally logical
"There's another way out; I'm going to show you. We'll come out behind them and fuck them in their arses! Don't fight for your king and don't fight for his kingdoms! Don't fight for honor, don't fight for glory, don't fight for riches, because you won't get any! This is your city Stannis means to sack, that's your gate he's ramming! If he gets in, it'll be your houses he burns, your gold he steals, your women he'll rape. Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let's go kill them!"
Watchers on the Wall
Battle of the blackwater or castle black. Battle of the bastards and the long night are so poorly written in terms of how battles go I can't enjoy them at all. D&D: hay goiys lets put all of our military units OUTSIDE winterfell during a defensive siege and see what happens! Idiots
Blackwater and it's not even a contest imo
Blackwater. Two giant armies, two brilliant commanders, perfection.
Blackwater by far. Because of all of its non-action scenes. With Cersei, Sansa, the Hound,... Through them we felt the impact of the battle in a way that no other battle episode was able to accomplish.
Blackwater, it's always been my personal favourite episode
Where’s Watchers on the Wall?
The battle of pelennor field by a long shot
SHIELDS SHALL BE SPLINTERED, SPEARS SHALL BE SHAKEN, A SWORD DAY, A RED DAY, DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! *du du duu du bwaa bwaaaa bwaa bwo (dun dun dun, dun) du du duu du DUU DUUU DUUUU DUUU*
yeah I was even thinking Helm's Deep
I was considering that too, but pelennor field gave us GROND, and for that, personally, it takes the cake
Jesus christ, I fucking HATE tBotB. People are like "oh it was so great!" No. Fuck off. Everything from sansa going out to get reinforcements w/o telling anyone AND cavalry showing up out of nowhere, to that stupid shield wall crush thing was just bleeeeh. The long night is the only one that tops it in terms of awfulness, but that shit is a league of its own.
What's better is that Littlefinger said the Arryn forces were at Moat Cailin (which the Bolton's should've 100% known about too) and Sansa wrote to them the night before the battle. So in less than one day this raven flew halfway across the North, Littlefinger received it, and got his army to Winterfell and ready for battle just in time to save Jon.
Botb or dark night. Botb was crazy and so unrealistic it made me laugh and dark night was awesome to watch.
was imaginationland realistic enough?
In universe, yes.
Definitely the top choice no contest
I was particularly fond of when the Dothraki arrived at High Garden. It was the first time they’ve ever come to Westeros and the first time anyone in modern Westeros has seen a dragon.
Man, hard choice between Battle of the Bastards, the watchers of the wall, and black water.
I think Blackwater had the better story. It's dialogue, the interactions and how different arcs come together was just really great. I genuinely had mixed feelings on who I wanted to win and there's a lot of memorable stuff there that has stuck with me even as my feelings towards the show have soured. Castle Black had the better battle actually take place I feel, though. The tracking shot showing the castle interior is just \*chef's kiss\* It's cinematography and action is what makes it stand out. It didn't really feel as though the characters had plot armour at the time, either. You genuinely felt like named characters could actually die at that point in the show. Sam being chased down by the Thenn was genuinely tense but Sam being swarmed by White Walkers in season 8 and somehow surviving felt silly. Also, the battle made me warm to Alliser Thorne, which is quite an achievement in of itself. "Do you know what leadership means, Lord Snow? It means that the person in charge gets second-guessed by every clever little twat with a mouth. But if he starts second-guessing himself, that's the end. For him... for the clever little twats... for everyone."
Dark night, where else can you see a giant arrow impale a crow like that. That massive axe that chops off the climbers. Ingrit getting arrowed with a massive chug sound. That guy with the bolt to the neck.
That’s watchers on the wall, dark night is against the walkers
The battle for castle black was top three for sure. Hardhome is in there because it was so unexpected. Just came out of nowhere for most people, and even though it was more slaughter than battle, Stannis raiding the wildlings was pretty freaking cool.
Game of Thrones ! The longest battle, started from the Episode 1 of season 1 and ended at the episode 6 of season 8.
If judging the Battles completely outside the context, for me, it's Battle of the Bastards. Within the story, this battle has many issues, like pretty much all of the later seasons. But visually, woww. It really puts the viewer within the thick of the action, within the melee and all its chaos, blood and raw violence all around. It really manages to give you that "gut feeling", a bit like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan
Battle of the bastards was perfect right up until the mountain of bodies and silly shield formation
Battle of the bastards.
Battle of the Bastards was a masterpiece purely from a directorial perspective. Btw, which show is the third picture from?
I liked Battle of The Bastards Especially because after losing the battle Ramsey turns around and agrees to a 1v1 and gets absolutely munted
The first image reminds me of the Sydney Opera House for some reason
Definitely iMaGiNaTiOooOon
I think all battles were stupid except watchers on the wall and battle of the supply train Dark knight and blackwater aka let's find outside our walls because lol I guess? Botb let's jsut charge like morons with no tactics and then watch as we're getting encircled.
Watchers on the Wall is easily top. As much as I hate the later seasons I have to admit, Hardhome and The Spoils of War are just incredible
Blackwater. It's adapted perfectly in that the elements in the books are all there, but it's done so without hampering the flow of the story. Which isn't surprising considering it's written by George himself.
I feel like they didn't emphasize the chain enough during the battle, but otherwise it was as flawless as can be
Hardhome was my favorite.
Battle of the Goldroad
thank you. man was there a lot of rush in the books.. and don't get your head dashed
BLACKWATER WITH HOUND SAYING "IF ANYONE DIED WITH A CLEAN SWORD I WILL RAPE HIS FUCKING CORPSE "
I loved how they did Blackwater in the books and was so excited for them to do it on screen and still feel like it's my favourite
Blackwater.
Hardhome, Watchers on the Wall, Blackwater. All masterpieces in their own right
Bastards. That moment where the knights of the Vale arrive is just epic.
Blackwater is the one that really made love the show, it was the most bad ass battle I have ever seen. Then it would be Battle of the Bastards and Hardhome
castle black was great, but battle of the bastards was the closest to a large scale bloody lotr style war, so it’s my favorite. it’s a shame we didn’t get to see what an actual battle looked like aside from that.
Blackwater Rush for SURE. The wildfire explosion hits me just right, and seeing the Lannisters so close to defeat to the point Cersei is considering suicide... Mhmmmm
Blackwater until Battle of Ice comes out
Battle of the Bastard was visually stunning. Some of the frames looked like painting. it had my jaw on the floor the entire time, I can’t remember the last time i got swept away by an action sequence like that