Game of Thrones episode 4 Free online

Everything to know before Game of Thrones episode 4 and life after the Night King, 

Plus, where to stream and watch the episode

The final season of Game of Thrones is now halfway over. There are only three episodes left in HBO’s epic fantasy saga, which should be plenty of time for more of the deaths, betrayals, and gratuitous sex scenes the show’s known for.

Every week leading up to the finale, we’ll be diving deep into what happened each episode with recaps and watchthroughs, answering your questions and posing a few of our own, and of course reminding you where and when to watch live.

[Ed. note: These next two sections contain spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8, through episode 3, “The Long Night.” If you still need to catch up, scroll down to the last section, or check out our post on how to watch the season premiere.]

Episode 3 recap: The Long Night

Game of Thrones season 8, episode 3 - the Night King surrounded by dragon fire

HBO

Episodes 1 and 2 set the stage for the massive Battle of Winterfell that consumed most of the 82 minute runtime. Despite that extended planning period, the strategy employed by Jon and Daenerys’ forces hinged on throwing their forces at the Night King’s assembled horde rather than, you know, flying dragons over their enemies that can be destroyed by fire.

Winterfell is quickly overrun with wights, briefly turning the fantasy show into a horror movie as Arya creeps through the library trying to remain unseen by the zombies roaming the stacks. When the Night King arrives, he somehow walks through dragon fire unscathed, and raises the dead throughout Winterfell’s grounds, including the dead Starks buried underground. It turned out that the crypts were decidedly not the safest place in Winterfell. Tyrion and Sansa hide while wights break out of their coffins.

Despite the baffling choices made by our heroes, the Battle of Winterfell was much less deadly than we were expecting, though we still lost some important characters that deserve to be recognized. Dolorous Edd died saving his friend Sam, while Beric Dondarrion held wights off so that The Hound and Arya could escape. Lyanna Mormont brought down a giant before being crushed to death in his hands. Melisandre walks out into the snow drifts to die now that the Lord of Light is done with her. Theon Greyjoy completes his redemption arc, rushing the Night King in a last ditch effort to protect Bran. And Jorah Mormont dies in the arms of his unrequited love, Queen Daenerys, after fighting through to the end.

Of course, the biggest death was the leader of the Army of the Dead himself. In the most shocking moment of the episode, Arya appeared out of nowhere to assassinate the Night King with a Dragonglass dagger that may or may not be the very shard that the Children of the Forest used to create him. As the creator of the White Walkers and wights, his death caused the reanimating force to dissipate, ending the battle against the dead for good.