Jon Snow and his companions endured "The Long Night" this past Sunday on
Game of Thrones as The Night King and his army of the dead laid siege to Winterfell, and while not everyone lived long enough to see the sunrise, HBO execs will have had a very good morning indeed.
According to multiple reports, the epic third episode of the fantasy drama's final season was the most watched in the show's history, drawing in 17.8 million viewers across all platforms. The extra-long installment also broke another impressive record, becoming the most Tweeted-about TV episode of all time with 7.8 million reactions to the intense Battle of Winterfell shared to the social media service.
With 3 episodes still to come there are bound to be more causalities, but if you want a recap of who met their makers in "The Long Night" you can check out our recap below.
Simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
Eddison Tollett
And now his watch has ended.
Acting Lord Commander of The Nights Watch Eddison "Dolorous Edd" Tollett may not have been a principal character, but his constant griping and hilarious one-liners saw him emerge as a strong fan-favorite.
He was high on many fan's "death list," and was the first familiar face to be taken out when he was killed by a wight while bravely helping Samwell on the field of battle.
Beric Dondarrion
The Lightning Lord gave his last life to save Arya Stark, which, it seems, was something he was destined to do from the first time his Lord of Light resurrected him through his friend Thoros.
While being pursued by wights through the corridors of Winterfell with Arya and The Hound, Beric was stabbed multiple times before breathing his last once the young Stark girl was safe.
Like Edd, Dondarrion was never much more than a secondary character, but he was pretty damn awesome, and we're going to miss that flaming sword!
Lyanna Mormont
It's a shame the fierce little Lady of Bear Island had to go, but things always looked bleak when she insisted on fighting alongside her men during last week's episode.
Hey, at least she went out like a boss.
After being swept aside by an undead giant, Lyanna charged right at the beast with her axe raised. While she ultimately perished in the giant's grasp, she managed to jam a dragonglass dagger in his eye first, taking one of The Night King's biggest assets out of the battle.
Theon Greyjoy
"Theon, you're a good man. Thank you."
Theon Greyjoy's demise seemed inevitable after he volunteered to protect Bran in the Godswood last week, and, sure enough, the Iron Islander was impaled with his own spear when he charged The Night King.
Theon was one of the most hated characters in Game of Thrones at one point, but his gradual redemptive arc really struck a chord with fans, and he was able to atone for his pretty heinous past actions by giving his life in service to The Starks.
Jorah Mormont
Arguably the biggest character to bite the big one (Theon was probably on par, but Jorah appeared in more episodes) was Ser Jorah Mormont.
The grizzled warrior came to his Khaleesi's aid at the last second, saving her from dozens of undead while sustaining grievous wounds in the process.
Mormont stayed on his feet right until the last wight fell once The Night King was destroyed, before dying in the arms of the woman he'd loved and protected since the very first episode.
Melisandre
It's definitely a stretch to refer to Melisandre as a hero, but The Red Woman did do some good before checking out.
Arriving out of the blue before the battle kicked off, Mel gave the gift of fire to Winterfell on two different occasions. Then, she inferred that it was Arya's destiny to kill The Night King, prompting The Young Wolf to leave the keep and save her brother.
After the battle, The Red Priestess removed her collar before ageing rapidly and turning to dust in the snow while Davos looked on. Her actions may not make up for burning poor Shireen Baratheon alive (what could?), but at least she attempted to make amends.
The Night King
Fans may not have expected the show's ultimate big bad to be taken out halfway through the final season, but here we are.
The seemingly unstoppable ice demon may have survived dragonfire, but he didn't count on a Faceless Man-trained badass with a Valyrian steel dagger and expert hand-eye coordination.
Some feel that Jon should have been the one to kill the Night King, but that would have been predictable. Does this mean Arya is actually the Prince(ss) that was Promised?